42. An open letter to Steve Jobs.

Steve,

Hey! Former Apple employee / iCult clergyman Dave here. Lovin' the iPhone 3G so far--nice work with that! I was a bit hesitant to jump on the iBandwagon at first, but I'm glad I capitulated; it's definitely one of the best things ever! And that Shazam application? Outta control, man...outta control.

But all glowing comments about Apple products aside, I'm actually writing to gush over another one of your brainchildren:

Pixar.

Last night I re-watched Ratatouille with a friend who's on her way to Paris for a week or so, and man oh man, that movie totally brings you to the City of Lights. Visually, it's absolutely stunning--as are all Pixar flicks--but it's also so good at transporting you into the sensory-laden world of food that you begin to taste the sumptuous food in your mind. And not only that, but it's so imaginatively well-written; you fully buy into the absurd notion of a rodent--a rodent!--becoming a master chef in one of Paris' top restaurants.

Top notch, man. Really, truly scrumtrulescent.

And that's not even my favorite Pixar film; it's probably behind The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. for me. I loved Wall*E, and I hope it gets a Best Picture nod this year.

But really, as far as I'm concerned, Pixar can do no wrong.

So, just know that whatever formula you stumbled across in that maniacal and manic brain of yours, well, it's working. Please don't ever stop making films like these. I swear my animation allegiance to you guys--I've sworn off Shrek and all the other Dreamworks dreck for good. And if you and Disney are ever at odds again, you know whose side I'll be on (and it's not the side with the stupid mouse as the corporate spokesperson).

Sincerely yours,
A tremendous fan

P.S. All fanboy raving aside, I was actually quite heartbroken to hear about one of the new features in iMovie '09. Turns out your team of crackpot Cupertino geniuses included an "animated map" feature, which is something I've been devising in my head for a year or so now. And, ironically enough, just days prior to the iMovie '09 unveiling, I'd made friends with some folks who might've been able to help me get the project off the ground. But noooooo, you and your technocratic thugs had to come and steal that idea from right underneath me. Well, I'm not through with my idea yet, and if I can get some funding and find someone who knows how to program in Javascript, I'll be coming after you, Steve-o. Just you wait, fruit man.