Ratatouille

 

While Pixar had a sort of “Golden Age”, that being the time between Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 3 (2010), these films didn’t necessarily come without struggle. Such was the case for Ratatouille, the studio’s eight feature, which saw Brad Bird take over as writer and director after the original creator, Jan Pinkava, left Pixar during the film’s early development. After about two years of work, which included story rewrites and extensive research into cooking and Parisian culture, the film saw the light of day in 2007 to critical acclaim, successful box office returns and the Academy Award for Best Animted Feature (beating out Persepolis and Surf’s Up). Today, Ratatouille remains not only a classic animated film, but an enjoyable celebration of the joy of creation, particularly through the power of cooking.

Remy (Patton Oswalt), a young rat, dreams of becoming a chef like his human idol Gusteau (Brad Garrett), but the rest of colony doesn’t appreciate his uniquely heightened sense of taste and smell. When the colony is forced to evacuate their home, Remy ends up separated from them in the sewers of Paris and ends up at Gusteau’s restaurant with encouragement from an imaginary version of the chef. Soon after, he fixes a soup ruined by the restaurant’s new garbage boy, Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano), who catches Remy in the act and hides him from Skinner (Ian Holm), the current owner and head chef. The soup is a success, which leads to Remy secretly helping Linguini to become a better chef and learning cooking by proxy. At the same time, Skinner receives new information that could put his scheme of permanently owning Gusteau’s in jeopardy and the cynical food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) seeks to undo the restaurant’s newfound success from Linguini’s role as a chef.

In an iconic moment from the film, Remy (Patton Oswalt, top) and
Linguini (Lou Romano, bottom) figure out how to work together.

Ratatouille has a more complex story than some other Pixar films, both in terms of number of subplots and the themes they each tackle, but has great pacing and knows how to tie everything together in a way that’s easy to follow. While Remy stumbles in second half when it comes to following his passions and trying something new versus staying loyal to a family very set in their natural ways, he’s a very likeable and sympathetic character, especially when he realizes his mistake from a very rash decision in a moment of weakness. Linguini, as well, is a likeable companion to Remy and, in an interesting twist for a film like this, is fully aware that he is absolutely nothing as a chef, let alone a head chef, without Remy’s guidance. Though a secondary character, Colette, a female chef who has worked tirelessly to earn parity with her male peers, is well-written as both a mentor for Linguini and, later, his love interest. It’s especially heartwarming when she ends up being the only person in the kitchen who ends up sticking by Linguini’s side during the climactic confrontation with Anton Ego.

Speaking of, Anton Ego is a very memorable villain, serving as possibly one of Pixar’s best, despite being an ordinary human. As the toughest food critic in Paris, he’s very cynical, the opposite of Remy and Gusteau’s optimism, and is particularly displeased that Gusteau’s restaurant, which he had previously all but destroyed with a single review, is once more on the rise. Peter O’Toole’s performance really helps with his strong presence and maintaining the tension during a climax that demonstrates the real power of cooking. As for Skinner, it’s cathartic to see him struggle with his plan of maintaining a hold on Gusteau’s, as it’s clear that where the protagonists cook for the simple joy of it, he’s more in it for the money, having launched a line of frozen meals bearing his late employer’s likeness.

Perhaps the main reason Ratatouille is more timeless is how it depicts the simple joy of creation. Remy is clearly in his element when he’s in the kitchen and that enjoyment rubs off on Linguini, who more than happily works as part of a team with the rat he dubs his “little chef”. Gusteau primarily interacting with Remy as a figment of his imagination is not only a neat way of depicting the rat’s thoughts, but also how one’s creativity and passion can inspire others. Then there’s the title of Gusteau’s cookbook, Anyone Can Cook, which succinctly summarizes the biggest theme that the film explores from different perspectives, with even Anton Ego reflecting on its real meaning.

It also helps, of course, that the animation holds up really well. Though there’s a level of realism in the environments and good attention to rat anatomy, there’s ultimately a level of stylization that helps Ratatouille feel distinct from other Pixar films and, as a result, age better with time. Most of the detail goes into the food, where it really matters, which looks so appetizing that you want to eat the titular dish from the climax, among other dishes presented throughout. Liquid and particle effects also still look great, with particularly impressive detail both in the actual cooking process and instances of wet clothing, like when Linguini rescues Remy from a river. Scenes from Remy’s perspective also do a great job of capturing how rats view the world, as well as showing off realistic rat movements, plus the audience gets a good abstract representation of what combining otherwise disparate flavors tastes like.

A unique abstract view of taste.

Though Ratatouille is mostly a lighthearted comedy, which plays to the strengths of some of the voice cast, like Patton Oswald and Brad Garrett, everyone also proves very capable of handling the more emotional moments. While the score may not be wholly memorable, it has a nice Parisian flair befitting the setting. Though this may sound obvious, there’s also a good attention to detail in the sounds of the kitchen, enhancing the audience’s immersion in the experience of cooking.

Like much of Pixar’s early output, Ratatouille is a timeless classic that can easily be enjoyed as much today as it was when it first released. Much like Remy from the film, you may even find yourself inspired.