All good critics are fans first

Critics are supposed to be enemies, particularly movie critics. Our one enduring model remains the early years of Siskel and Ebert , when the two Chicago-based critics hated each other to a degree that steam virtually wafted off your television screen.

As always, reality often is different. I received the e-mail below on Tuesday morning. It came from Tyler Wilson , my friendly equivalent at the Coeur d’Alene Press. He takes me to task for my non-congratulatory remarks about the Oscar that went to “Ratatouille” for Best Animated Feature, and he makes some other good points as well.

Here is what he wrote:

I was skimming through your Oscar blogging. The best moment of the night had to be the win for “Once.” It’s such a wonderful film, and the two leads deserved the spotlight.

I was happy with the other awards. I was hoping for either a “No Country for Old Men” or “There Will Be Blood” Best Picture win. It’s too bad Paul Thomas Anderson lost in all three of his nominated categories. I was hoping at least for a Best Adapted Screenplay win, since the Coens already had an Oscar for writing. Oh well. He’ll be back soon enough. Hopefully he won’t have to wait as long as Martin Scorsese .

I take issue with your dismissive “Ratatouille” remark, though. I wouldn’t call it a Hollywood gift. After all, it received the Golden Tomato at Rotten Tomatoes (Best reviewed wide release of 2007), and was the best reviewed film at Metacritic as well. I haven’t yet seen “Persepolis,” but “Ratatouille” is much better than every other animated movie in the last couple years. I mean, seriously, compare it to “Shrek the Third.” Imagine if the Academy nominated that clunker.

Of course I’m biased. I selected the Pixar gem as my favorite movie of 2007. I wanted to cheat and have a four-way tie at No. 1 between “No Country,” “Blood,” “Ratatouille” and “Once.” That would have looked silly. But really, how are you supposed to rank movies as different as those four?

My reply went like this:

You’re right, Tyler, you can’t compare movies that are so different, which is why I’m glad they resorted to a Best Animated Film category.

And I don’t mean to be dismissive of “Ratatouille.” It’s not as if “Persepolis” is all that much better; in fact, it’s so different in style and tone as to have more in common with the narrative film nominees. And it doesn’t really have an ending.

But I don’t think that just because they have a category that they should feel obligated to hand out an award. The Pulitzer Prize committee withholds awards from time to time, and the Oscars should as well. I liked “Ratatouille,” but I didn’t love it. Not the way I loved “Spirited Away,” for example, or “Toy Story.” Or even “The Lion King.”

So, sorry for sounding dismissive. I was just responding to what I thought was knee-jerk Hollywood reaction to reward anything branded Disney as opposed to something such as “Persepolis” that tries to say something of actual substance.

That’s all folks . Just two movie fans jawing back and forth.