Ratatouille Review
Posted by Jacob Ziegler on 06.29.2007
The eighth film in an amazing run...
RATATOUILLE
June 29, 2007
Remy: Patton Oswald
Skinner: Ian Holm
Linguini: Lou Romano
Django: Brian Dennehy
Emile: Peter Sohn
Anton Ego: Peter O’Toole
Gusteau: Brad Garrett
Colette: Janeane Garofolo
Horst: Will Arnett
Larousse: James Remar
Mustafa: John Ratzenberger
Pixar Studios presents a film directed by Brad Bird. The screenplay is by Bird, with story by Bird, Jim Capobianco, and Jan Pinkava; with additional story material by Emily Cook and Kathy Greenberg. The running time is 110 minutes. It is rated G.
BY JACOB ZIEGLER, 411Movies
Pixar has to hold some kind of record for being the only movie studio to never release a bad movie. Just take a look at the lineup: “Toy Story” (1995), “A Bug’s Life,” (1998), “Toy Story 2” (1999), “Monsters, Inc” (2001), “Finding Nemo,” (2003), “The Incredibles” (2004), and “Cars” (2006). They’ve all made boatloads of money and been universally liked by audiences and critics, and since the advent of the best animated film category at the Oscars, each of the studio’s releases have been nominated for the award. Two of them, “Nemo” and “Incredibles” won the award. To say they’ve been on a good run would be quite the understatement.
Their latest offering is similarly excellent, even if no one can properly pronounce the title. I swear it’s not that hard, but Disney did find it necessary to print the pronunciation on the posters, so if you don’t know how to say it, check one of those out.
But I digress. “Ratatouille” is a different kind of animated film than what is being mass produced ad nauseam as of late. Garbage like “Barnyard,” “The Wild,” and “Open Season” amongst many others, are diluting the value of the animated film, and it’s great to see someone like Brad Bird can still churn out winners and remind us just what animated films are capable of.
“Ratatouille” is stunning to look at in every single way. It’s bright, detailed, and engaging, and that’s even before the characters open their mouths. The Paris skyline is a visual feast provided by the animators, and one of the more exciting backdrops they’ve had to work with.
The main character is a rat named Remy, who stands out from the rest of his clan because he refuses to eat garbage. His taste buds are advanced and refined, and he prefers to steal food from upscale restaurants. He tries to get his brother Emile (Peter Sohn) to see things his way, but he’s too busy horking down garbage, most of which he can’t even identify.
Remy has designs on being a chef, but the fact that he is literally vermin often gets in the way of that dream. By some insane stroke of luck and good fortune, he gets hooked up with Linguini (Lou Romano), an inept chef at a restaurant named after Remy’s favorite chef, Gusteau (Brad Garrett, who almost steals the show). The two of them awkwardly (I mean, it is a talking rat) decide to team up since Remy has the skill to be a chef, and Linguini has the skill to be human.
Writer-director Brad Bird keeps the action moving along swiftly, and it never feels like the initially intimidating running time (for an animated film) of 110 minutes. The thing that is different about Pixar films is that they are not always going for a cheap laugh (see Hedge, Over the), or trying to get across some ridiculous message (see Feet, Happy). It just presents a good story with fun characters that I wanted to spend time with. The film is populated with memorable supporting characters as well, including Colette (Janeane Garofolo), a female chef struggling to gain acceptance in a male dominated world, and the legendary Peter O’Toole as the appropriately named food critic Anton Ego.
“Ratatouille” will appeal to audiences of all ages. It’s amazing that it can do so without resorting to tired fart jokes for the youngsters and forced “adult” jokes to rope in the parents. Any film that can do that is a must-see.
The 411: Pixar hits another home run with the Brad Bird written and directed “Ratatouille,” the eighth film in their amazing run. The characters are well drawn by both the animators and the script, and it just flies by. This is one of the most enjoyable films of the summer, far eclipsing the blockbusters of May.
