Ratatouille
Rated: G
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring:
Patton Oswalt - Remy
Lou Romano - Linguini
Ian Holm - Skinner
Brad Garrett - Gusteau
Janeane Garofalo - Colette
Peter O'Toole - Anton Ego
Sometimes, there’s just not enough spices in the world to save a story that has no flavor. When you got Brad Bird, the brilliant mind behind The Iron Giant and The Incredibles re-teaming with Pixar, the paragon of animated filmmaking, everything should be in place for a magnificent film. And technically, Ratatouille exceeds the already high expectations that its creators bring to the table. But in terms of writing, Ratatouille is without zest, zing, or zip (those words describe, flavors, right? No? Alright, enough with the cooking talk).
Remy (Patton Oswald) has a gift for cooking. He knows which flavors go best with other flavors and for him, food is beyond sustenance: it’s an artform. There’s just one problem: Remy is a rat. Not a cute little field mouse or some other plucky, singing rodent from Disney films of yore. He’s a rat and while his rat bretheren are content to simply eat garbage, Remy wants more out of life. When his quest for more ends up separating him from his family and community, he ends up in Paris where his fairy God-chef, Gusteau (Brad Garrett) leads him to cross paths with a hapless garbage boy, Linguini (Lou Romano). Linguini just wants to keep his job and he knows that Remy is no ordinary rat. The two team up and begin their spectacular cooking journey, but are under the watchful eye of restaurant owner/sellout, Skinner, and the threat of scornful restaurant critic, Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole).
Brad Bird takes animation to a whole new level in this film. Every Pixar film presents its own unique challenges. With Monsters Inc., it was animating Sully’s fur. With The Incredibles, it was Violet’s hair. With Cars, it was the interaction of dirt and dust to metal. This time around, it’s not a singular element, but a whole new mode of photography as we’re treated to a rat’s-eye-view of the world. During any of the film’s multiple chases, the camera follows Remy but the background and pacing never obscure the surroundings or cheat the viewer. Combine this with one of the best sound mixes I’ve heard in years and Ratatouille becomes a completely immersive experience and demonstrates yet again that in the field of animation, Brad Bird remains untouchable.
Sadly, the film’s story, character development, and wit doesn’t even approach the exhileration and joy present in the animation. Other than Anton Ego, the film doesn’t really have fun and unique characters. When Remy arrives in Paris, he already knows all there is to know about cooking so there’s a missed opportunity to watch him grow as a chef or take joy in all the utensils and ingredients at his disposal. Linguini is even worse as he’s merely a giant mask for Remy and seems to lack any talent or ambition of his own. The best he has is his hiding Remy from the world and building a relationship with fellow chef, Colette (Janeane Garofolo). Even more frustrating is when the film touches brilliance, like how Remy interprets food and the combination of flavors or how Skinner sells out the image of Gusteau to sell the most wretched of foods: hot pockets. But for a film with an almost two-hour runtime, there’s a noticable lack of wit and humor. Most of the laughs simply come from Skinner’s buffoonish and slapstick behavior. While the Pixar charm remains present, even that begins to wear thin as the film trudges through its third act.
With last year’s Cars and now Ratatouille, Pixar no longer seems like the guaranteed winner. While they deserve respect for making films from the heart rather than from the wallet (like the painfully unnecessary upcoming sequels to Shrek), it seems like their stories are starting to get away from them. Cars at least has the argument that the long run time mirrors the film’s message about slowing down and enjoying the ride. Unfortunately, Ratatouille is overcooked and short on flavor (I couldn’t resist).
Note from Future Matt: I definitely cocked this one up. It took me multiple viewings to realize that this was a great movie. Granted, I don't find it as fun as other Pixar movies but it's probably their most intelligent to date. I've upgraded it from a 7.8 to a 9.0
Words by
Matt Goldberg
6.21.07