Other Reviews in this Series.
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava (co-director)
Writers: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Bob Peterson
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Peter Sohn, Brian Dennehy, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, John Ratzenberger
Runtime: 111 mins.
2007
When we look at Pixar's stable of repeat directors, currently numbered at four, choosing the best of the bunch may be an impossible task. We can throw out John Lasseter (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, Cars 2) right away. Although he was responsible for kicking everything off with Toy Story, he also claims a hefty portion of Pixar's mediocre entries. We're left with Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out), Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E), and Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille). Such a selection between titans inevitably comes down to personal taste; in my mind the war rages between Stanton and Bird, both of whom have since gone on to direct live action movies, and both of whom are returning to direct Pixar sequels now that their most recent films have flopped financially and critically (John Carter, Tomorrowland). Whether that is good news or bad news, only time will tell. Perhaps the relative successes of Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2 will help me pick a favorite.
As far as I can tell, Brad Bird is not often at the top of people's favorite Pixar director lists. A cursory googling tells me that Docter is typically the favorite. This one even puts Bird at number five. Maybe he gets points docked for starting his career with The Simpsons and The Iron Giant rather than being born and raised in the Pixar system. I'm inclined to think it also has something to do with Ratatouille being the most regretfully underrated film in Pixar's canon.
