Great movie!! This flick has as much in it for Mom and Dad as it does for the tots. The computer animation is absolutely amazing. The shots of computer generated Paris are incredible. If you are into cooking (Joanne!), you would enjoy this movie. Its funny and complex and not overly cutsie. For all the parents out there, I highly recommend this flick. For the non-parents, go rent some kids and go see it…its that good.
Spot
Gotta agree…there is enough inside “foodie” humor without distracting the kiddos from the “cuteness” of the story!
Animation is REALLY GREAT. For this that have never worked in an upscale kitchen…view this movie before you make any rash decisions! This is good stuff.
BTW, kids like it too!
Oops, I forgot to rent kids in the process, and gf and I already went to see it. Oh well, really liked it nonetheless!
seriuosly? we were this close to seeing it tonight! i wish we had, as we rented 2 POS; smoking aces and black snake moan…both absolutely AWFUL.
thanks for the reco!
black snake moan
You were surprised that sucked?
Smokin’ Aces was alright.
I meant to rent “Shooter” for tonight but got watching Cast Away on TNT.
All day scrubbing aluminum siding for painting … I don’t know who is more tired, me or my ipod.
Seriously, I was jonesin’ to go buy a new French cookbook after watching this! Maybe that one by Patricia Wells that has always gotten pretty good reviews…
Go see it…its a very good flick, even for grownups.
Spot
I saw this on Friday with my 2 kids only because my youngest had a b-day party at the theatre and this was the movie they watched. It was cute and entertaining, if you have to watch a cartoon, but I don’t think I would recommend it for adults unless you have kids to bring along. It’s really not that good. I’m not a big fan of cartoons, though, so perhaps others will like it more than I did.
Well, I really love to cook, so maybe that’s why I thought it was good for adults.
Spot
I don’t know that this movie, unlike say Cars (or FF2 - Silver Surfer), is going to be that vibrant on the “big screen” that we can’t wait for it on DVD.
The funny parts will still be funny, and the dry spots in between funny parts will only cost me $2.50 and not $20. 
Seriously, I was jonesin’ to go buy a new French cookbook after watching this! Maybe that one by Patricia Wells that has always gotten pretty good reviews…
Go see it…its a very good flick, even for grownups.
Spot
wow. i’d like to see it! don’t know if i can drag Evan, so maybe a girlfriend!
hey, i thought about you this weekend–i had intended to take pics of the food and send them to you, or even post here, but totally forgot.
i made
-rosemary hashbrown medallions topped golden beet sauce
-spinach salad topped with seared oyster mushrooms, shitakes, and baby squash, dressed in spicy mango vinegrette. this salad has whole golden beets on the side, buttered and seasoned with sea salt, black pepper and pineapple sage from my garden.
-crab cake on top of wilted spinach and charred onions
-blueberries and vanilla espresso for dessert.
it was all very pretty and fresh! so sad i didn’t get pics. next time!
Dang, when there is actually a good kid movie I’d like to see its when my kid is gone for the summer! My b/f is taking snackie to see this one sometime this week. They get to have all the fun. I get stuck seeing the crappy ones.
Very much enjoyed it, and I would say that the short “Lifted” may be the best Pixar short yet. My gf and I were probably the only ones there without kids, but we like good cartoons, and I would say from a foodie perspective and having been to France a bunch, it was really good. Animation was spectacular, so much so that the rats overrunning the kitchen was a tad creepy, but I felt better after they washed their hands. 
I pulled out my copy of Julia Child’s “The Way to Cook” and Susan Loomis’ “French Farmhouse Cooking” (awesome cookbook, btw), and decided to experiment a bit. I diced up some small red potatoes, and got those sauteeing in olive oil with onion, garlic, sea salt, and pepper. Then I seasoned some chicken breasts in salt and pepper, and dredged them in flour. In a large pan, I melted olive oil and real butter over a med-high heat, then added the chicken breasts. I let those brown nicely, then flipped them. The flour and the butter combined to form a sort of roux, so I kept stirring that around the chicken. The I added cored, halved tomatoes to the chicken, cut side up. I threw on a little salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, savory, and basil. Once the tomatoes turned golden on the bottom I flipped them over, and then threw the potatoes on top of it all. By now I had a nice fond on the bottom of the pan, so I crushed the tomatoes with a wooden utensil to release the juices, and used that to deglaze the pan. I put the top on the pan to contain the heat and cook the breasts a little quicker. After a bit, I removed the top and let the juices reduce a bit, then served the breasts with a large spoonful of the potatoe/tomato mixture. It was out-frickin’ standing!
Spot
that sounds really good! i like doing it in 1 or 2 skillets too.
so with the potato, when you added them to the chicken and tomato, did they maintain the quality of the searing? how was their consistency after adding to the roux?
the tomato, you mention cooking to golden…dod you have yellow tomato, or are you referring to a sear?
i bet that tomato and butter provided a nice balance…the creaminess of butter is a perfect pedastool for the acid of the tomato fruit to stand on. very nice!
BTW, if you come down to ride soon, please stop by and take home some herbs. i’ve got so much in this garden!!!
it’s more than one cook can use, to be honest…
Yeah, I took the potatoes off of the heat for a bit to let the chicken cook so that they didn’t lose their shape, even after I added them to the chicken/tomatos. I didn’t want to cook them into a mush. The tomatos were regular red tomatos. Their skin will turn a wonderful golden color if you saute them long enough.
Spot
gotchya, wasn’t sure on the steps–now i got it!
thanks!
also, i’ve been thinking about that salmon wellington you made over the holidays. i’m going to try that soon.
I melted olive oil and real butter over a med-high heat,
How do you melt Olive Oil??
I have to disagree.
Being a huge Pixar fan, I found this considerably better than “Cars” but that special something that made me want to re-watch “Incredibles” over and over again isn’t there. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great story and had good laughs but it was too simple and straightforward. Aside from having a mouse that can cook, there isn’t anything that original in terms of storyline. I liked the movie but I’m not crazy about it.
Thanks for the review! I’m going to see it this afternoon with my nephews. It will be my youngest nephew’s first movie, so I’m not sure we’ll make it to the end, but I’ll post my review tonight.
Jodi
I think that folks who really like to cook will probably like it more than those who don’t. I really, really liked it…maybe even more than The Incredibles, which up to this point was my favorite Pixar flick.
Spot