What would Disney be right now if it wasn’t for Pixar? Every time a new Disney film tanks, Pixar storms in with a brilliant new cinematic delight. I love all the Pixar movies and obviously I’m not alone. So it came as no surprise to me that Ratatouille garnered rave reviews and rocketed to number one at the box office its opening weekend. There was no doubt in my mind that it would be an enjoyable film. What did surprise me is how truly magnificent it is. It is hilarious, moving, inspiring, and thrilling. The film is a laugh riot that had me in tears several times. With the exception of Live Free or Die Hard, it had the most exciting action sequences I’ve seen all summer. Ratatouille is also gorgeously animated, depicting a detailed recreation of Paris, France. And of course, the characters are all lovable and engagingly complex. Not only is it one of the very best Pixar films (ranking with Toy Story and Finding Nemo), but it is one of the best films of the year.
Ratatouille is so startlingly original it’s like no other animated film I’ve seen before. I know this is something we’ve come to expect from Pixar, but even for them it’s surprisingly fresh material. There are some elements that seem vaguely familiar, like the cuddly animals, the villains, and the over protective father, but other than those similarities, Ratatouille is a gourmet chef’s special order that is one of a kind.
Essentially, Ratatouille is about the pursuit of ones dreams to infinity and beyond (sorry, I couldn’t resist). It is also an in depth look at the passion that drives a brilliant artist. It starts with a rodent named Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt) who is the black sheep of his rat pack family. Remy was gifted with an unusually acute sense of smell and can detect the faintest ingredients in any concoction. He lives in the country and longs for a chance to be a real chef like his idol, Paris’ most famous cook, Chef Gusteau. Of course, a rat could never realize such a dream, one reason being that rats eat garbage and can’t be bothered to appreciate the subtleties of fine dining. But the more pressing problem is that Remy is a rat. After a near death encounter with a granny who is a likely card-carrying member of the French N.R.A., Remy is separated from his family. He now must choose to either live in the sewers as a rat or chase after his dream of becoming a Paris chef. With only the persuasive hope offered by Remy’s imaginary vision of Gusteau, Remy goes for his dreams.
Next we meet Linguini (Lou Romano), a bumbling young man who acquires the garbage boy position at Gusteau’s restaurant. Linguini wants to be a success at his work, but seems destined to fail at whatever he tries. After Linguini destroys a stew, Remy successfully fixes the recipe, but is discovered by Linguini in the process. Linguini is ordered to kill the rat, but is unable to after he realizes that Remy is a natural born chef. The two come up with a brilliant plan to join forces and become the greatest chef in Paris. At first, there are many kinks the unlikely pair must work out, for instance how does a rat that doesn’t speak English communicate recipe orders to a human. By accident Remy pulls a few strands of Linguini’s hair and his limbs involuntarily move as if he’s a marionette. There is a great montage sequence in which we see the two practice their puppetry until Linguini moves like a real person. I wonder if Brad Bird came up with these puppetry scenes from watching Weekend at Bernie’s?
Like all Disney films, there are a few villains lurking in the shadows. The main rival is Skinner (Ian Holm) the squat sinister chef that took over after Gusteau’s death. Skinner looks a little like a cross between a chimpanzee and a toad. He wants to exploit Gusteau’s memory by selling various food products (like corndogs) labeled with Gusteau’s name. But the arrival of the new chef Linguini presents Skinner with new challenges as he desperately attempts to uncover the source of Linguini’s ‘talent’. Peter O’toole also adds his distinct voice to the film as Anton Ego, the scrooge like food critic who lampooned the last meal Chef Gusteau prepared before his death. Writing his reviews from his coffin shaped room, he is a bitter old man who makes a living crushing the dreams of those too timid to fight for them. He is basically the Simon Cowell of food criticism. What makes these villains so interesting is that they are very human. All to often, cartoon villains become one-note characters that are only there as rival representatives. But these villains are people that are driven not by evil impulses, but typical human motivations.
We also have brilliant voice work done by Janeane Garofalo and Brian Dennehy. Garofalo plays Colette, the only female cook in Gusteau’s restaurant. She is a feisty abrasive chef who also had to work double time to make her way to Gusteau’s kitchen. Dennehy is perfect as the voice of Remy’s father Django, who wants Remy to be garbage eater. What’s great about the voice work here is that we aren’t trying to find the celebrities underneath these characters, which has become standard practice after most of the Dreamworks cartoons. Instead, O’toole’s voice is a perfect fit for Ego and Garofalo and Holm disguise their voices well enough that you might not even recognize them.
This movie has something for everyone. At times it is exciting and adventurous. Later, it is touching and romantic. And the entire movie is utterly hysterical. I even got choked up a few times at the inspiring nature of this story. Films about characters that are destined to be great often end up great in their own right. Remy is truly heroic for pursuing his dreams and the film is a wonderful yet unpredictable journey of an artists ambitions. As Ego states, “Not everyone can be a great artist. But a great artist can come from anywhere”. Not only is this true of Remy, but it is the truth for director Brad Bird and all the other geniuses behind Ratatouille. This animated Pixar film is a masterpeice and so far it is the best film I’ve seen this year.
A
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