10 Awesome Ways Movies Got Back At Critics

3. Pixar Called Out Critical Cowardice In The Coolest Way Possible - Ratatouille

Pixar decided to take critics to task in a uniquely diplomatic way in Ratatouille, though considering that the animation studio was on an unprecedented critical winning streak at the time of the film's release, they naturally had less of a motivation to relentlessly drag critics through the mud.

Nevertheless, snooty critics were given a fun lashing by way of the film's food critic character, Anton Ego, a pretentious and fickle man voiced with gravelly brilliance by Peter O'Toole.

His climactic review of Remy's (Patton Oswalt) ratatouille dish seemingly makes little attempt to mask the film's sceptical view of critics, noting that they "risk very little" and "thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read", while adding that "the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful."

But because Pixar is too nice to just relentlessly bag on critics, Ego's review does also praise the utility of reviewers to "risk something...in the discovery and defense of the new."

Given that Ego ends up praising Remy's dish and even bankrolling his new restaurant, clearly Pixar believes in a critic's capacity to change their jaded, cynical ways.