Well the first bad Ratatouille review has come in and it’s from Phil Villarreal at AZNightBuzz.com. He gives it 2 1/2 stars and says…
I find Bird’s work entertaining yet too antiseptic and vacant to be truly inspiring. Give me something that packs an emotional whammy — “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” any of the ancient Disney classics or works of Hayao Miyazaki — over a Bird film any day. The wild, devoted praise afforded his solid yet tepid films puzzles me. It’s as though society is playing a joke that everyone but me and a few others are in on. I smell a “Ratatouille.”
He also says…
The script does little to placate kids, dispensing with songs or slapstick and taking its ridiculous story seriously in an effort to appeal to grown-ups.
He seems to be alone in the 26 reviews of Ratatouille counted at Rotten Tomatoes so far. That brings the fresh rating to 96%, but I expect if there are no more bad reviews, and only good ones the rating will go up to 97% to match that of The Incredibles and The Iron Giant. You might like to note that he also didn’t particularly like The Iron Giant or The Incredibles so I think it’s safe to disregard this not-so-glowing review.
Last modified: June 28, 2007
Very cute blog and charming discussion about the animated films.
Mary Catherine
http://www.lifechoicescoach.blogspot.com
That critic is in a minority, I’ll tell you.
Hehe, that’s okay. Not everybody has to like the film. 😛
MAN THAT TICKS ME OFF!! Emotion?!!? If it had emotion, he would probably make something else to complain about. Most of these guys are failed filmmakers or writers who are angry at the world. He couldn’t even let one film get 100% fresh. He’s probably just trying to get attention. Let’s just ignore him.
AAUUGGHH!!! I CAN’T HELP IT! I’M SO TICKED OFF!!!
Sorry “aggie”. Everyone does have to like this movie.
That’s it. Sorry for venting so much.
No, it isn’t some joke that society is playing on you, it’s just that you DON’T GET IT!
*sigh* It seems that everyone’s a movie critic these days on the Internet…
Sounds to me like he just has some personal “thing” against Brad Bird. The Incredibles was an EXCELLENT film by any standards. Perhaps it’s jealously over the lavish praise Bird’s films have gotten.
Obviously this critic is not familiar with all of Bird’s movies. The Iron Giant relied on nothing but character emotion based on a very rudimentary base of a story line and yet managed to pull off an amazing film.
There’s no need to over-react to his reaction. Everyone has their own opinions. Maybe this guy just honestly hasn’t enjoyed Bird’s movies to date. I love The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, but I see how some people wouldn’t like them (in fact, I personally don’t like them as much as other Pixar movies). A review is merely someone’s opinion of a movie, and that’s exactly what he gave. I don’t think he has personal “issues” with Brad Bird. But you can never please everyone.
I’m a huge Pixar fan, yet I’m glad for the few negative reviews I’ve seen floating around for this movie. Don’t get me wrong, I hope I don’t agree with them, but at least they help bring me back down to earth and remind me that it’s just another movie, not some “idol” to be worshiped. I’m bouncing up and down in my chair at the thought of seeing Ratatouille tomorrow, but I don’t want to be too excited tomorrow only to experience a letdown.
Heh. Well, there’s always the odd one out. Truth be told, it really doesn’t seem to bother me as much as I thought it would. Everyone has their own view-points and personal opinions, all of which should probably be respected and taken into account.
However, I will say that I do disagree with the guy on many levels. He is truely missing out on something spectacular….
— Mitch
Wouldn’t 2.5/4 be considered fresh? It would be a 62.5 and RT considers 60+ to be fresh. This guy also gave Happy Gilmore a 4/4…
Case of Bird-flu (or is that Bird-envy)? This guy is a hack movie critic. Probably right he doesn;t want the film to receive a perfect rating on rotten tomatoes.
I have no problem with someone giving the film a negative review. The problem I have with this critic is that his critique sounded more like a review on Brad Bird rather than on Ratatouille. Heck, even his little “review” on Bird seems unfounded. I mean, he doesn’t even elaborate why he dislikes Brad Bird films. This lack of explanation gives me the impression that this critic is jealous of the overwhelming success that Mr. Bird has achieved.
If you’re going to write a review, focus on the film, not the director. This so-called “critic” obviously hasn’t learned that. (That’s why I’m longing for Roger Ebert’s return to full-time criticism. Whether he’d give Ratatouille a positive review or not, he’d at least review the film. Compared to other critics, he’s also rather respectful when giving bad reviews to movies that he doesn’t like. I pray that you get well Roger.)
UPDATE: Rotten Tomatoes currently lists two more rotten reviews for Ratatouille. The cream of the crop section still stands at 100% though. I haven’t seen the film, so at the moment, I can given neither praise nor criticism. I hope it will be as good as most critics say it is though. Pixar is 7 for 7 IMHO, and I hope this film will make it 8 for 8.
Ehehe.. Just3d.. you’re not the boss of everyone’s taste. I’m sorry that one little review ticks you off so much.
This really is the first bad Ratatouille review I’ve seen, and I’ve been dredging the net before I go see it. Poor little guy, he’s so alone in this world of people who love Pixar. I will admit, Pixar hasn’t been perfect, but they have had one of the best running records of all studios. If he is holding that against them, he’s missing out.
I saw it tonight, and really, some of the content was offensive for small children, such as the comment, “Welcome to Hell.”. I found the subplot of the boy’s father offensive-not my morals, but few out there have any anymore. Also, one little rat is cute. Hundreds are gross. It was an absolutely beautiful movie, though. Hard to believe it was a cartoon. Go for the graphics, not the plot.
i hate to say this, but i agree with some of what he’s saying. i just saw ratatouille and i have to admit, it was cute. but that’s about it…cute. extremely well produced? of course. but definitely not as well written. i found the storyline (once you get over the novelty of the rats) to be cliche and a bit forced at times. and the jokes weren’t all that funny. i laughed once, maybe twice, during the entire movie. it was also predictable at some points and the dialogue wasn’t exceptionally smart…which is fine for kids, but leaves something more to be desired as an adult. the movie had my attention the whole way through and i loved the graphics and voices. but it just didn’t wow me.
the fact that it’s nearly impossible to find a bad review about the movie confuses me, too. i thought it would be more of a mixed bag. i guess not.