Man, I wish I liked this movie.
I’m a Pixar whore – I dig every flick they do, even A Bug’s Life – and this one just left me cold.
I think something’s wrong with me.
Come on, his movie has everything – fantastic animation, great VO work by Patton Oswald, PETER O’TOOLE! and others, and a wonderfully original story… And yet…
I only FELT it once. The empathy, the associative feeling I get with the Pixar creatures and characters before now – it wasn’t there.
Something didn’t work for me. Maybe it was the main character being a rat, after I had the misfortune years back of encountering a nasty variety of such a creature in a rental home. Maybe it was the inconsistencies of tone, going from one direction to another with little predictability… I don’t know, but it was just not working for me.
And I’m convinced it’s me. No fault to the filmmakers. It’s me.
However, I recommend that you see it. I will probably end up seeing it again, when the inevitable DVD release arrives. Maybe I’ll be able to enjoy it then. Maybe the mental block I have will go away.
I hope so. Because I’d genuinely like to enjoy it. And I haven’t. Not yet.