Ratatouille 2007
This is a surprisingly good movie, showing that you can’t judge a movie by its premise. The premise is a rat that loves to cook and goes to a declining Paris restaurant to cook exquisite dishes. Who thought that would be a good movie? And yet it works on a number of levels. There is some physical comedy, comedy about people’s reactions to rats, comedy about what rats eat, but there is also a very strong story and a very detailed but interesting look at what goes on on the other side of the swinging doors to the kitchen. They are able to bring a similar kind of appreciation for food that Sideways was able to bring for wine.
The voices are not particularly recognizable. It is a Pixar movie so John Ratzenberger is present, but with all of the French accents I couldn’t tell you which character he was. A critic who sounds like Peter O’Toole turns out actually to be Peter O’Toole. But those two are minor characters. There are not a lot of action scenes and instead the movie is driven by the story and the characters. As time marches on, computer animation makes some nice strides. While the changes are subtle, every now and then you see something that no one has been able to animate that well before.
This is a very good animated movie. A.
Written: 18 Nov 2007
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital