Movie Review: Ratatouille

It is that time of year again, you know, when Pixar unleashes their latest creation upon an unsuspecting public. It is the time of year when some speculators begin to wonder if this will be the first failure to come from the animation house that can seemingly do now wrong, or if this will be the one to rival Nemo for the highest gross, or if they will simply be able to match last year's success. I am not here to discuss the potential box office merits of this latest film, but what I will tell you is that it is an absolute joy, another triumph for Pixar, and another feather in the cap for writer/director Brad Bird. Simply put, Ratatouille is a must see film for people of all ages.

The story seems like a simple one. A rat, named Remy(Patton Oswalt), living in the country outside of Paris has discovered that he wants something more than a lif of stealing and eating garbage, and his highly developed sense of smell could prove to be his way out of his current lifestyle. Following an incident that chases Remy and the rest of the clan out of their country abode, Remy finds himself separated from his friends and family. At first, he is scared and unsure of what to do, but his love of food, cooking, and Chef Gusteau give him hope, particularly when the lonely rat visualizes Gusteau as someone to talk to and get inspiration from. This leads to his meeting with Linguini, a nervous garbage boy with cooking aspirations.

Together, Remy and Linguini navigate a relationship that, if exposed, would prove to be rather detrimental to both of their livelihoods. So, Remy's gourmet cooking skills, and Linguini's ability to appear human they form a cooking powerhouse that takes the cooking world by storm while they break down the barriers that exist between their two species.

The movie is so much more than a rat that can cook story. There is a moment early on when Remy's brother, Emile (Peter Sohn) asks him about why he goes into the house, and the dangers of humans, Remy responds with something along the lines of "Look at what they can do, what they can create." I do not remember the exact words, but it had an effect on the rest of the film. The scene gives this wonderfully optimistic outlook that pervades the rest of the film. It is only strengthened later on with a scene between Remy and his father where Remy says that it only takes one person to begin change. Combine that with Chef Gusteau's quote: "Anyone can cook." and you have the core of this movie. You can do what you put your mind to. It is a great story of friendship that has gravity and a sense of the real world it. Sure, Remy can move Linguini around like a marionette, but I am allowed to give up that conceit as it works quite well.

What works very well for this movie is the writing, it follows a natural progression, has nicely developed characters and is just a delight to listen to. The approach is not to create a talking animal comedy, rather to create a film where the characters come alive. Compare this to, say, Shrek the Third. In the ogre movie the characters are there to set up the gags, wheras in in Ratatouille the gags are created organically out of the characters. It is very good writing.

The film as a whole is reminiscent of the old screwball comedies, with the well written characters placed in zany situations leading to physical comedy. The jokes throughout this movie are very good, plenty of jokes in the dialogue, lots of physical gags. All of this is told with some of the most gorgeous animation to grace the big screen yet, right there with Cars as the best seen yet.

Brad Bird just keeps turning out great films, from his debut with The Iron Giant to the Pixar masterpiece The Incredibles to this, he can do no wrong. He has a wonderful grasp on how to create this vivid characters and create the situations around them out of them, rather than letting the outside desire to reveal plot or tell gags be the driving factor or the stories. Plus, he has some great talent providing voices, particularly Patton Oswalt as Remy and Janeane Garafolo, with a great French accent, as Colette. There is also nice work from Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, a food critic that serves as the villain of the piece.

Bottomline. This is another winner from Pixar, it tells a funny story with great characters and really gives you an uplifting feeling as you leave the theater. It is definitely a step up from Cars and approaches The Incredibles. This is a movie that you will want to make a point of seeing on the big screen for its masterful blend of story, gags, comedy, heartfelt moments, the works.

Highly Recommended.