Pixar's least-amazing effort

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2008)

Rataouille is about a rat who longs to be a great cook, despite the whole situation of, you know, his entire species meant to eat and live in garbage. That's the basic premise of Ratatouille, and it could have been so much better, if focused in the right direction.
I'd say Ratatouille is Pixar's worst movie to date, but it isn't saying much, considering all of their previous films have been excellent, and this one isn't really that bad either. It just doesn't hit the high-mark other Pixar efforts have. The biggest problem is there's very little time to really build emotion for the characters. Whether it's between Remy and his father, or Linguini and Colette, one just can't seem to connect with these characters on an emotional level. A lot of the film's ideas, turning points, and even jokes also follow suit, and end up feeling awkward and rushed. ***SPOILER*** For instance, the idea of Remy "steering" Linguini around by pulling his hair was funny, but also very awkward and out-of-place in the film universe.***END SPOILER***
The visuals are stunning as always, but they couldn't save the movie from leaving me feel unfulfilled.
I've seen the previews for Wall-E, Pixar's next film, and it looks visually stunning, but I just hope it doesn't fall short where I feel it most counts.