Charles, not being able to enjoy Pixar movies in a hi def format is about the only thing that irks me so far in this format war. "Ratatouille" is the one Pixar movie I haven't seen yet.
I think I've mentioned this here before, but I was lucky enough to take a field trip to Pixar studios when I was in college. At the time, they were in the process of working on "Finding Nemo" and had aquariums scattered around the complex. Lots of things were hidden and under wraps, though, due to not wanting any leaks getting out to a certain rival studio.
In any case, one of the main things that struck me, and what mainly sets Pixar apart from other animation studios, is their devotion to getting the story right. I think they said almost 75% of the movie-making process is spent in preproduction developing and fleshing out the story--making sure that what they animate is going to be worth animating. Digital effects and animation are becoming, to some extent, easier and easier to produce. The real magic lies in making the audience care about such effects. I think Pixar is a level above the rest on both story and technique.
I don't know much about the particulars of the Disney/Pixar merger, but I would venture to guess that Pixar still retains a lot of creative control while Disney handles the financial and distribution side of things.
