Ratatouille Movie Review

Ratatouille (2007)

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Written by: Brad Bird (screenwriter), Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco and Brad Bird (original story by), Emily Cook & Kathy Greenberg and Bob Peterson (additional story material)
Directed by: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava (co-director)
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Brad Garrett, Peter O'Toole, Janeane Garofalo, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn
Rated: G
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Plot
A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.

Verdict
It's a comical setup, a rat that cooks, but what this does is spend the first half setting the emotional stakes and shaping the characters. In the second half it uses that foundation as the basis for difficult decisions. We're rooting for these characters, and that makes the payoffs thrilling. While I often decry happy conclusions as easy, this movie earns it. It's such a great movie, and that's due to the strength of the story. It's a shining example of how a well designed plot is vital for making a great movie.
Watch It.

Review
Gusteau is the best chef in Paris and his restaurant has earned five stars. He believes that anyone can learn to cook. I bet he never expected that to include animals as well.

Remy (Patton Oswalt) is rat with a great sense of smell that loves to cook. It's his affinity for cooking that gets him and the rest of his colony in trouble when the homeowner finds Remy in her kitchen. He makes his way to Gusteau's restaurant. While he's knowledgeable about kitchens and cooking, he's still a rat. A great action scene unfolds as Remy falls into the kitchen and then must attempt an escape. Fraught with obstacles, the structure of the escape is something many action movies should study. It's part of what makes Pixar great. They understand story, pacing and development better than most. While action scenes are quick, pivotal scenes slow down enough to deliver a big impact. It's Pixar, so the animation looks great and the story has a lot of depth.

Patton Oswalt voices Remy

Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) is hired by the restaurant as the garbage boy. For some reason this kid begins surreptitiously adding ingredient to the soup, ruining it. Remy feels compelled to save the soup, halting his escape and fixing it. Remy is captured and Linguini is tasked with getting rid of him, but he realizes not only can Remy communicate, he's a great cook. That's the start of their partnership. Remy can't cook without Linguini, and Linguini flat out can't cook. They create a system where Remy controls Linguini like a marionette puppet. It's a partnership that works for them. Linguini gets credit for the soup. While the head chef doesn't like him for a variety of reasons, he's now stuck with him.

The head chef sets Linguini up to take a fall on an old Gusteau recipe that even the great chef couldn't perfect. Remy begins improvising much to Linguini's chagrin. It turns out better than expected, and the customers love it.

Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano voice Remy, Linguini

Remy gets to experience great success as a chef, but he's faced with continuing his cooking career or going back to his colony. It's desire versus duty. Meanwhile Linguini becomes incredibly successful which causes him to get arrogant and take all of the credit for Remy's work. That strife leads to a split on the eve of a notably harsh food critic's visit. Anton Ego's review could make or break the restaurant.

Remy returns to the restaurant in part because he loves to cook. It's what he was meant to do. Linguini makes a fool of himself when he admits to the entire kitchen that Remy is the real chef. They all walk out, but Remy's colony rallies around him to keep the kitchen open. Remy chooses to make ratatouille for the critic who's absolutely blown away. This provides a quick glimpse of the power food can have over people and the memories it generates.

Peter O'Toole voices Anton Ego

The problem with happy endings is that frequently they don't feel earned. This movie, and Pixar movies in general, they earn their conclusions. That's due to the story and pacing that culminates in that make or break moment where characters must make a choice or reconcile a mistake. While Remy chooses the restaurant over his family, his family realizes that Remy was meant for more. The ending completely delivers as it builds on everything we've seen.

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