It’s no secret that the editorial staff here at J. Cart. Overanal. thinks Ratatouille is just about the greatest thing since sliced Gertie. It’s smart, well-acted, with beautiful imagery and character animation, and it has amazing set pieces, and dialogue, &c.
On Surf’s Up, on the other hand, we cannot comment since we have yet to see it. However, Mark Mayerson, blogmaster of Mayerson on Animation, has seen both. Recently, he wrote a thoughtful article comparing and contrasting the dramatic conflict in both movies. I would not be so gauche as to cut-and-paste the entire article, but here is an excerpt from his introduction, followed by the appropriate link:
Having just seen Surf’s Up, I was struck by the nature of conflict in the film compared to Ratatouille. Both films have animals who are obsessed with something and that obsession brings them into conflict with those around them. While I enjoyed Surf’s Up, the nature of the conflict in that film is much less compelling than in Ratatouille and I think that is one reason for the film’s relative failure at the box office.
