2. “Ratatouille” (2007)
For a while it looked like “Ratatouille” was doomed: its original director, Jan Pinkava, was fired from production a little more than a year before the movie was scheduled to hit theaters and it was carrying with it extra importance, since it was going to be the first film released outside of its distribution pact with Disney (which explains its international setting). Then the movie was assigned to Brad Bird, who radically overhauled the story, recast the characters, and made it into something of a new classic. The story of Remy (Patton Oswalt), a rat who longs to be a chef, is poignant and odd. When Remy befriends a hapless cook Linguini (Lou Romano), he figures out that, by hiding underneath his hat and tugging on his hair, he can control the human and turn him into the culinary sensation he only dreams of becoming, it echoes old Disney movies of yore. But there’s so much else going on in “Ratatouille.” On one hand it’s a sharp critique of the way the Disney company was being run at the time, with an evil elder cook (Ian Holm) disgracing the restaurants name by churning out a series of frozen dinners (stand-ins for Disney’s direct-to-video sequels of classics like “Cinderella“), on another it’s a deeply felt examination of what it’s like to follow your own destiny, even if that destiny is very different than the one your family or countrymen think is right for you. There’s an odd couple element of the mismatched buddy movie in the friendship between Remy and Linguini. And maybe most profoundly it’s an exploration of the importance of criticism and art, lovingly summed up in a monologue by Aton Ego (Peter O’Toole), a villainous critic who has his heart melted by the confections of Remy and Linguini. There is so much going on, thematically, that you think the story itself might get lost, but under the tight control of Bird it steamrolls along, heading to an unforgettable climax involving a whole squadron of rats in the kitchen, something both revolting and hopelessly cute. You can’t help but be in awe of “Ratatouille.”
1. “The Incredibles” (2004)
When “The Incredibles” was released, it felt like a revelation, like a genuinely groundbreaking moment from a studio that had literally reinvented the animated feature at least once before. It was a first in a lot of ways: the first movie of theirs to have humans be the central characters (instead of bugs or monsters or toys); the first movie to be rated PG (because of its action and implied sexuality – that’s right, implied sexuality); the first movie to be scored by Michael Giacchino (who would go on to become a Pixar power player); the first movie to flirt with the 2-hour mark (115 minutes); along with a number of esoteric technical innovations (skin, clothing, and physics engines that scatter light realistically). But all could have all been for naught if the story of “The Incredibles” wasn’t so compelling. Ingeniously devised by Brad Bird, who had recently suffered terribly at the hands of Warner Bros Animation, “The Incredibles” is about an over-the-hill superhero Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) forced to relocate to the suburbs and assume a new identity, along with his equally super-powered wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and children, after superheroes have been outlawed. It’s while Mr. Incredible is working at a soul-deadening insurance company that he’s approached by a mysterious woman to carry out a series of tasks that only he can accomplish, on a secret jungle island. Suddenly, he’s back in the game. He feels better about himself, walks with a spring in his step, and romances the wife again, which of course leads her to suspect that an affair is a part of this midlife crisis he seems to be going through. Instead, it’s much more dangerous than that, and soon the entire family is in jeopardy. Metaphorically, “The Incredibles” is brilliant, with each family member getting the over-sized abilities of what is demanded of them at home (the dad has to be strong, so Mr. Incredible can lift train cars, the mother has to be in a million places at once so she can stretch, the awkward teenage daughter comes invisible, etc.) and stylistically it’s still Pixar’s strongest effort, with a design aesthetic that combines sixties sleekness with James Bond-ian gadgetry; it’s both futuristic and timeless. Countless comic books and characters are referenced in “The Incredibles” – everything from Will Eisner‘s “The Spirit” and Alan Moore‘s “Watchmen” (both of which had yet to be adapted for the big screen at the time), and Bird builds action sequences the way that Robert Zemeckis does, with a series of escalating obstacles that never once decreases on the throttle. Bird doesn’t shy away from violence (a little kid seemingly murders countless goons) or sex (the affair analogy, and some well-placed double entendres) and adds at least one amazing addition to the mythology of superheroes: Edna Mode (played by Bird himself), the costume designer to superheroes. “The Incredibles” is often so full of exuberant life that it threatens to burst at the seams. Thankfully, like one of Edna Mode’s suits, it all stays together. The result is an unparalleled masterpiece and the very best Pixar movie.
Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the amazing short films that almost always accompany the features (many of which are now completed by Pixar’s brilliant Canadian campus), the latest of which, “The Blue Umbrella,” features a nifty score by Jon Brion and is attached to “Monsters University.” That would require a whole separate list. Also, if we had more time we would have included “John Carter” somewhere in here. The movie was developed, designed, and edited at Pixar by “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E” director Andrew Stanton and “Brave” co-director Mark Andrews. And for a while at least “John Carter” was being branded as “Pixar’s first live action movie” (until John Lasseter got squeamish). There’s also “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins,” a kind of feature-length pilot for a traditionally animated Buzz Lightyear TV show that Pixar co-produced and did the opening animation for.
