After the great success of The Incredibles, it was a no-brainer that Pixar would give another film to director Brad Bird.  His brilliant screenplay and precise direction were big reasons why The Incredibles was such a great film.   So, for his next project, Bird went in an entirely different direction.  The plot of his next animated feature would focus on a rat who loves to cook in the heart of Paris.  It was a risky choice, but not because it focused on rats.  After all, the studio had already made a charming film about bugs. The real risk was that it would be the first film set in foreign soil, featuring cooking.  I’ve never watched any of the shows on the Food Network, and I didn’t see the film Julie & Julia, so needless to say, I’m not a fan of the genre.  However, based on Pixar’s successful track record, I went into the film Ratatouille with cautious optimism, anxious to see what Bird and his team had in store for me.

The film starts off in a French village, where we first meet a rat named Remy. He loves food and has a gift for cooking.  Remy idolizes the late, great chef Gusteau, who continues to be his inspiration.  Throughout the film, Remy sees Gusteau in numerous visions, in which the chef provides him with wisdom and guidance.  Gusteau’s career was at its peak until a  scathing review written by food critic Anton Ego leads to the downfall of his restaurant, “Gusteau’s.”  

Unfortunately, Remy’s ambitions are discouraged by his father, who wants him to give up cooking and conform to the rules of the rat population.  Remy soon discovers Gusteau’s cookbook in an elderly woman’s house, and this leads to an encounter with the resident herself.  She chases after him with her shotgun.  Unfortunately, her gunfire destroys her home and exposes the pack of rats who have settled in her residence.  The rats are forced to implement there escape plan and run to their rafts hidden by a nearby stream.  During the chaotic retreat, Remy is separated from his family and swept away by the current.  As luck would have it, the water carries him to Paris, and he ends up at the doorstep of Gusteau’s restaurant.  The establishment has fallen on hard times since Gusteau’s successor, Chef Skinner, is more concerned with money than the quality of the food.

While Remy remains mesmerized by the sight of Gusteau’s, we see a new hire enter the restaurant.  He is Alfredo Linguini, and Chef Skinner grudgingly hires him to work as a lowly janitor.  Linguini soon gets involved in cooking and foolishly adds ingredients to a soup during the dinner rush.  The soup is ruined until Remy swoops in, adds a few spices and herbs, and saves the soup.  The soup receives rave reviews, and Linguini is seen as a great cook. He is given more responsibility and will be trained by another cook, Colette.  During her talk with Linguini, we learn that Colette has been trying to gain the respect of the staff.  Remy is soon discovered by the staff, and it is up to Alfredo to dispose of him.  However, Linguini soon learns that it was Remy who created the soup.  They form a partnership and agree that Remy will dictate to Linguini how to fix the meals while he remains hidden.  Their great success aggravates Skinner, whose anger increases when he learns of a will that gives Linguini full ownership of Gusteau’s.  

Remy and Alfredo receive considerable praise as they create one great meal after another. Remy is later reunited with his family, who have resettled near the restaurant.  He decides to remain with Alfredo, rejecting an opportunity to return to his clan.  However, Remy’s relationship with Alfredo becomes strained when Alfredo and Colette fall in love, and Alfredo becomes preoccupied with his success.  This upsets Remy and in retaliation, he breaks his promise to Linguini and steals food for his fellow rats.  To make matters worse, the great food critic Ego decides to review the restaurant that he previously destroyed with his past review.  Alfredo finally reveals to his staff that Remy is the sole chef responsible for all his delicious dishes.  This results in a mass resignation at the eve of Ego’s visit.  It is up to this young man and his rodent friend to save Gusteau’s reputation by making a gourmet meal that will satisfy this difficult critic’s culinary palate.

At the beginning of the film, I was bored with the rat colony and started to tire of listening to Remy whine about his love for food and his desire to become a chef. I didn’t have any emotional interest in the story line.  The voices of the rats, especially Patton Oswalt, were annoying. I thought the whole chase scene between Remy and the elderly woman was a prime example of a screwball comedy gone awry.  However, my opinion of the film began to change as soon as Remy arrived in Paris and started to adapt to his new lifestyle.  I enjoyed seeing how the bond between Linguini and Remy develops and how they were able to communicate with each other despite the language barrier.  The trial and error of how they develop their system of cooking in the kitchen was humorous and very realistic.  During their friendship, they experience many of life’s highs and lows that are typical in any human relationship. 

Despite the initial slow start, Brad Bird’s screenplay succeeded in making me interested in a story that mainly revolves around cooking.  He does a great job of using cooking as a symbol of what brings us joy in our lives and how we are given gifts and abilities that should be shared with the world regardless of our origins or backgrounds.  I cheered at the success of Remy and Linguini, and while I couldn’t relate with their cooking, I could relate with their dreams and triumphs over the many obstacles thrown at them.  The story is engaging and gets better and better until the climax of the film where the main theme of the movie is resolved in a beautiful and poignant manner.  

The animation in this film, like every other Pixar film, is truly fantastic.  The animators beautifully capture the mood and look of Paris and faithfully recreate the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the charming walkways by the River Seine.  Their greatest success, though, is how they animate Alfredo Linguini’s antics and personality.  This is best illustrated in the comical sequence that portrays Remy and Linguini’s struggle to develop a way for Remy to “tell” Linguini what to do in the kitchen.  After several failed attempts, Remy adopts the method of pulling various strands of Linguini’s hair, much like a puppet master, to guide Linguini’s movements.  I found myself laughing at the painfully funny series of mishaps Alfredo endures as they perfected their cooking system. Once again, the Pixar animators succeed in delivering excellent comedic timing.

I also loved how the animators portrayed the film’s supporting characters – the Napoleon complex of the scheming Chef Skinner, the Parisian arrogance of Skinner’s lawyer, and the emotionally guarded Colette.  However, the character who stands out the most is Anton Ego, the arrogant, pompous critic.  His looming, ghoulish appearance combined with the voice talent of the brilliant Peter O’Toole, make him one of the most interesting and memorable antagonists. Through this cast of human characters in Ratatouille, the audience gets an entertaining glimpse of the personality and culture of Paris. 

Ratatouille is a prime example of why a film shouldn’t be dismissed immediately because of its theme or its first fifteen minutes.  The film may have started slowly, but it needed this time to create the mood and establish the story.   I was amazed by how the film won me over with its story, humor, and heart.  By the final scene of the movie, all audiences will agree that watching Ratatouille was time well spent.  This shows that it is more important to have a great ending than a great beginning. It’s a shame that it would be another eleven years before Brad Bird released another animated film.  While The Incredibles is one of my favorite films of all time, Ratatouille might be Bird’s finest achievement.  His patience and confidence in a simple, unconventional story shows his enormous talent as a filmmaker.  Ratatouille is a great film that succeeds on its own merit, and the authenticity of its story really shines through.

Brian’s Rating 8/10