brad bird's RATATOUILLE (2007)

i have to hand it to Brad Bird: he's really putting Pixar's money where their mouth is. it's evident to anyone who's seen any or all of Pixar's first five productions that they've always been laughably far ahead of the curve where both technological innovation and brilliant family-oriented storytelling are concerned, but it was Bird's The Incredibles where they finally, gloriously set foot outside their comfort zone, after which Cars' admittedly broad return to their iconic m.o. felt almost quaint. unlike The Incredibles, Ratatouille does operate within the superficial boundaries of the Children's Film, but Bird's revolution-minded approach to popular animated cinema is unabated; his themes are sharper in spirit yet muted (even obscured), and the narrative is ambitious in its intricacies even as its general thrust is simple slice-of-life as compared to the rest of the Pixar canon. all of this amounts to both good and bad: clutching their safety blanket of emotionally intelligent yet archetypal kid's stories, Pixar consistently grazed pure perfection, while Ratatouille suffers flaws for its wandering eye. but it's still exciting, and necessary, that our most consistent team of filmmakers keep pushing the limits, lest they fall back on a formula destined to tarnish. Ratatouille doesn't hit the sweet spots of, say, Finding Nemo or Toy Story 2, but it's hardly a blemish on their still-spotless record.