Humh.

Ratatouille is being made by Brad Bird (who directed The Incredibles and The Iron Giant). Well jiminy, I didn't know that. I have much higher hopes for the film now — though a movie about rats in France does seem to be quite a departure from his other works.

Speaking of Pixar related stuff, does anyone know how long it's been since a Pixar movie was passed over in the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars (as it was this year)? I think a that hasn't happened to a Pixar film since Shrek 2 beat out Monster's Inc. (the year the award was created). Does anyone have any theories as to where Cars went wrong? Or maybe it really deserved the Oscar? I didn't see Happy Feet, so I can't really say.

I personally think that Cars misstepped in that it was passably the first Pixar film to have a protagonist that, for the most part, failed to be more interesting that the character's around him. This is one reason I am so enthusiastic about The Incredibles; Bob Parr is a character rich with complexity and depth; I identify very much with his struggles and desires. The same depth can be found in Finding Nemo's Marlin — that he is not completely outshined Ellen DeGeneres' Dory is a tribute the story-telling powers of Andrew Stanton and his crew. That film could very easily ended up as an excuse to display DeGeneres' talent (i.e. what happened with Robbin Williams and Aladdin). This also keeps threatening to happen with the Pirate's of the Caribbean franchise, but they've (narrowly) avoided that so far, so I continue to be hopeful as they continue on to the final installment.

Incidentally, after Brad Bird's film, Nemo's Stanton is next in line to take to the director's chair. Exciting!

Post Script: Just so you know, the title of this post represents an attempt on my part to translate into letters a sound I often make to denote a kind mix of surprise and interest, sometimes with a little bit of "Well, why didn't I know that five weeks ago?" attitude thrown in. I'm still unsatisfied with the variations I've tried, but I'll keep looking. Just thought you should know.