Okay, I love Pixar, but I never went to see this film in theaters, since I couldn't find anyone to go with me. I just got it on Blu-ray Disc tonight, and I have to say that beyond being a really cool movie, it looks spectacular. I didn't notice the sound except in a few parts, however my system was battling the sound of the PS3 along with the HVAC. I'll have to have the heat off the next time I watch it.

The animated short, "Your Friend the Rat" was pretty interesting, with a special mention of Alberta.

All in all, very worthwhile. Now I have Cars to watch tomorrow, which I also never watched in theaters or on DVD.

Anyway, very gorgeous, and it's incredible how Pixar still manages to make their animation a step above what other studios are doing.

It's just too bad they're locked into Blu-ray, having merged with Disney. I never read all of the details of that, either. I should read up.

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.

Yeah, from the little I heard about it when it happened, it seemed like they really held the upper hand, and it was Disney catering to them, but I still haven't gone to read in-depth on it, so I should shut up. Ha ha.

That's so cool that you got to visit them. It really does come through that story is their first priority. It definitely has to help the animators to have a solid foundation to work with, to be passionate about.

I just kind of wish more adult-oriented animation would take off in this country (or on this continent--sorry, Canadians). It seems to have to be kiddie stuff or over-the-top comedy like Adult Swim and South Park. Not that I have a problem with those, but I think it's a more narrow range of material than it has to be. So I'm a little sad that Pixar already has their niche, as it would be nice to see someone of their caliber handling some serious sci-fi or fantasy that's skewed toward adults. I mean, those are the genres that would benefit the most, I imagine, but I would like to see them expand beyond even those wide-open genres. I guess no one knows if it can be commercially viable, and that's why it's not happening, but anyway, I think there's room for more variety.

Yes, there is that general stigma in this country that all animation is for kids--and it's kinda sad. I believe animation here is seen more as a marketing vehicle to sell things to kids, rather than as an art form. I think Disney gave it a shot with "Fantasia," but it didn't really catch on with anyone--well, as far as being commercially viable.

It will be interesting to see how "Beowolf" fares at the box office, it being PG-13.

Yeah, I am really enjoying hi-def right now, but alas, I only an "single format" right now... HD-DVD is working out great for me, but at some point I will want to get some Disney flicks too. I wish I was into Play Station games, then I could try to justify Blu-Ray that way, but some day I will be "dual format" as I see no quick end to this whole thing.

Some of the best HD content starts as an animated movie (for some obvious reason not needing discussion here). I am sure that the Rat Movie (easier to spell) looks great. It was also more enjoyable of a movie than I thought it would be. The kids are going to have to settle for the DVD of it this Christmas...

Now if there was just a secret Friday sale on a Blu-Ray player for $98, I'd be all over it!

I think the licensing to Sony is more than that!

I'm with Nick. Where is that $98 blu-ray player?

I played Ratatouille(sd dvd version) briefly on my new Toshiba HD-A2 upscaled to 1080i. It looks very, very good. It would be nice to own a blu-ray player... as I'm sure it looks outstanding in HD. But until pricing comes down I think I'll be quite happy using the toshiba for movies that are not available on HD DVD.

Shrek #3 comes out on HD DVD on Nov. 13, I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks and sounds in HD.

Sony execs have said BR minimum $399 (probably the 300 model), so the street price s/b $349 sometime between now and Christmas.

I'm not into gaming either, but when the children are home on vacation a PS3 40 gig may get some use.

We have Spiderman III dvd. It is just not the same as HD.

I'm eager to watch some of the BR movies like "rat" in high def.

sooner or later, all these movies will be on HD DVD. How long can Fox & Disney ignore the fact that almost 500,000 stand alone HD DVD players have been sold?

According to the Black Friday web sites, so far the cheapest Blu-Ray player (Samsung BD-P1400/XAA) for that day is $399. The cheapest HD-DVD player (HD-A3) is going to be $199. Someone else may still come out with an ad less than that, but so far those are the best prices after checking:
BestBuy
fye
Kmart
Sears
Target

BB Ad: Sony 300 Blu-ray $399 Plus Spiderman III plus 5 movies plus $100 BB gift card Thurs-Sat!

Translation:
Oh god, please, someone buy these Blu-Ray players and get them off our hands!

Another attempt at Sony trying to keep up. Another not so secret "secret-in-store special" arrives from Wal-mart. This Saturday you can get 10 free Blu-ray movies when you buy a 80GB version of the Playstation 3.

And to stay on topic Ratatouille is great on Blu-ray. I also bought Cars on Blu-ray, the SD version was so good it was difficult for me to see a big difference in the Blu-ray PQ but the HD sound was a big improvement over an already decent sountrack.

You may be single-handedly keeping the industry afloat.