With Ratatouille, Brad Bird not only cements his place as a master within in the medium of animation, but within filmmaking as a whole. The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille aren't merely three of the best "cartoons" of recent years, they're three of the best movies...period. If you missed Ratatouille in theaters, you're in for an amazing treat, a film that gets richer and better every time you see it. Watching Ratatouille again at home, one thing becomes crystal clear - this isn't just one of the best films of the year (there has even been talk of a possible Best Picture campaign by Disney), it's an instant classic. In the same way that the best work of Martin Scorsese or Joel Coen vibrates with a rarely seen passion for film, Bird brings something different to the form. In one of the spectacular extras on the new DVD for Ratatouille, Bird talks about how he tries not to just recreate something physical, but to tap something emotional and relatable in his audience members. He absolutely accomplished that with Ratatouille, a film that I expect to watch repeatedly over the years and get something different from every time.

What's startling THIS time is how unbelievable the film looks. We're not one for hyperbole here, but I actually dug out Disney DVDs, including Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Nemo and, while all of those films looked and sounded amazing, this is the best Disney video/audio transfer yet. Ratatouille was a stunning film to look at in the theaters, but it's almost better at home, where you can more clearly see the gorgeous details in every corner of the frame. Ratatouille is worth picking up just to show off your new widescreen TV and the accompanying sound system. They don't get better than this release for technical transfers.

As for special features, we've seen better, especially from Disney, than Ratatouille. The best way to look at this release is quality over quantity because the disc is definitely lacking in the latter category. Everything extra on Ratatouille is spectacular, but you can breeze through the special features in less than an hour and there's no commentary track. That's a shame and leads buyers to believe that they may get double-dipped and have to buy a special edition after Ratatouille wins the Oscar its likely to take home in a few months. For now, fans will find fifteen minutes of deleted scenes, a great new short film called "Your Friend the Rat," an even better short film that played with the flick in theaters called "Lifted," and a cool featurette called "Fine Food & Film." Bird shows up on the deleted scenes to talk about why they were cut, which is fascinating, and also appears on the "Food" featurette, which compares the way Bird works to critically acclaimed chef Thomas Keller. The comparison is surprisingly appropriate.

By now, you've heard all the hype about Ratatouille. The front of the DVD even notes that it's the "Best Reviewed Film of the Year." If you're still avoiding it because you don't like kids movies or cartoons or rats or whatever, cut it out. It's hard to believe that anyone wouldn't enjoy Ratatouille. It's one of those rare films that appeals to different age groups and demographics for different reasons. And it will continue to do so for years to come.