Ratatouilleby Patti MartinsonReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 8 Remy the rat has taste buds beyond those of a mere rat. His fellow rats have no discriminating tastes, they will eat anything, while he seeks better food fare. He despairs of his lot in life, his superior taste being used to detect poison for for his rat clan.When his desire for more sophisticated fare results in his clan being force to flee for their lives from a shotgun-toting grandma, he becomes separated from the clan and finds himself at the Parisian Restaurant Gasteau. Gasteau is run by a greedy chef and a distintive staff, including the inept garbage boy Alfredo Linguini and the pretty cook Colette. Through a comedy of errors, Remy creates a stunning soup that is credited to Alfredo. Remy and Alfredo form a hilarious partnership, with Remy using Afredo as a marionette, creating gastronomial delights. Remy and Alfredo face mutual and separate conflicts in their lives that threaten to break them up, but must pull together in time to create a dish for the most critical of food critics, Anton Ego. This being a Disney/Pixar creation, expect a happy ending. Which is never really a bad thing. I liked the fact that Remy has a sort of internal dialogue with himself in the form of a ghost of his cooking idol, Auguste Gusteau. Remy, Skinner, Alfredo, Colette are by far the most developed characters. The other kitchen staff don't get much focus or much dialogue. Remy's brother and father are fairly stock characters and are not as well developed. Anton Ego is a memorable, albeit relatively brief bravura character. Remy is a rat and to the creator's credit, they never diminish his rat-ness. He is never made too cute or adorable, but is clearly a rat. Those with a fear of rats might find some of the scenes squeamish, especially when Remy's rat clan is in full rat force. Although this is a G-rated children's movie, I think adults would appreciate this far more than children. I was struck by the amount of dialogue in this film, and I thought alot of it would be too much for very young children. I so used to the more typical children's cartoon movies, where most of the characters are anthromorphic animals, and that may be why is doesn't come across as a kiddie cartoon movie, but something more appreciated by older folks. Written: July 8, 2007
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