Ratatouille

Remember how everyone was talking about Toy Story when it first came out? The incredible visuals, unique style, vividly imagined world? The next time people were talking that way with such enthusiasm about a computer animated movie was Finding Nemo. I'm excited to say that Ratatouille will be the next one to redefine the visual creativity and technical detail of computer animated movies. Honest to goodness, I was awestruck by the animation, and that never happens to me. It is a visual masterpiece of a movie if ever the term applies.

The next thing to talk about is the "genre" of the movie. As Pixar enthusiasts will tell you, Brad Bird, the director of Ratatouille, also directed The Incredibles, which has the most inspired and creative action sequences from any of the Pixar movies. Ratatouille, while not so straightforward with its action, has almost as much as The Incredibles did, in unique ways. Most memorable is the shotgun scene near the beginning. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it). Other than that, this is the expected comedy-with-heart movie from Pixar that so many have grown to love.

The voice acting? Spot on. Every voice is distinctive, and it never feels like a celebrity's voice tacked on to a character (Shrek, I'm looking at you), it feels like the characters themselves speaking. You can't ask for more from voice acting.

And finally, the script and the story. The entire irony of the story -- a street rat with a passion for fine food -- is beautiful, and a tight, smart, wonderful script flows from this. The pacing of the story is odd and choppy at places, but this is a very forgivable grievance. The only other minor fault is that a few of the dramatic one-liners feel a bit forced. Other than that, this is the most layered, complex, and satisfying script from Pixar since The Incredibles.

Overall, I recommend that everyone see this movie when it hits theaters (I was lucky enough to see a pre-release screening). Though not perfect, it is an animated masterpiece in true Pixar form with breathtaking animation and visual design.

10/10

The combination of Disney and Pixar never ceases to amaze, but with Ratatouille, their newest effort, animated features are brought to new heights with the best one to date. Ratatouille is stunning, surreal while at the same time realistic, and a joy to watch. The writing is, in one word, just amazing, and the voice acting is sensational. The characters are poetic and real, and the rats are some of Disney/Pixar's cutest creations. Ratatouille is written and directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles), and features stellar voice acting from Peter O'Toole, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Lou Romano, Brad Garrett, and Janeane Garofalo.

Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is a little rat who dreams of becoming a chef just like his idol, the human Gusteau (voiced by Brad Garrett). After a mishap, Remy loses his family in the sewers and comes upon a fading restaurant that had previously been owned by Gusteau before his untimely death. He comes upon a lowly garbage boy, Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano), and together they set out to revive the once-legendary restaurant.

Ratatouille is filled with loads of surprises and lots of twists and turns. The animation is even more stunning here than in some of the other Disney/Pixar productions, and the breathtaking landscape of Paris, France, really adds a layer of realism to the film. The food looks so real and delicious, and the humans and rats look incredibly realistic. Remy and Linguini are both lovable characters, and the audience is rooting for them the entire way. Surprisingly enough, this movie is the funniest of the Disney/Pixar films, with very subtle and unique humor.

As previously stated, the voice acting really makes the film different, and each actor is perfectly suited to his or her role. The best among the bunch happens to be Lou Romano, as he deals with his character extremely well and is incredibly believable. There are times when the acting and animation is so excellent that you forget you are watching an animated film altogether. Brad Garrett is actually tolerable for once, and is excellent in his role as Gusteau, who acts as Remy's conscience for the majority of the film. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie are rooted from Gusteau's chats with Remy and many others come from the relationship between Linguini and Remy. On another note, Patton Oswalt does a magnificent job voicing Remy, and Peter O' Toole is very memorable as Anton Ego, the food critic for 'The Grim Eater'.

Overall, you can't ask for a better film than Ratatouille, a new classic from Disney/Pixar that is filled with humor, amazing animation, and, most importantly, lots of heart. Some of the scenes are so poetic and perfect that they just bring tears to your eyes. It may be hard to believe, but Ratatouille is far better than any other animated films you will see this year, or perhaps that you will ever see. It manages to be better than Toy Story, better than Finding Nemo, even better than the fantastic Meet the Robinsons. I saw a pre-screening of the film on Saturday, June 16, but I cannot wait to see it again once it hits theaters everywhere on June 29. See Ratatouille—it is highly original, heartwarming, uplifting, and a very thrilling movie that has to be the best animated feature of the last few decades.

This film is fantastic! Pixar has yet another great film to add to their impressive repertoire. Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Brad Bird, who wrote and directed "The Incredibles", has produced a film with subtle humor, heart, and very profound truth. The voice actors are so great, and it is especially great to hear Peter O'Toole on the screen. The animation is beautiful and it is all around an excellently made film. Its message is one that holds so much truth for everyone, especially today's youth: it tells people that no, not anyone can do anything, but if you have the talent you don't have to be limited by your surroundings or your upbringing. I think this is refreshing to hear because often, children are lied to when they are told they can do anything, when actually not all of them can. But it offers hope to the ones who may feel limited by their social class. It also exposes the fact that most people try to put up false facades of themselves to hide who they are in order to feel accepted by the social standards we create in our society; it shows characters with this flaw, but ultimately they accept this reality and learn to be true to themselves. This thread, I think, is very common throughout the Pixar films, and they present it very well. "Ratatouille" is my new Disney-Pixar favorite! "Ce film a pleine de joie de vivre!"

I just saw "Ratatouille" tonight.

It's a first class movie. Several thoughts come to mind...

-The character performances are so good, I think there's no sort of movie they couldn't make. I've heard Pixar's John Carter of Mars is going to be live action? No! I want them to do it all animated.

-"Cars" definitely _was_ a lower-value softball they threw to finish out that original Disney-gets-half-of-everything-plus-sequel-rights contract they were in at the time. I remember all the clucking last summer about how Pixar had lost its way.

-There were a few moments when they seemed to lose that stylized reality they had established and things looked merely "real".

-There was one scene in the latter part of the film where I thought "I can't believe they are doing this tired movie cliché" but they pulled out of it at the last second and made it something new.

-The 2D-ish end credits were great. Stick it out to the very end to see the mo-cap disclaimer!

-With this, Brad Bird is certainly one of the animation gods now.

Taking great ingredients including but not limited to, an endearing story with meaning and a message, superb and breathtaking animation, brilliantly voiced narration and as cute a rattus rattus you're ever likely to encounter. Combined, refined, formed and baked to perfection, the result, a jaw dropping piece of film that you can perpetually admire, enjoy and savour.