Okay, I admit, I haven't seen an animated film in a theatre in a long time...but when I saw the previews for this I thought it looked cute, had nothing else to do, bought a ticket and went in and saw it. I was extremely pleased with what I saw. The animation was great...the characters were cute. (What can I say? I have a fondness for rats, I had a pat rat myself when I was younger). It almost had an "American Tail" feel at the beginning. Delightful to watch, and some really funny parts in it. The kids will love this, and if it's doesn't win an award for best animated feature, something is definitely wrong with the Academy.