Movie Notes: Ratatouille

July 2nd, 2007

= 5 stars

Starring Patton Oswalt, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O’Toole
Directed by Brad Bird

I really, really enjoyed Ratatouille, about a French rat that can cook. It’s almost unfair to compare all the excellent Pixar films, but I preferred this French culinary fantasy to Cars, and consider it on the same level as The Incredibles, also directed by Brad Bird. Ratatouille will surely be a pleasure for the “foodies” out there, and the core idea that anybody can be successful with passion, fits well amid the Disney animated legacy.

Pixar’s CGI cinematography is so advanced that there is a live-action feel when trailing Remy through the kitchen — as if he’s an actual rat in a nature documentary. Great attention is paid to depth of field — certain objects appear in focus with others fuzzy — again emulating actual film. As for lighting, the moon is reflected on an eyeball or chrome of a car. Indoor scenes have a warmth that possibly reflects a specific brand of light bulb (I wouldn’t put this past the Pixar animators). Whiskers, wine, and water all have a delicious translucency. Older rats’ (Remy’s father) whiskers are straggly and bent, red wine clings to the glass, and after a character jumps into the water, his clothes cling with a realism that seems to take absorbency into account. Yikes.

Despite all the realism, as with The Incredibles, the characters dwell on the edge of caricature. Heads and proportions are exaggerated, placing them clearly in the realm of cartoon. The rats likewise exist on the cusp of reality with “muppet” eyes and droopy noses.

The story also feels different from previous Pixar films, which featured animals (and toys) that didn’t interact all that much with humans. In Monsters, Inc., humans and beasties lived in separate worlds, and The Incredibles was the first to star human characters. In Ratatouille, the wall between personified animals and cartoony people begins to fall away, as the rats and people live in the same world and interact with each other. There is a moment in Ratatouille where the human race might discover the intelligent rats taking over Gusteau’s kitchen — and how this issue is eventually dealt with is elegantly moving.

So it may be clear that I loved Ratatouille. I’d only fault the film for not including some current French actors, a stretch before the climax that’s a bit bogged down, and kids may not find all of it lovable, let alone the merchandise (not sure if many kids would go for a stuffed rat toy with grape and scallion accessories).

Lastly, as computer technology continues to improve, it’s clear that a director’s style can emerge. Ratatouille feels less “computery” and much more adult and artistic than John Lasseter’s Cars. I’m reminded how Don Bluth’s The Secret of NIMH felt noticeably separate from Disney in style and tone. After Ratatouille, it seems Pixar is on the knife’s edge of a masterpiece — it has the feel of an animated classic.

IMDB: Ratatouille
Wikipedia: Ratatouille
Rotten Tomatoes: Ratatouille 95%