Magnum Opus: Ratatouille

Ratatouille

Posted by Sujoy at 3:15 AM

Let me begin with..It was Delicious. Absolutely. Frame to Frame, Edge to Edge. The Master Chefs at PIXAR have done it yet again. Just when I thought how on earth can anyone better the Incredibles or Nemo, they have done it yet again, proving that it is not done yet for PIXAR. Far from it.
To begin with , well ,I loved the short animated feature before the movie and also the preview of the next summer Pixar Release.

Coming back to Ratatouille, it is so heartfelt and sincere, and the emphasis on the characterisation is so honest to the core that you just can't stop applauding the genius of the PIXAR guys, along with enjoying the visual delight of the animated French Delicacies in all their grandeaur.

Initial reactions over a movie which has a Rat as the main protagonist would definitely throw reactions of it being considered as yet nother dosage of slapstick humour that we have grown with and perhaps, been fed too much. But trust me on this, Ratatouille excels as the best G-rated entertainer, the best food movie, and perhaps, one of the best comedies better than most of the PG-13 and R-Rated Teen Flicks filled with skimpily clad bombshells and dumber brains.

Just don't tempt me to reveal the plot. It is awesome. Ok, well what the heck, here it is.

The story is about a young French blue rodent named Remy (voiced by comic Patton Oswalt), who is gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell and taste buds.He's positively inspired by a TV cooking show with Chef Anton Gusteau (Brad Garrett), whose motto is "Anyone can cook!"
When Remy is accidentally swept into a storm drain, he turns up at Gusteau's restaurant in Paris, which has fallen on hard times.

Gusteau is dead, the place has been demoted to three stars (from five) - and the place is lorded over by Skinner (Ian Holm), a diminutive despot who has licensed Gusteau's name for dubious frozen foods.A rat, of course, is less than welcome in the kitchen - except by the ghost of Gusteau.

The spirit encourages Remy to surreptitiously turn a soup accidentally ruined by a bumbling kitchen assistant named Linguini (Lou Romano) into a culinary masterpiece.When the talentless Linguini is ordered to duplicate this masterpiece, he's forced to turn to Remy as his partner.

Hiding under Linguini's toque, Remy yanks on the young man's hair like a puppeteer to steer him to the proper ingredients and spices.
This Chaplin-caliber physical comedy, which puts most live-action comedies to shame, is alone worth the price of admission.

Its one helluva watch. A plot filled with surprises, beautiful visuals (one of which includes the spellbounding scene of the Eiffel Tower), great characters ranging from the main character Remy, the rat who wants to be a Chef and Linguini,the clueless,gangly dishwasher, and the entire bunch of chefs .

Another noteworthy character is Janeane Garofalo as the very French Colette, the only woman in the Gusteau kitchen - and, with more than a little help from Remy, Linguini's love interest
The one that kinda steals the climax is definitely Anton Ego, voice given by Hollywood legend Peter O' Toole. I don't know how to put it in any other form .O' Toole's voice just sinks in the character so bloody well.

The details of the animation just make me look at it with my eyes wide open and just wonder in awe. Because everything is so real. From the sauce stained aprons of the Chefs, the Copper Pots, the Mint Garnish,the beads of moisture on the freshly cut vegetables to the matt fur of the rodents, everything is Perfect. The chodeography of a busy restaurant kitchen, to the intense chase scenes on the street of Paris, it has it all.

Just go watch it, absolutely unmissable.Its the perfect Entertainer in a long long time.Written and directed by Brad Bird and displaying the usual meticulousness associated with the Pixar brand, “Ratatouille” is a nearly flawless piece of cinema. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated. Spare me the Ratings. This goes beyond that. I would give it a 100.Prepare to be very hungry.