Ratatouille (2007)***
I have to say I was disappointed with this picture. It is a superb example of craftsmanship, technological wizardry, art direction, set design, lighting and on and on. Everything is perfect except the script. Seriously flawed. Never soars to the heights of "The Incredibles" nor even "Cars". I think the problem is it never really trusts itself. There is NO WAY to manipulate a person by pulling his hair. It would have actually made more sense to have Linguini and only Linguini be able to understand Remy's speech. And the pre-climatic change of heart by Remy was totally unbelievable. I could not imagine his character EVER turning his back on the restaurant or Linguini. It made no sense within it's own context. After that everything was a series of soaring strings and clichéd plot turns. I don't know for sure, but I suspect this one had more of Brad Bird's stamp on it than "The Incredibles" where he was overruled several times on key plot points. This is closer to "Iron Giant", another wonder technically, yet a big disappointment story-wise. Again though, if you see it in a theatre, demand a digital projection. Absolutely beautiful.