Ratatouille

Before Ratatouille began the rambunctious kid-filled audience was assaulted with the usual batch of trailers that accompany children’s movies: mostly inoffensive cutesy type previews. The odd duck in the preview lineup was Becoming Jane, the fictionalized Jane Austen biopic (probably tossed in to capitalize on Anne Hathaway’s young Princess Diaries following) but as it concluded, the following exchange took place in the row behind me between two noisy boys.

Boy #1: I wouldn’t want to see that. That’s a movie for girls.

Boy #2: I’d see it. I don’t care!

[Long pause]

Boy #1: yeah.

The movie began. The chatty young friends shut right up. What else could they have done? For when Remy the rat starts scampering across the screen, improbably dreaming of becoming a chef, there’s no choice but surrender. If the superb visuals don’t get you the involving story will. Ratatouille takes you from an old ladies humble house (with a rat colony inside -yuck) to the sewers of Paris to a troubled restaurant named Gusteau’s. The titular owner has died after receiving a scathing review from Anton Ego, a legendary food critic. Remy’s fate will forever after be intertwined with the restaurant’s in delightful, disgusting (hey, he’s a rat) and surprising ways.

There’s a great scene early in Pixar’s eighth feature that establishes character, tone, and the movie’s soul straightaway. Remy is savoring various flavors and food combinations. The screen goes black around him and you see colors popping and swirling to represent the tastes flooding his mouth. His brother tries to follow suit, less successfully, but Remy is pleased that he’s trying.  Let’s think of Remy as Pixar and the less sophisticated brother as us, the moviegoers. It’s a gentle determined persuasion Pixar performs. By all means enjoy your entertainment but savor the good stuff. Seek it out.

The most surprising thing about Ratatouille is the grace with which it unfolds. You can see the basic template and message of the story from the start but the details, twists, and characterizations keep simmering in unexpected but engaging ways.  Though there’s occasional discomfort to be had in watching so many rats running about in close proximity to food and humans, it’s all so gorgeously animated that the shivers of the movie in concept are quickly replaced by the spectacle of the animation in execution. Ratatouille is rich with color, movement, and lighting effects but its never gaudy. The characterizations are full and dimensional, courtesy of the generous screenplay which even gives one of the villains a transcendent arc. Like all great movie twists, his big moment is surprising but plays organically. It’s an “of course!”  beauty of a scene.

So, my compliments to the chef: Ratatouille is writer/director Brad Bird­’s fourth animated creation. His is one of the most consistently excellent young filmographies in the world. He was the man behind the classic "Family Dog", a gut busting episode of the short-lived Amazing Stories television series. He went on to impress discerning moviegoers with his first feature, the moving if underseen Iron Giant (1999) before he joined forces with Pixar to make The Incredibles  (2004) and now, Ratatouille. He’s a top chef of the movies. Each dish he creates is as mouthwatering as the last and not a one of them is too familiar tasting even though it has the same effect as comfort food. That's a pretty marvelous culinary trick, non? Like Remy repetitively attempting to teach his brother, Bird wants to challenge your taste buds and lead you to a greater appreciation of what you’re consuming when you see an animated film.

Little kids (and some adults) will see pretty much anything. The two little boys behind me would even sit through the girlie Becoming Jane if their parents took them. A plea to the studios: they’re going anyway so give them something good to watch while they're there. In Ratatouille Remy enthusiastically raises the standards of the rats who’ll eat pretty much anything. Pixar and Brad Bird may yet raise the standards of the young moviegoer. Why give them only the junk food of fart jokes, celebrity voice recognition games, and lazy pop culture referencing  as comedy? There are better meals out there. Pixar widens your horizons and challenges your movie taste buds with sophisticated comedy, memorable characters, and timeless storytelling. They’re a five star studio all the way.