This is will be a very boring critique as I pretty much have no qualms about this movie and will just sing its praises for the remainder of this post.Friday was the opening of the latest Pixar/Disney project: Ratatouille. Not since the days of Finding Nemo could we expect a quality computer animated film as Hollywood continues to personify every animal (eg. penguin/moose/bear/penguin...again? C'mon!) without giving much effort to storyline. Nevertheless, with the release of this movie it looks like things are turning for the better. The premise of Ratatouille is that a epicurean rat, Remy, tries to pursue his love for cooking in a reputable Paris restaurant while trying to overcoming his inherent rat-ness.
On the surface, I'll admit that the film isn't easily differentiable from the slew of aforementioned CGI movies with cute animal characters. Look closer and you'll find that the midas touch of the Pixar team is its meticulous attentiveness to detail and the dynamic orchestration of the story-telling. In the beginning of the movie, you watch Remy become inspired by a chanterelle mushroom/cheese combination and it's immediately apparent that the food is not just a prop in the story but the inspiration for it. True to his gastronomic tendencies, Remy is a bit of a snob who tries to talk his fellow rats out of eating garbage. His character is very well crafted, indeed. The animation is also Pixar's finest! Each little rat hair is depicted with extreme precision and the collective movement of the fur is very believable.
Basically, Ratatouille is an excellent movie with enough elements to satisfy any adult, child, food snob or animation zealot. Huzzah!
Rating: 10/10 (Just when you thought I couldn't grade any higher)
