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Tag Archives: Peter O’Toole

Fifth Anniversary Review: Ratatouille (2007)

17 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 2000's, Action-Adventure, Comedy, Disney, Drama, Fantasy, Movie Reviews, Pixar, Romance

≈ 12 Comments

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animated, animated feature, animated movie, animated movie review, animation, animators, anthropomorphic animal, anthropomorphic animals, Anton Ego, anyone can cook, art, artist, Brad Bird, Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy, cgi animation, Colette, computer animation, cooking, critc, criticism, Disney, disney review, Ego, film review, food, France, french cooking, french food, Gusteau, Gusteau's, Ian Holm, kitchen, Le Festin, Linguini, Michael Giacchino, movie review, Movie Reviews, Paris, Patton Oswalt, Peter O’Toole, Peter Sohn, Pixar, pixar animation, Pixar review, Ratatouille, rats, Remy, restaurant, review, rodents, Skinner

Ratatouille-poster-ratatouille-324474_1215_1800

The very first review I wrote for this blog was the 2009 animated masterpiece The Secret of Kells, a gorgeous blend of Irish art, fantasy, and history which, incidentally, centers around the growth of a young artist. So what better way to mark this blog’s fifth anniversary than to look at another animated classic that masterfully expands on the themes of creativity, the nature of the artist, their work, and how public perception and greed thwarts the new and experimental?

Oh, and it’s also the first Pixar movie I’m reviewing because somehow I never got around to one in the past five years (so-so holiday specials notwithstanding).

You know, animation directors rarely get the recognition they deserve. A ton of work goes into creating each scene, each character, each frame from scratch, and it’s not surprising that two or more people usually have to share the responsibility of getting the movie out on time. Only a select few animation directors have risen to some prominence outside of their community, but not quite to the level of their live-action peers – with perhaps one exception.

brad-bird_3060-780x405

Brad Bird, maybe you’ve heard of him: The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, helped kick off The Simpsons; he even made the jump to live-action and made some pretty good stuff in that medium too. I specifically say medium because, as he so rightfully stated, animation, like live-action, is a medium, a method used to produce artwork, not a genre. There is a distinct difference that studios and the public tend to ignore because of the stigma that animation is meant for children. Animation is a means to tell stories through, not a boxed-in category to dump kids’ movies into.

You’d think Bird’s passion and dedication to crafting mature stories for both adults and children would have made him a shoo-in to direct Ratatouille, especially after his Oscar win for The Incredibles. That wasn’t the case, however. Long-time animator and storyboarder Jan Pinkava got the ball rolling, but was replaced when the the film hit story troubles. Anyone who’s kept an eye on Pixar’s output will undoubtedly note that whenever a director is switched out during production (Brave, The Good Dinosaur, and depending on your POV, Toy Story 4), the resulting features wind up being, well, let’s call them a mixed bag. But in this case, bringing Bird onboard was nothing short of a godsend for Ratatouille. The film may have started as Pinkava’s brainchild, but it was Bird who really got what the story was about. His drastic changes, from redesigning the rats to be less anthropomorphic to even killing off one of the central characters, reinvented the film from the ground up, and got him his second Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

I’m happy to say that at the time this review is being wrapped up, Ratatouille is undergoing something of a critical re-evaluation and renaissance; yes, it was a big hit on release, but there was a long period of time where, despite its overwhelming success, it was something that Pixar itself seemed to have forgotten about. There were no plans for a sequel (unless you count the uproarious short “Your Friend, The Rat”), no TV series, no high demand for a consumer product line, little to no character presence in any of the Disney parks, and it wouldn’t receive a proper ride until 2014; even then, it was added to Disneyland Paris (a clone was set to open in Epcot’s World Showcase last year though it was delayed due to 2020 being…2020). For whatever reason, nobody was interested in talking about it or utilizing its potential like most of Pixar’s other films. That apparently changed as of last year; Maybe the movie gave people that comfort food for the soul they craved during quarantine, or the Kingdom Hearts 3 minigames centering around Remy controlling Sora reminded them how fun it was, or maybe it was the Ratatouille musical meme on TikTok that became so popular that they turned it into an actual musical. But I have to ask, why? Why did Ratatouille fall off the radar for so many in the first place? Well, after poking my nose in a few places, the main consensus I got from people who didn’t believe it rose up to Pixar’s lofty standards was because they considered it “boring”.

