Ratatouille
2007
A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the .. Read more
| Starring | Patton Oswalt, Brad Garrett, Ian Holm, Lou Romano |
|---|---|
| Director | Brad Bird |
| Genres | Animated, Children, Comedy, Family |
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Ratatouille
A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.
| Starring | Patton Oswalt, Brad Garrett, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, peter o'toole (voice), Peter O'Toole |
|---|---|
| Director | Brad Bird |
| Studio | BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 51 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 51 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Animated, Children, Comedy, Family |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Released | DVD: 11 Feb 2008 Blu-ray: 11 Feb 2008 Production year: 2007 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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The title of Pixars fabulous latest animation gives you its three elegantly dovetailed elements: rodents, food and... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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107 out of 111 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
superb
this film is superb. A rat called Remy dreams of becoming a great chef, despite his family's wishes, and the obvious problem of being a rat, in a decidedly rodent phobic profession.
When fate places Remy in the city of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated, beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero - Auguste Gusteau.
Despite the apparent dangers of being an unwanted visitor in the kitchen, at one of Paris' most exclusive restaurants, Remy forms an unlikely partnership with linguini, the garbage boy, who inadvertently discovers Remy's amazing talents.
They strike a deal, ultimately setting into motion a hilarious and exciting chain of extrordinary events, that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.
Remy finds himself torn between following his dreams, or returning forever to his previous existence as a rat.
He learns the truth about friendship, family, and having no choice, but to be who he really is, a rat who wants to be a chef.
well worth watching. -
Most recent members' review
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26 out of 31 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
The super geniuses at Pixar have done it again though tots may disagree.
Remy, budding cook and fan of the late celebrity chef Auguste Gusteau, arrives at Gusteau's beleaguered Paris restaurant and strives to help it overcome its misfortunes. Not easy for a rat.
'Anyone can cook' is Gusteau's motto. 'Anyone can animate' might be Pixar's and they'd be right. Anyone can draw a flick-book. Anyone reading this could probably use frame-capture software for cel animation or stop-motion. Even a modest computer is enough for CG. Certainly everyone and his uncle seems to be knocking out CG features these days but, crucially, not just anyone can be inspired. Anyone can animate but, when Pixar hires animators, they aren't interested in computer skills but story telling acumen and their films stand out because they are inspired and inspiring. Ratatouille, which is about inspiration, is no exception.
As expected the film is technically flawless- appropriately a feast for the eyes with clothes and fur ruffling, wine sloshing and flames fluttering in wondrous detail (clearly when hiring programmers computer skills are right at the top of Pixar's list) but it wears its wizardry lightly. The countryside is idyllic, Paris enchanting and the atmosphere heady but there's no slavish devotion to photo-realism. This is still a cartoon world allowing hairs-breadth chases, impossible contortions and gravity defying slap-stick so when Remy starts controlling his hapless co-conspirator Linguini, by pulling his hair like a puppeteer, it's perfectly fitting. Linguini and his fellow humans are suitably caricatured and the rats... actually the rats aren't that cute- they have large expressive eyes and dextrous hands but, apart from that, anthropomorphism is at a minimum and their movement and mannerisms are almost unsettlingly convincing.
On the evidence of this and The Incredibles director Brad Bird, a former cel animator (and by the way if you haven't seen The Iron Giant put it at the top of your rental list now), has clearly taken to CG. As Remy scurries through drains, up walls and along pipes the camera darts around him playfully but the little touches delight too such as the abstract swirls and shapes that illustrate Remy's love of flavour. This creative passion is at the heart of the film and if it has a motto it must be 'to thane own self be true'. Food critic Anton Ego's voice-over near the end (Peter O'Toole- perfect in an otherwise interchangeable cast) is joyous, poetic even and had me grinning like a fool. It's not funny though and, if this paragraph has made Ratatouille sound heavy going for little 'uns, I believe it is. Ratatouille is clever-funny rather than high-jinks funny though there are high-jinks and they are funny (that doesn't sound right- is high-jinks plural?). Like Surf's Up, this year's other CG gem, there's more for adults and older children than anyone still in junior school.
If you take the kids because they are begging to see it I suspect they'll be the ones fidgeting. Hire a baby-sitter, go back later and see this clever and heartfelt film for yourself. -
News and features
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Up and Away: Where Disney (and Pixar) Go Next
- 06 Oct 2009
Well, they’ve finally done it. Fifteen years since the studio’s first feature, and on movie number ten, Pixar has gone and made a picture about ordinary people. Not toys, not bugs, not monsters, not fish, not superheroes, not rats, not robots… Just people. And what do you know, the results are every bit as funny, wise, charming and poignant as before. Up is the story of a grumpy old man deeply attached to his home of many decades. When the developers won’t take no for... Read more
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A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers ... -