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Ratatouille
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm,
Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter O'Toole
Directed by: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Produced by:
Brad Lewis
Written
by: Brad Bird
Distributor: Buena Vista |
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Ratatouille is that rare film that is so
delightfully well-made and so genuinely good that its
content escapes the chokehold of only playing to a certain
interested demographic. The slapsticky antics of the film’s
action sequences might seem, at face value, to only appeal to
young children, just as the wisdom the movie shares regarding
the relationship between artists and critics might seem to only
appeal to adults. But this is not the case at all: every scene
in Ratatouille is so perfectly imagined and defined that
it has the capacity to constantly excite every viewer in the
audience. All too easily, reviewers often dub animated features
as “Fun for the whole family!” in desperate attempts to suggest
that adults, teenagers, and kids alike will be able to enjoy a
given picture. With the release of Ratatouille, this
claim has finally found a film for which it rings true.
The movie’s protagonist is Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt),
a young rat who has a peculiar passion for eating and creating
sophisticated French food. Despite the fact that he’s barely
four inches tall, Remy aspires to one day become a world-class
chef in a five-star restaurant. When spending time in the
kitchen of the house that harbors his family’s rat-colony, he
marvels over the cookbook “Anyone Can Cook,” by his famed idol,
the late Chef Gusteau. Soon enough, Remy’s wish to live the life
of a chef becomes a reality when he fatefully ends up in the
kitchen of Gusteau’s old restaurant, after his rat-colony is
exposed and he must run away thorough the Paris Sewer System.
Remy secretly begins adding spices and ingredients to enhance a
soup being prepared there, and the dish instantly wins over the
customers who order it. The entire kitchen assumes that this was
the work of the new trash-boy, Linguini (the voice of Lou
Romano), who soon discovers Remy was actually the one who
altered the soup. As a team—Remy is able to control Linguini’s
movements in the kitchen by pulling Linguini’s hair as if it was
a series of puppet-strings—the two revitalize “Gusteau’s” into
the five-star restaurant that it was before its acclaimed owner
died. The movie’s climax, a wonderfully conceived representation
of the artistic function of art-criticism, comes when Peter
O’Toole’s Anton Ego, a bitter and nasty food critic, sits down
to review one of Remy’s (which he assumes to be Linguini’s)
creations.
Like those of its fellow Disney/Pixar counterparts,
Ratatouille’s visuals are vivid and eye-popping. The images,
created by an extensive team of animators led by writer/director
Brad Bird, are incredibly fluid and realized. However,
Ratatouille’s characters and themes are what most make it
the splendid motion picture that it is. Remy and Linguini make
for a truly sympathetic pair, both in the kitchen and out. (The
dynamic between Remy and his family, led by a father who
believes Remy’s fruitful taste in cuisine is entirely
ridiculous, proves strangely identifiable and poignant. In
addition, there is a rather touching romance between Linguini
and his fellow chef, Colette [voiced by Janeane Garofalo]).
Ratatouille also displays infinite wisdom in regards to the
subjects of the importance one’s pursuit of one’s personal
passions, the vitality of art and the reactions that it invites
in contemporary society, and the joyfulness of living a
purposeful life. And the movie’s mighty funny and clever, too.
The entire experience is riveting and exhilarating; while I am
hesitant to label it a near-masterpiece immediately, I will
admit that have seen few better films all year.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 6.29.2008
Screened on:
6.16.2007 at the Edwards San Marcos
18 in San Marcos, CA.
Ratatouille is rated G and runs 111
minutes.
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