Ratatouille (2007) Movie Review
December 24th, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized — Movie Critic
At a first glance, a food-savvy rat who aspires to be a chef doesn’t seem like the best idea for a movie, but somehow Pixar turned the story of a food-savvy rodent into a masterpiece. Ratatouille will warm your heart, whet your appetite, and make you laugh as this surprising movie runs its course.
Aptly Named
Ratatouille is just one of the dishes that appears in this meal, but it is relevant to the story, as it brings a number of elements together in one serving. The premise of the movie is the culinary predisposition of Remy the rat (Patton Oswalt), who just can’t seem to stay out of the kitchen, despite his father’s warnings. One particularly disastrous trip to the kitchen causes the evacuation of Remy’s family from their nest, and Remy is separated from his loved ones. Alone, hungry, and depressed, Remy has to fend for himself, and suddenly finds himself friends with a human and working in a kitchen.
Anyone Can Cook
The main ideal of Remy’s hero, chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), is the fact that anyone can cook, and is reiterated a number of times throughout. The ideal is applied to the garbage boy Linguini (Lou Romano) and also to Remy, as they are both unlikely sources of fine cuisine. This ideal is applied in a broader sense in the friendship between Remy and Linguini, who acknowledge and ignore the fact that rats and humans are mortal enemies. The storyline does a wonderful job of underlining the value of looking beyond appearances, and even cranky Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole) gets a dose of this potion after a meal at Gusteau’s.
This film has wonderful characters, colourful dialogue, and a lot of charm. It is yet another of Pixar’s heartwarming movies that is suitable for the whole family and will entertain to the end and beyond (the credits are quite cute). Check it out when you have a free night — you won’t regret it!
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Our joint submissions to EzineArticles consist of reviews written by Dave and Ginny for movies recently released in theaters or on DVD or blu-ray. The authors co-founded Buttery Toast Movie Reviews in June 2009, and all online content can be viewed at http://www.butterytoast.com/.
