(2007, 110 min) Now this is what filmmaking is all about. One of the most romantic visions of Paris, and one of the most passionate statements about the joy of creating (and critiquing) art, comes in the guise of a computer-animated movie about a rat.
Yes, a rat. Where Disney did everything possible to disassociate Mickey Mouse from his rodent roots, director Brad Bird and Pixar make their hero Remy (voiced by stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt) as ratlike as possible. Remy and his family live in sewers, eat trash, and speak only in squeaks. Well, that's not entirely true... in this anthropomorphic universe, they also understand English and communicate in English, but only to each other. As if that wasn't evolutionary enough, Remy has developed a taste for haute cuisine, demonstrated in abstract animation reminiscent of Fantasia with each flavor hitting a particular color and note.
Remy gets his big break after he's flushed away to Paris (in the type of riveting action scene that Pixar excels at), and finds himself near the kitchen of his favorite deceased gourmand. It so happens another frustrated chef, young Linguini, is also messing around with the soup. These kindred spirits forge an unlikely alliance, leading up to the big night when feared food critic Anton Ego (voiced majestically by Peter O'Toole) sidles up to the table.
In an age when we perhaps take Pixar for granted, Brad Bird seems to be working on an entirely different level. As good as The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are, Ratatouille is his crowning achievement, simultaneously extolling and demonstrating the joy of creation. The climactic kitchen scene, set on a scale of both Griffithian and Lilliputian proportions, will have your mouth salivating at the food and your eyes watering at the technical achievement. And when Ego tastes the ratatouille, you will see one of the greatest, most unforgettable shots in cinematic history. Man, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Anyone know a good place in Philadelphia with rats in the kitchen?
© TLA Entertainment Group
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