Ratatouille (2007)

This is a superb film. I read a while back that they were trying to figure out how to pitch the movie for the Best Picture Oscar without losing votes for Best Animated Feature Oscar. It deserves plenty of awards, though Best Picture might be pushing it a little.

This film, like its predecesors Monsters Inc. and Toy Story, is tremendously original. Rather than commenting on American culture, this time we get a glimpse into the snooty French cuisine, but from a rat's perspective; not just any rat though, it is a chef rat. I love how the film plays with French culture, but doesn't over do it with cliché after cliché. One scene in particular where Remy the rat is crawling from the sewers to the top of a building in Paris we get a rundown of French culture in about 30 seconds including the artist painting a nude and a glimpse between fighting lovers who rebound from homicidal anger to a French kiss.

The characters are flawed yet retain their dignity throughout the film. Cartoons too often focus on the protagonist as the only character who can change surrounding him or her with flat personages. We find a treat in Ratatouille as everyone is quite interesting.

The lessons taught in the film are not new-agish nor are they feminist or agist. We get a dose of creativity and identity and value and vision this time.

Finally, the animation rocks. Textures in the kitchen almost translate into smells and tastes. The rats perform quite well too.

Official Site | IMDB