Now I try to respect most other’s opinions when it comes to animated movies, but…boring?

Is fast-paced, expressive computer animation that still holds up with what Pixar puts out today boring?

Are colorful, relatable characters in a vibrant reimagining of the City of Lights boring?

Is an original story that shows how creativity can apply to an unlikely field and an even more unlikely creator boring?

Is one of the most iconic actors of the twentieth century delivering the greatest speech about criticism and its relationship to art boring?

If your answer is no, then you’ve come to the right review blog.

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Christmas Shelf Reviews: The Nutcracker Prince (1990)

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 1990's, Action-Adventure, Christmas, Comedy, Fantasy, Movie Reviews, Musicals, Non-Disney, Romance

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

1990's, 90's, action, Action-Adventure, adventure, Alexandre Dumas, Always Come Back to You, animated, animated feature, animated movie, animated movie review, animation, Anne of Green Gables, ballet, battle, Canada, Canadian animation, Canadian movie, cartoon review, Christmas, Christmas movie, Christmas review, Clara, Clara and Hans, Clara Stahlbaum, cult classic, Dr. Stahlbaum, Drosselmeier, Drosselmeyer, ETA Hoffman, Fantasy, Fritz, Hans, Hoffman, Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland, kitten, Lacewood Productions, Land of the Dolls, Louise, magic, Marie, Meagan Follows, Mike MacDonald, Mouse King, Mouse Queen, movie review, musical, musical review, Natasha's Brother and Rachele Cappelli, nutcracker, Nutcracker March, Nutcracker Prince, Nutcracker suite, Pantaloon, Pas De Deux, Pavlova, Peter O’Toole, Phyllis Diller, Pirlipat, prince of the dolls, Princess Pirlipat, quest, Romance, Save This Dance, sugarplum fairy, Tchaikovsky, The Racoons, toy soldiers, traditional animation, Trudy, Waltz of the Flowers, Warner Bros., Warner Brothers, Warner Brothers animation

Merry Christmas everyone! To conclude this month of merrymaking we’re looking at an animated Christmas cult classic that I have a bit of a soft spot for. But perhaps it’s best to start at the beginning:

ETA Hoffman’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is one of my favorite fantasy stories, though chances are you’re more familiar with the famous ballet by Tchaikovsky that it inspired. The music is gorgeous and instantly recognizable, but few know the actual story of The Nutcracker beyond what your average community production rolls out every December. Much of the plot plays out like a variation of Beauty and the Beast with a protagonist akin to The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy and story elements that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Grimms’ fairytale. Sadly, most of those details were lost in the translation from book to light holiday entertainment. Not that I’m complaining, I love the ballet, but there’s so much more to its origins that people aren’t usually interested in delving into.

I say all this because today’s movie, The Nutcracker Prince, is one of the very few filmic adaptations that pays faithful tribute to both its source material and its theatrical counterpart. In spite of – or perhaps because of – the popularity of the ballet, there’s been only a handful of film versions of Hoffman’s The Nutcracker (or at least a handful compared to something like A Christmas Carol). How good you find each of them to be depends upon your taste and the production value. I’ve found remarkably little about the making of this particular adaption, but that probably has to do with the fact that it was barely a blip on the box office radar. Released through Warner Brothers (which itself would issue another Nutcracker movie starring Maculay Culkin six years later), this was the only full-length animated feature created by Canada’s Lacewood Productions. A shame, really, because looking at The Nutcracker Prince you can see the studio’s potential. But thanks to the home video circuit, the movie has found a new life as a nostalgic Christmas classic for 90’s kids like myself. Let’s unwrap the reasons why, shall we?

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