Ratatouille

Even though you hope every one of their films will be a fantastic one, you can't help wonder if they ever going to make that one mistake that will lead into a film that's not so good or just plain bad. However, with Ratatouille they just go on where they left off, again treating their audience on sublime computer animation and serving them with an original, fresh story that's enjoyable for the whole family. Watching the movie you totally forget about all the time and effort that is put into these images that pass by at high speed in front of your eyes. It just all seems so perfectly done and finished that you almost can't believe all of it is animated. The created world feels superreal, not at all like a fabrication. When you watch all the food lying on the different plates it's almost as if you can smell them and Colette's motorcycle looks super cool, especially when she took a ride on it through the city. This stream of beautiful images is held together by a very solid story and funny characters. Always adding lots of comedy and slap-stick humour, Pixar's films really appeal to adult audiences as well, who probably can appreciate the movies more than the little kids, or at least in different ways. Where the kids are more drwan into the story and its characters, the older viewers look more at the animation and are more aware of how well made these films are in comparison to the non-animation films that are made in Hollywood these days and of which most lack the heart and spirit of the Pixar creations. Mixing comedy, with eyecandy action scenes, a little crum of drama and finishing off the taste with the usual happy ending, Ratatouille seems to include the perfect ingredients for the perfect recipe. Held together by this string of great characters, which are all greatly written, both the humans as the rats, all these different aspects seem to really come together and fit in to each other perfectly. Linguini is very loveable as you watch him being clumsy and make contact with the spunky Colette and both Remy's father and brother rat provide for many laughs. The actors who do the characters' voices are greatly chosen as well, especially Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, the devellish reviewer and Ian Holm as chef skinner. After The Incredibles it's clear that with Ratatouille Brad Bird has made another incredible film that is even more incredible than Pixar's predecessors.

What is it about?

Remy a rat with a great sense of smell, loves to make tasty combinations with different kinds of foods. Living with his father and brother and the rest of their big rat pack, Remy has a big adoration for famous French chef Gusteau who is the owner of a restaurant and has written many books which are all best-sellers. When one day Remy tries to bake something nice at the house of an old lady who's sleeping in front of the television, he gets himself in big trouble when the old lady suddenly wakes up and starts chasing him, eventually exposing the hiding place of the whole rat colony living above her house. Remy and his family therefore have to leave the place, but because Remy can't leave the house of the old lady without one of the famous recipe books of Gusteau, he runs a bit late forcing his family to leave without him, even though Remy tries to get hold of their tiny little boat. This causes Remy and his family to part ways and so the little rat ends up in Paris. By chance Remy finds himself to be at, of all places, Gusteau's restaurant. Finally able to make his dream of becoming a chef a reality, he seaches for the restaurant's kitchen where he observes how a young man Linguini starts his first day as a new employee. Little does he know then that the two will help each other out and together become a great team who will cause a revolution in the kitchen of Gusteau.

Final Verdict: *****

Ratatouille is a highly entertaining film. The animation is top notch, the jokes will really make you laugh and Luigingi and Remy will steal your heart. It's another succes story for Pixar and hopefully Wall-E and the rest of their future films will all be as great as this one. The scenes where Remy has to save himself from drowning in the big sewer and the ones where he checks out the restaurant for the first time all look great and are all done from Remy's perspective which increases the action. You watch Remy run between tables at high speed trying to avoid the many feet of the people running down the kitchen floor. The switching between both human and rat perspective is done superbly and makes for these great action scenes and fast looking animation. Ratatouille is one of those movies you can show your whole family and you really should. Take everyone with you, nomatter their age, they will all like it and all enjoy it and experience it in different ways. Ratatouille really is fun for everyone and definitely one of the coolest, if not the coolest films to come out this summer.