Even Rat Haters Will Love "Ratatouille"
Written: Jul 31 '07 (Updated Aug 20 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Animation, voice casting, direction, writing, pacing...pretty much everything.
Cons: What, you don't like rats? In the kitchen?
The Bottom Line: Yeah yeah--another Pixar movie made me cry. What of it?
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Ratatouille |
The biggest criticism I keep reading about Pixar's latest masterpiece is that "there are rats...in the kitchen!" And since "Ratatouille" is about a rat who dreams of becoming a master chef in Paris, well, yeah. There are rats. In the kitchen.
After being underwhelmed by "Cars," I worried about "Ratatouille." Seeing previews featuring Remy and his fat, dull-witted brother didn't help any. But after taking my wife and two boys (ages 5 and 2.9) to the movies last week, I can safely say that Pixar isn't on shaky ground, and that a funny little movie about a rat who wants to be a chef is as great a movie as other Pixar treats.
In many ways, this feels like Pixar's smallest movie yet, and the most intimate. Although there's a large cast of characters, the story is focused on two: Remy and Linguini.
Remy is a rat who dreams of greater things. Somehow he acquired a taste for good food, and through a series of near disasters, he ends up at one of the greatest restaurants in Paris. Guided by his own intuition and the ghost of a great chef, Remy decides he wants to try this cooking thing for himself.
Linguini is a young man who becomes Remy's unwitting ally--he's the garbage boy for the restaurant, and wants to become a great chef, but doesn't have the skills. He becomes Remy's puppet, learning how to cook from the rat, and forming an odd friendship with Remy.
The story is focused more on the human characters than you would guess from the trailers. The largest parts of the plot focus on Linguini and his life; Remy's role in Linguini's life is resolved fairly soon in the film.
The animation is of course the best in the CGI business--Pixar has found a way to make humans stylized and cartoony, but with a realism and texture that other studios haven't managed. I'm still bothered by the Shrek movies and their stiffness--they could learn a thing or two from Pixar. And they could learn a lot more about storytelling from them. The backgrounds are nearly photorealistic, and the foods--such an integral part of the story--leap off the screen. I was actually getting hungry for the foods being prepared, nevermind that they were just a bunch of pixels in someone's computer. All of the textures and colors and nuances that we all recognize as being a part of food prepared just right are there, and make for a visually delicious part of the movie.
The voice actors for Pixar are par for the course, which is to say they're excellent. I know many people felt like
they were taking a chance with Patton Oswalt, a comedian with limited film credentials. He voiced Remy, and did a fantastic job. His distinctive whine wasn't as grating as I thought it would be, but was rather charming. Remy doesn't speak for much of the movie, since he interacts with Linguini through pantomime--rats can't talk! Other standouts include Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett, and Janeane Garofalo. John Ratzenberger, a voice in every Pixar movie since 1995's Toy Story, is there as well. The one that surprised me the most, in both voice and character, was Peter O'Toole as the scariest food critic any restaurant as ever seen. He writes his reviews in a coffin-shaped room, and O'Toole brings a delightful edge to the character. It was a role befitting him, instead of stunt casting, and he completely owned it.
"Cars" notwithstanding, Pixar has become the most reliable movie studio there is. They haven't sold out, they haven't disappointed, and they let their talented writers and directors take good ideas and make them into great films.
We loved "Ratatouille." It was yet another Pixar movie where I was crying at the end. Part of that is because I'm a big baby, but part of it is that these are movies that are well made, with big messages and lots of heart. Go see it.
MORE PIXAR
Cars
The Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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JediKermit
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