Of Rats and Bratz

Ok, so this is not so much a food blog but more of a time to reflect on pop culture. Boooring, yes I know, but before you close the window let me say something. Go see Ratatouille, go see it now. Bring whatever age spectrum you have, your nephew will dig it, jaded movie reviewers have dug it. I saw this movie yesterday after much anticipation and my brothers high, high praise and I am happy to say that it more then met my expectations. I don't usually like animated films but the guys at Pixar certainly elevate teh form, its really great that the younger generation will grow up with wonderful movies like Finding Nemo or Monsters Ink. as opposed to something like......Bratz 4Real.
I'm having a hard time not being totally offended by the whole Bratz thing. Admittedly, it was all a little past my time (haha, I know, sounds stupid coming from a 15 year old) but the reality is that by the time the Bratz dolls hit shelves I was old enough to regard them with haughty disgust that only a 10 year old who has graduated from PowerRangers to Harry Potter can muster. I felt I was way to sophisticated to be enticed by these big-headed, small breasted dolls the first graders so dearly loved. Hell, I had just gotten my first skateboard with real trucks, I was cool. So yesterday when I saw four human girls playing four plastic dolls with names like "Punky Brat" touting "Grrl Power...BFF's 4ever." I had a tough time not being totally repulsed.
What really struck me was the total irony of this trailers placement. The movie I had paid to see, a beautiful, charming story about real things like morals and the healing power of food, in direct juxtaposition with a movie that embodies everything wrong with how the media skewers growing up for young girls. I guess you can't have it both ways. Thank god people are taking their little kids to see movies like Ratatouille and not only Bratz 4real. Ugh.
Anyways, enough of my little neo-femenism rant. Back to the good stuff. By now I'm sure you've heard about Ratatouille and if you haven't you should have. This film definatly ranks up there with some of the greats. Don't let the animation or the rat thing throw you off, this is one of the best straight-up examples of a movie I have seen in a long time. Even my mom's boyfriend, a hardened movie buff and fine critic, could not find fault with it.
By now most people who have spent anytime around food or people who love food, know the healing power of a good simple meal, and how things like food relate us to each other and to life in general, but it was wonderful to see it presented in a animated format, with beautiful animation and real, strong characters. The best scene in the whole movie was also the most telling, when the evil food critic bites into his ratatouille and is transported back to childhood: his scrapped knee healed with a bowl of his mothers stew. Taken as whole, the movie was a simple, moving portrayal of humanity (or I suppose inhumanity) set in the heart of Paris. But on a deeper level, it was the story of how we all are connected by what we choose to eat and who we choose to eat with. So please, if you're going to shell out 7 bucks to take the family to a movie on a rainy day, go see Ratatouille, do not go see Bratz 4real. I guarantee you will feel fuller for it.