Today Special: Ratatouille cooked by a rat
Written: Jul 02 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Paris, French cuisine, Paris, French cuisine, Pixar
Cons: Rat, Rats, Rat cooking, Rats cooking
The Bottom Line: Another Pixar classic, in the grand Disney tradition of the Mouse.
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| paxromana's Full Review: Ratatouille |
Allow me to breakdown the title for easier pronunciation for those of you unfamiliar with the French language; it’s read “rat-ta-to-eee”. Though it is about a rat (yes, similar to the mouse that scared the wits out of me and still haunts me in my dreams) who wants to be a cook (yes, rat cooking human food for human consumption, I know, the health code violation is almost unspeakable), the title actually is the name of a classic French vegetarian dish (I learnt this during the film, not while watching the Food Network). But it’s a very fitting title, as the film is about a rat wanting and succeeding in being a chef in Paris (the irony should be crystal clear by now).
Now, if this is a film with real people and real rats it would really be disgusting to watch, but since is a Disney/Pixar animation production (in the grand tradition of the Great Mouse, i.e. Mickey), it’s of course transformed into pure cuteness and motivates women (who normally scream and run from the sight of such creatures) to contribute $12 to its box office success. I being one of those women, even though I under a friend’s strong persuasion (quoting unnamed friend: It will ….giggles….help you overcome….giggles….your mouse-phobia…more giggles…..)
Though I like the film, a lot, I must say it only worsened my rodent-phobia. Now I’m insisting of eating only self-cooked meals and question the sanitary conditions of even the most expensive NYC restaurants. You see, even though this cute little rat name Remy is able to cook up some delicious looking French cuisine (and he did washed his front paws before he cooks), the sight of a rat swimming in a pot of soup that’s later consumed by humans is just not the most appealing image before breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack. And it doesn’t help that on my way back home after the film, my friends and I had two rodent sightings on the streets of Manhattan (I saw none, thank god it was dark, but according to friends one was dead and the other quite alive). We live in a rodent infested city, if not world, that’s my conclusion about the present human condition (of course, acknowledging the other usual global problems such as global warming, terrorism, poverty, diseases, and lack of good human chefs.)
Plot: a rat name Remy has a very sensitive sense of smell and taste, after being separated from his family (the thought of a rat colony is … well, no lunch for me today) Remy lands in Paris – gourmet capital of the world (at least the Western world). Guided by the ghost of his favorite chef (an obese Frenchman, any surprise?), he ends up pairing with a boy with no culinary talent and fittingly named Linguini (yes, as in the pasta) and somehow is able to control Linguini’s movement by pulling his hair (it’s magical) thus transforming the boy into a brilliant chef. Of course there are the usual bad guys, in this case a short but evil chef, and a simply evil food critic (voiced by the always brilliant Peter O’Toole). The ending? Why do you ask such obvious questions? Let’s just say Remy isn’t killed or trapped on glue boards at the end.
Artistic appeal: from the painfully plain backgrounds of “Toy Story”, Pixar’s films have been maturing into works of art. The ocean in “Finding Nemo” was breathtaking, and the Paris in this film is simply splendid. Though it is still far from the pure artworks that are Miyazaki’s films (I bow to my god of animation), I’m glad that at least there have been improvements and not the constantly decline found in Disney’s productions ever since “Lion King”.
Funny scenes: many of them, and I don’t want to spoil the plot or the fun for you. My favorite is the so-called Campbell Soup Moment: a customer has a bite of Remy’s cooking and is transported back to his boyhood days when Mommy used to cook for him, and he breaks a most rare smile. It’s seriously a Campbell Soup commercial, rather like those cheesy Kodak moment commercials.
Unappealing parts: (1) parts of a ceiling falls down (no one is injured or killed), showing the colony of rats living up there; (2) colony of rat having a party; (3) colony of rat invading a kitchen; (4) colony of rat cooking in groups; (5) colony of rat…you get my drift, don’t you?
Unexpected surprise: at the beginning of every Pixar feature film, there is always a 2-minute short without dialogue. I usually find these short films funnier than the features, and in the present case, it is. The film is about two aliens (very cute, one skinny, one fatty) trying, or should I say practicing, abducting human beings with those laser beams shinning from the spaceship. Let’s just say it takes skill and practice to do it right, and one of the aliens is certainly lacking practice and/or talent in this department. I’ll be happy to pay $12 just to watch this short film again, well, may be not $12, but at least $6.
Last words: If you have never had a close encounter with the rodent kind (real, not animated), count yourself lucky. If you have had a close encounter with the rodent kind, you will understand why I sleep with earplugs on even though it’s been months since the mouse attack. I was really take them off, but after this film I had to put them back on. It’s not the film’s fault, it’s just my poor nerves (sighing like a British lady from Jane Austin time).
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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paxromana
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