Amen! I did too, and think it was a stroke of genius for Disney to show the film before the official release date so when people would ask, "Why would I want to see a movie about a rat chef?" people like me would tell them why.
A movie like Cars pretty much sells itself. Ratatouille is a good deal more cerebral and adult. A few folks have said that the kids they saw it with were bored, but the only thing that kept me going for most of Cars was the imaginative integration of the characters in the form of classic cars, '50s Route 66 architecture and graphic design, and the beautiful landscapes. As I mentioned in my review of Ratatouille, Cars was essentially a knockoff of Michael J. Fox's Doc Hollywood. The kids didn't have the burden of knowing that, so they ate Cars up.
My scoreboard for Pixar:
* Loved Incredibles
* Loved Toy Story
* Loved Monster’s Inc.
* Hated Cars (snooze)
* Hated Finding Nemo (snooze)
* Hated Bugs Life (big snooze)
For Ratatouille? The best Pixar movie I’ve seen! I don’t think it’s a kids movie, but rather for adults who love animation and a good story. I recommend it to anyone who has a similar taste as myself. My wife and I saw it without the kids. Kids loved the slapstick in it, but prolly didn’t get anything else. There was loud clapping when the movie was over. Was loved by the crowd I saw it with.
As for Dreamworks? Pretty much hate everything they’ve done. Shrek? I won’t let my kids see that until they are over 13. Vile, disgusting jokes. All the Pixar stuff is kid and family friendly (so far!). Very positive uplifting movies.
I remember after seeing the trailers for “Nemo,” I thought to myself, how could a movie about fish be interesting?
To this day it is still my favorite Pixar movie.