Anyone Can Cook

Ratatouille
M'House
DVD
12/30/07

There's a moment in Ratatouille that may be my favorite moment in any movie that I saw in 2007. If you've seen it, you know what it is. If you haven't, I'm not going to ruin it with details. But the moment when Anton Ego takes a bite of his special meal took Ratatouille from being a movie that I merely really liked to being one that I loved.

So I was looking forward to showing it to Jamee and we finally watched it last night. Her parents gave it to me for Christmas, along with a set of Disney Store lithographs that I need to convince her to put up in the kitchen, or at least ~'s room.

What I'd also like is the international one-sheet. (Valentine's Day is a month and a half away, sweetie. Hint, hint.) Take a look at that poster. Other than Disney's annoying insistence on spelling the title phonetically it's a gorgeous image and considerably more adult that the US poster, which is apt, because if you really look at the film, it's not exactly for children (more on that phrase in a future post).

Granted, kids can enjoy it. ~ sat through most if it without protest last night and I think she's probably old enough now to see something in a theater. The thing about Brad Bird is that he makes animated films that further the idea that animation is not merely for children. This is becoming more of an antiquated notion anyway, although my two year old still wants to watch Bird's The Incredibles daily, so there is an argument to be made that his films are more for everybody than just a specific age group or demographic.

The thing about Ratatouille is that it's a story that really couldn't be told in any medium other than animation. Imagine it being done in live-action. It just wouldn't work. I'm glad to see Pixar experimenting and really pushing the boundaries of what can be done in animation in the West. And if Wall*E proves to be actually be the nearly dialogue-free movie that the rumors make it out to be I'll be very happy. Especially if it makes a ton of money.