just barely fails to be one of the greats

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2008)

What is there to say about how wonderful almost all this movie is? The other commentators do such an excellent job, it's difficult to find anything more to add. For the first 9/10s or so, the movie has genuine heart to it, presenting characters with far more depth to them than found in most American films, live or animated. For the first 9/10s, there are no easy answers.
One of the signs of a powerful film, animated or live action, is how often the characters communicate thoughts and emotions through silence.
This is a film with many excellent moments of that silence.
Unfortunately, the final moment between the triumphant hero and the beaten, wounded, defeated, bewildered, now-helpless villain, who has been repeatedly shown to be a victim of a wounded father/son relationship that damaged him into the villain he has become, leaves a bad taste in the moviegoer's mouth. The villain is shown to be so thoroughly defeated that the hero's alleged moment of triumph becomes nothing more than a petty kick the dog moment.
The film could have and should have ended with a moment of redemption, or at least attempted redemption. Instead, it ends with a distastefully bullying joke: "Skadoosh."