Running time: 111 minutes
Certificate: U
Language: English
Screenplay: Brad Bird
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Starring (voices): Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Peter Sohn, Brian Dennehy
Remy admires Pixar's gorgeously crafted view. |
About a
rat who has a talent for cooking and wants to become a chef, this is Pixar’s
most autobiographical film to date. Remy (Patton Oswalt),
the rat in question is Pixar, and the little rodent’s talent for taking
initially surprising ingredients and turning them into something remarkable is
the Pixar approach to storytelling and movie making. Moreover, the heart of this story is the idea
that a true artist can really come from anywhere, with Remy fulfilling his
dream from being a gutter-dwelling rat to world class chef paralleling Pixar’s
journey from minor animation studio to one of the most successful animation studios in
the world today.
Remy's clan is forced to move house and he finds himself separated, lost and alone in Paris. He manages to reach the famous Gusteau's restaurant, now a shadow of its former self since his death, and ends up at the mercy of Linguini (Lou Romano), who just can't bring himself to end the little rat's life. Partly because he's been tasked with re-creating a soup that Remy, inspired by master chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), had made before being caught in the kitchen. The two team up and Linguini becomes the new star of Gusteau's, much to the annoyance of boss Skinner (Ian Holm).
Linguini's nervous courtship of Colette (Janeane Garofalo) is sweet stuff, but it is Remy and Linguini who are at the centre of this story. When the merciless food critic responsible for the ruination of Gusteau's, Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) returns to the restaurant see what all the fuss is about, Remy decides to hit him with a simple yet stunning ratatouille.
Food for thought. |
Score: 9/10
A particular story conceit and a few other blips cause Ratatouille to fall short of greatness according to Bill, but Ian at Empire is right on the money about that conceit and the film as a whole.
No comments:
Post a Comment