RATATOUILLE

What a movie! Pixar and Brad Bird are like hamburgers and french fries, they just work. Ratatouille is the studio and director's second film together, and although "Rat" falls a bit short of their first film together "The Incredibles", it is still one of the best animated films I've seen since....well...The Incredibles.

Like Toy Story, I think this is a film that Walt Disney would have really enjoyed. When I watched it I couldn't help but think of Pinocchio or Dumbo. The whole idea of The rat and the human working together is so 1940's. This film is also another milestone in how far CG has really come, the character rigs were so well put together it looked as if the characters were hand drawn rather than digital. Finally CG has proven that it could at least mimic the animation style of 2D animation. The fur and cloth was another area where the geniuses at pixar really cranked it up a notch, the fur and hair was much more pliable this time rather than on The Incredibles or Monsters, Inc, it looked as if the animators had more freedom with it's movements.

The story was very well told and totally ADULT. And when I say that I don't mean they were vulgar or sexual, it just wasn't dumbed down to what other studios like to call a "kid's level". I do have to say some of the kids in the theatre were finding it hard to sit in their seats, during the dialogue scenes, but that's because it was over there heads. I applaud Pixar for making films, and not having to worry about if kids could sit through it. I know children that can't sit through Snow White, what does that show you?

The voice acting was amazing. Patton Oswalt was a great choice for Remy, he had such a great energy in his voice, I loved every moment he was on screen. Lou Romano, who is a story artist at Pixar was actually pretty good as Linguni, he was kinda uncomfortable to hear in some scenes, but overall his performance was good. Another Pixar employee Peter Sohn, voiced Remy's brother Emile. He was a great choice, his voice was so perfect for the mouse it seemed as if the mouse was actually talking, not mouthing the words to the actor's voice. Like the raccoon was in "Over the Hedge" with Bruce Willis' voice. Peter O' Toole was fantastic as Anton Ego, give this guy a freaking Oscar already! Even as a voice actor he is brilliant, but the real scene stealer was Ian Holm as Skinner. This was the best example of a classic Disney villains, he reminded me of Peg leg Pete or Captain Hook. His energy was just great and over the top, especially the fact that his character is like three feet tall. Other great performances to note were from Jeanene Garofolo as Colette who put on a surprisingly good French accent, Brain Dennehy as Remy's father and the always great Brad Garret as Chef Gustaeu.

The animation was to die for. Every animator stuck in a rut looking for inspiration GO WATCH RATATOUILLE! After coming out of that place I was racing home to animate. The way they moved the characters was literally unlike anything I've seen in animation. This is the one area where they topped The Incredibles. They way the characters moved with squash and stretch was definite proof that 3D can be an art form rather than a way to make quick and cheap crappy animation. The facial expressions were really what stole the show, Remy the rat was so expressive, especially the fact that he was silent for much of the scenes, you really felt what he was thinking. One scene in particular where Remy accidentally falls into the kitchen and tries to run out to the window back to safety but keeps stopping to put more ingredients in a soup. When he stops each time, you see him thinking of what he needs to put in the soup, a beautiful piece of character animation. This scene is part of the nine minute clip available on the Internet, I recommend every animator check it out.

All in all this was a great animated film, not the best ever, but certainly one of Pixar's best. Brad Bird has certainly proven that he is a great director and worthy of Walt Disney or John Lasseter status. Ratatouille is the best film of the summer by far and as it looks maybe even the best of the year. Brad Bird keep making films with Pixar and Pixar keep making films with Brad Bird. Together you are unstopable.

5 outta 5