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Wall-E
One of Pixar’s latest pictures, Wall-E surpasses the rest of the current Pixar lot by far. Simple humor mixes with an eco-friendly plotline and effuses a beautiful subtlety so many children’s films ignore. Amidst the endearing love-story and silly robots-gone-amuck fiascoes are a sweetness and a sincerity that is completely refreshing. While the kids might focus on Wall-E’s menagerie of odds and ends in one scene, the adults might notice the starkness of the film’s apocalyptic vision of Earth. If this is the kind of film Pixar’s success has brought them to, I can’t wait to see where they go next.
The Incredibles
The Incredibles debuted in 2004 but remains one of Pixar’s best realized films and one of the best family comedies overall. The film highlights the development of Pixar’s visual style by abandoning the strive for realism (as seen in their first attempts like Toy Story) in their human characters and giving them a distinct look that works well within the world the film creates. Again, the film really shows its mastery of blending a bit of sophistication, like with its faux-documentary segments, with the family humor the Pixar name is synonymous with.
Ratatouille
What’s impressive about Ratatouille, like many of Pixar’s films, is the way its promotion shied away from pushing the personas of celebrities voicing its characters (e.g. Jeanene Garofolo, Ian Holm, Peter O’Toole). Instead, what one gets is an interesting and innovative story without being slammed over the head with reminders of what character’s voice is done by which celebrity. At its base, Ratatouille is about identity in a way that encourages the audience to forget that the film’s basic plot, which is, more-or-less, about being true to yourself, has been done before and several times over. The stunning visuals provide the backdrop for a whole-heartedly charming story that only continues to prove that Pixar dominates the animated feature film market for a reason.
Sound Off
Last post: May. 31, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Jeff Brandt (Jeff Brandt) said on May. 31, 2009 at 5:28 pm:
Hey, that's a good point about the celebrity voices in Ratatouille. To be honest, I hadn't even realized who were the actors behind the parts.
Andy Herren (Andy Herren) said on May. 31, 2009 at 12:45 pm:
I like this list! All three are the best of the best. Personally I would take out The Incredibles and put in Finding Nemo, but still...good work, Ms. Gorr!