Good animation, but not the best Pixar

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2007)

First, I have to say that Pixar movies are amazing, and Ratatouille is no exception. Great animation, especially the views of Paris at night (of course, how could a view of Paris at night not be incredible?), the scene when Remy is swept away through the sewers under Paris and the first "chase" scene in the restaurant's kitchen, when the cooks are trying to catch the rat. I liked that the other rats seem more like rats, swarming through the garbage or when the old lady's ceiling collapses and is full of rats. But I still wouldn't rank this with Nemo, Toy Story or Bug's Life, and I can't quite say why. I thought the first hour was much more enjoyable than the rest of the movie; by that time, the jokes didn't seem as funny, it was a little too slow-moving, and I just wasn't as interested. But it is a good movie. The audience I was in was enjoying it, but not, I thought, as much as the audiences for Nemo or Toy Story. Even though I thought the story idea was good, other than the woman chef, the other characters just didn't seem as interesting by half way through the movie. Still, it's a fun summer movie. The animated short at the beginning, "Lifted", was excellent, really inspired, and got many more laughs than Ratatouille.