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Ratatouille
(2007)
 
I love Pixar movies but frequently hold reservations
about them as I enter the theater. Toy Story is almost
universally loved by children and adults but was essentially
a glossy version of the forgotten The Christmas Toy. Cars had
one of the best opening sequences of any movie I've ever seen
but the story was essentially the same as Doc Hollywood.
And there are some rumors that Finding Nemo was based
off of a children's book by the name of Peanut Butter the
Jellyfish. None of this changes the fact that Pixar creates
amazing films, it just means that even despite their continued
excellence I'm always a little reluctant to fully embrace their
movies before I see them. This is especially true when their
last movies looks like virtually any scene from a Muppet movie
with Rizzo in it. I should have known though that Brad Bird
(director of The Incredibles and the woefully under-rated The
Iron Giant) wouldn't steer me wrong with Ratatouille.
Just like Cars and Finding Nemo, Ratatouille opens with a wonderful sequence of events that introduces us to deceased, world-class chef, the unappeasable, cold-hearted food critic, and Remy, a rat who aspires to do more than just survive. Bird utilizes classic storytelling techniques to draw us to Remy and suck us into the world of the story. Remy is different, misunderstood, underappreciate and soon separated from his family (and colony) who must flee the rural house in which they reside because Remy's desire to cook food almost got him and his clumsy-though-well-meaning brother killed by the shotgun-toting little old lady who lives there as well. For all intents and purposes Remy is now an orphan, cursed by his gifts and alone in a hostile world.
And now we introduce a little bit of magic into the story. Remy begins to talk to a figment of his imagination, the deceased chef Gusteau, who guides Remy out of his despair and into the kitchen of the restaurant Gusteau once owned. There he encounters the tough-because-she-has-to-be Colette, the scheming, unpleasant new head chef Skinner, the mysterious sous-chef Horst, the—well we really only get to know three characters in the kitchen—the antagonist and love interest of our third human, Alfred Linguini, the new garbage boy who befriends Remy. The other characters comprising the rest of the restaurant's staff mainly just flit about in the background delivering comical lines here and there.
Like most kids' fare the story is really about following your heart, not judging others prematurely, accepting the differences that make us unique, embracing other ways of life and, or course, the inherent comedy of anthropomorphism. Patton Oswalt, known more for his stand up comedy than his acting, does an excellent job as does the rest of the cast even if some of them, Will Arnett in particular, are underutilized. For a studio like Pixar, the movie's scope is modest but elements of mise-en-scene (such as the vicious critic Anton Ego using a typewriter which looks like skull) provide excellent touches. We've come to expect this level of detail from Pixar and Ratatouille delivers them.
Pixar in general and Brad Bird in particular are master storytellers. Ratatouille, though understated, is another example of the excellent work they do. Still, the story isn't as creative or original as Monsters Inc. or The Incredibles and portions of the movie feel a little too by-the-numbers. When the lights came up I walked out to the street speaking positively, but not glowingly, about the movie. Expect this picture to ultimately take a place alongside A Bug's Life and Cars as a very good movie instead of among Pixar's more sublime offerings.
-Scott
Kline
Other
Thoughts: Mark Moreland
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All contents ©
2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Brad
Bird
Writer: Brad
Bird, Jim Capobianco, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Jan Pinkava
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Will Arnett
Distributor: Buena
Vista Pictures
Runtime: 110
min
Rating: PG
Release Date: June
29, 2007
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