Ratatouille
2007. Animated. Directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava. Screenplay by Brad Bird. Voices by Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Peter O'Toole, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, and Brian Dennehy
The bee in The Bee Movie did nothing for me. I never cared about him. The rat in Ratatouille, however, is downright loveable. Remy is a terrific character. All he wants to do is cook, and he has the skills. He could be a master chef. The only thing standing in his way is that the last thing humans want to find in a kitchen is a rat. He finds an unlikely partner in a desperate human named Linguini. Linguini finds himself hired at the restaurant but has no talent in the kitchen. After much trial and error, Remy hides under Linguini's chef hat and pulls on his hair to operate Lignuini's body like a marionette. Together they make wonderful cuisine.
We actually went to Ratatouille in the theatre but Spencer was typically restless and the two of us soon found ourselves in the lobby. We got a refund and played with the video games in the lobby; or at least moved the steering wheels and controls as I never placed any money in the slots. Brady didn't want to stay in the theatre much longer without me, so Kelly and Brady came out relatively soon after. It was not a successful trip to the theatre. What I had seen was decent enough but not terribly exciting.
With the dvd release, we tried again. Perhaps because the film gets better as it goes along or perhaps because I wasn't struggling to silence a fussy child, I fell under its spell. The story is engaging and fun. The characters are great. In addition to Remy and Linguini, there's the mean head chef (terrifically voiced by Ian Holm), the scary food critic, Remy's brother who has no limits on what he puts into his mouth, and Colette who reluctantly takes Linguini under her guidance. I was smiling, laughing, and just simply happy to be watching a terrific little film.
Ratatouille is a very worthy addition to the glorious Pixar animation catalogue. They just don't seem capable of missing. Pixar at its weakest (A Bug's Life) is still very enjoyable. Pixar at its best (Toy Story, The Incredibles) is complete genius. Pixar's current run of animation films - from simply the very good to the spectacular - rivals, if not bests, even Walt Disney's classic era. I would gladly return to Ratatouille for repeat viewings even if my kids didn't request it.
My grade: A-
The bee in The Bee Movie did nothing for me. I never cared about him. The rat in Ratatouille, however, is downright loveable. Remy is a terrific character. All he wants to do is cook, and he has the skills. He could be a master chef. The only thing standing in his way is that the last thing humans want to find in a kitchen is a rat. He finds an unlikely partner in a desperate human named Linguini. Linguini finds himself hired at the restaurant but has no talent in the kitchen. After much trial and error, Remy hides under Linguini's chef hat and pulls on his hair to operate Lignuini's body like a marionette. Together they make wonderful cuisine.
We actually went to Ratatouille in the theatre but Spencer was typically restless and the two of us soon found ourselves in the lobby. We got a refund and played with the video games in the lobby; or at least moved the steering wheels and controls as I never placed any money in the slots. Brady didn't want to stay in the theatre much longer without me, so Kelly and Brady came out relatively soon after. It was not a successful trip to the theatre. What I had seen was decent enough but not terribly exciting.
With the dvd release, we tried again. Perhaps because the film gets better as it goes along or perhaps because I wasn't struggling to silence a fussy child, I fell under its spell. The story is engaging and fun. The characters are great. In addition to Remy and Linguini, there's the mean head chef (terrifically voiced by Ian Holm), the scary food critic, Remy's brother who has no limits on what he puts into his mouth, and Colette who reluctantly takes Linguini under her guidance. I was smiling, laughing, and just simply happy to be watching a terrific little film.
Ratatouille is a very worthy addition to the glorious Pixar animation catalogue. They just don't seem capable of missing. Pixar at its weakest (A Bug's Life) is still very enjoyable. Pixar at its best (Toy Story, The Incredibles) is complete genius. Pixar's current run of animation films - from simply the very good to the spectacular - rivals, if not bests, even Walt Disney's classic era. I would gladly return to Ratatouille for repeat viewings even if my kids didn't request it.
My grade: A-
posted by Keith Allison at 8:34 PM
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