Ratatouille - a revoltuion in animation!
August 21st 2007 06:54
Remy the Rat - the greatest chef in all of France
A Bug's Life, the Shrek films, The Incredible, The Ice Age duology will vanish from your mind in a puff (unless of course you are obsessed!) and you will leave saying Ratatouille as if you were born with the word in your mouth!
Though the image of the hacknied Disney happy-ever-after formula has been rightly dismissed in recent years by audiences young and old, Ratatouille proves that this particular evil corporate giant at the very least still employs a few creative people with intelligence and heart - and no doubt this will be exploited for every penny it is worth in the future! I see straight to DVD sequels and Broadway musicals - to say NOTHING of video games!
But the story...
The setting is France, where cooks reign supreme - at least in the mind of Remy, a rat with a self-confessed difference to his fellow family members. He can smell the ingredients of food, including rat poison! This prompts his father - the leader of a large clan of rats - to appoint him chief poison detector!
Ready to take on the impossible dream - a kitchen
Within he finds a world full of possibilities, and a garbage boy Linguini who wants to cook but can't. You can guess what happens right? WRONG! The plot is simple yes, but the execution is beyond brilliant! The story twists and turns in a perfectly defined sequence of events that makes the final outcome - Remy the rat's success as a chef in Paris - more than just a boring and obvious conclusion.
Matters turn in a way that makes you not only expect Remy to be successful, but actually WANT him to! The unlikely nature of it all will simply vanish as your desire for this brilliantly presented (accidentally adorable) and animated little hero - and sidekick Linguini (the human is the sidekick for once!) - fight their way towards the top. Watch also for Peter O'Toole, who does a brilliant job voicing a snied film critic - Anton Ego!
Anyone can cook - right?
The journey itself can be paid no greater compliment than this: it is utterly hilarious! Not a single ounce of humour goes astray. Sure there is the odd cliche moment, but it is usually acknowledged with a mischevious twinkle from one of the characters. The final thirty minutes are magic - and the eventual climax is easily the most brilliant gag Disney has ever pulled in a movie!
Nothing at all about Ratatouille is dull, flat, a misfire, overtly cute, or even at all ridiculous, despite the fact that there is SO much room any and all of those possibilities! This is a solid hit and sure to be a delight for adults and children alike. Don't just take the family. This is a movie that everyone can see and enjoy - and should!!!
Walt Disney is probably spinning in his grave - from sheer jealousy!!!
Mickey Mouse is dead!!! Long live Remy the Rat!!!!!
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