Theatrical Review of Ratatouille

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It´s my personal belief the Best Animated Film Oscar should be renamed the Disney-Pixar Excellence in Animation Award. Why? No studio or production house has, with any regularity, managed to climb to the highs of the Walt Disney Company, nor have they met the extraordinarily ambitious standards set by Pixar. There are pretenders and contenders to the throne, but one fact is undeniable: Pixar continues to set the bar by which all other animated films are judged. Their latest, "Ratatouille," takes the bar set by the recent outings of "The Incredibles" and "Cars," smashes it and sets it even higher. This is notice that Pixar wants the Oscar back from "Happy Feet."

In the French country, Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) spends his spare time away from his clan, watching a gourmet cooking show hosted by Gusteau (Brad Garrett), a morbidly obese chef with a once-renowned restaurant in the city of lights. His motto of "Anyone can cook" inspires Remy to watch the show every day, dreaming of a time he can combine ingredients in the same way Gusteau does. He is separated from the clan and he finds himself in Paris, right underneath Gusteau´s restaurant, now run by the maniacal Skinner (Ian Holm), more concerned with slapping Gusteau´s likeness on frozen food than about recapturing former glory. At the restaurant, a new garbage boy (Linguini, voiced by Lou Romano) is mistaken for a gourmet chef, leading he and Remy to combine their forces to create succulent dishes.

If you stop to think about what is on the screen-rats crawling in and out of the holes in Swiss Cheese, for instance-it´s likely you´ll be repulsed. After all, who wants any kind of animal touching their food? But put that thought aside and look at Remy and his friends as more than rats. If it helps, pretend they´re people. Just small, furry, squeaky people. And then all will be forgotten.

"Ratatouille," from the first moments on screen, is far funnier than that other comedy already in wide release and is better looking than all of the $200+ million blockbusters put together, happily accompanied by a very simple message: give credit where credit is due. The laughs start instantly, culminating early in a wild woman with a shotgun taking potshots at the swarm of rats living in her attic. When the ceiling collapses due to her scattershot shooting and the fuzzy creatures of all shapes and sizes (and colors) swarm through the kitchen and out of the house, we can´t help but think two disparate thoughts: first, how can this woman not have heard the pitter patter of all those little feet above her and, second, dear lord, do that many rats live in my attic? All the while laughing out collective asses off.

Pixar has always strived for the closest approximation to real life as they could get. The "Toy Story" films had a couple issues in rendering humans-perhaps on purpose-while the inanimate objects and animals have always been spot on. As wondrous as "Finding Nemo" was when flashed on the screen, "Ratatouille" combines what the studio learned from their previous releases and makes us nearly believe what we´re watching is real. Look no further than an early shot of Remy with a chunk of bread torn off from a loaf. It´s impossible to explain in words, but that piece of food so detailed and nuanced it could easily be mistaken for the real thing. And the first time Remy gazes out at the Paris skyline is as if a painting by one of the masters was scanned into the computer and used for the backdrop. Astonishing, jaw dropping, mesmerizing. Absolutely wondrous work.

As with previous Pixar films (well, aside from "Toy Story" and "Cars"), there are no songs in the film. Disney films, being the reigning champs of the animated musical, never quite come off as taking place in any reality aside from their own because characters burst into seemingly spontaneous song at the drop of a hat. What Pixar´s continued here is a tradition of making the audience work just a little bit for the emotional beats of the story. There´s no need for Remy to break into song when he is scorned by Linguini, nor do chef Colette (Janeane Garofalo) and Linguini feel the need to declare their love for each other swinging from light posts or from Paris rooftops. We get it the first time they awkwardly kiss.

"Ratatouille" is just a triumph in every conceivable way I don´t want to delve too deeply into the plot for fear of ruining the ride audiences will be on. The plot is straightforward enough for the little tykes who are fans of animation and involving enough for their parents blackmailed into bringing them to the theater. For as silly as you might feel watching "Surf´s Up" or any of last year´s animated offerings, there´s nothing silly about "Ratatouille." To be sure, an understanding of cooking would help, for the film revolves around that profession and at least 80% of the film takes place in a kitchen. Whatever you don´t know, however, is explained easily enough by one of the characters. Check out Remy´s first look inside the kitchen where he explains the various roles of the people working below to an imaginary Gusteau. It´s education that doesn´t feel like education.

The voice talent combines tried and true names from the Pixar stable (John Ratzenberger, for instance) with Garofalo, Brian Dennehy and Peter O´Toole as restaurant critic Anton Ego (get it? A Ton Ego?). He´s the single most enthralling character in the film, based in no small part on O´Toole´s talent. Icy cold with an air of supremacy and arrogance any real life chef would be terrified of, he steals the movie from a cast of wonderfully talented artists. Special note to Ian Holm, who, in his role as head chef Skinner, does nothing but rant and scream for the duration of the film. With a wonderful French accent, you´d never know Bilbo Baggins was doing the voice. One last note about the voice talent: at times, the dialogue can be hard to understand since the some of the characters speak in heavy French accents. It shouldn´t be tough for the older crowd, but children may wonder what´s going on.

I can´t praise "Ratatouille" enough. Even the romance subplot, which feels shoehorned in at times, hits all the notes its supposed to from start to finish. The sometimes-slapstick comedy ever lets up for a minute, thus the movie doesn´t slow down for a breath very often. We´re never given the chance to become bored with the story because we´re fully invested in it from start to finish.

As is Pixar tradition, a short film precedes "Ratatouille" called "Lifted." You´re guaranteed to bust a gut laughing at the botched alien abduction story and it´s a perfect lead in to the main feature.

"Ratatouille" is easily the best film to hit cinema screens so far this summer…possibly this year. Because of it deftly combining charm, wit, story and heart with visual punch to spare, it rates an impressive 8 out of 10. I can´t imagine a better animated film coming down the pike in the next year…until, of course, Pixar´s 2008 entry "Wall E."

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