Ratatouille (Blu-ray + DVD-Video/Disney/Pixar)
Picture: A-/B+ Sound: A-/B Extras: B+/B Film: A-
Can a chef who can’t cook and a
rat who can with an expertise in cuisine juggle a relationship and keep a
secret that they are working together without anyone ever knowing?
Ratatouille has flavor, texture, and a just
dash of brilliance. The Studio that
started it all still manages to capture the magic that remains in our
hearts. Every film produced from Disney/Pixar
studios without exception manages to give this reviewer chills, a smile,
laughter, and the perspective to remember why animation is one of the greatest
mediums of expression. Now for your enjoyment and many future generations’
enjoyment on DVD is Ratatouille.
The
story, whereas creative and insanely imaginative, is not difficult to
understand. The rodent inspired film
follows a rat named Remy who has what you could call an exceptional gift for
taste and smell. Remy is a cook or at
least aspires to be one. Living in the
country side outside Paris, Remy and his huge family live in a rats’ nest in
the attic above an old woman’s house.
Remy getting a bit over-creative and a bit overzealous with his cooking
skills while in the old woman’s kitchen reveals his families covert hiding, food
scavenging operation. Washed away and
separated from his family after an epic escape from the butt of the shotgun,
Remy finds himself at the doorsteps of his cooking hero’s restaurant Gusteau’s. Gusteau, whose book Anyone Can Cook inspired millions including Remy, has recently
passed away and with the restaurant now in the hands of his former Sous-Chef
(Skinner who is voiced by Ian Holm) the restaurant is quickly losing steam.
Remy,
inspired by a little chef in his head, decided to take a peak inside Gusteau’s
Restaurant. What he saw amazed and
excited him; with the exception of the new and clumsy garbage boy
(Linguini). Linguini being his awkward
self manages to knock over that night’s soup special and in a desperate attempt
to not get fired he begins filling the pot with whatever ingredients he can get
his hands on; in turn making for a quite disgusting concoction. Remy seeing the opportunity to try out his
skills, while helping out the restaurant begins to fix Linguini’s mess. The only problem, he gets caught. Ordered to destroy the rat Linguini goes to
the river to toss the jarred rodent in, but quickly discovers there is more to
this spice flaunting rodent than there appears.
From this moment on a hilarious and imaginative relationship ensues that
will captivate an audience.
The voice
acting of the film is excellently cast, utilizing all forms of talent from that
of Janeane Garofalo all the way to the classic Peter O’Toole as the chilling
Food Critic Anton Ego. As always the
Pixar team does their homework, allowing the real world to inspire them. For this film in particular, Brad Bird (who
replaced Jan Pinkava as director in 2005) looked to many famous French chefs
and actors to help create a comedic yet natural atmosphere. It was a point of Bird’s to emphasize the
physical comedy without diminishing the beauty and romance of Paris. Even beyond human inspiration, the Pixar team
spent the better part of a year studying both rats and the workings of a traditional
commercial kitchen. Overall, let’s just
say the end result is impressive.
Though it
is getting difficult to watch the standard versions of DVDs when Disney is
putting out such brilliantly fantastic high definition Blu-rays, the standard
DVD format of Ratatouille, manages
to remain impressive in picture, sound, and extras. The picture, presented in an excellent 2.35 X
1 aspect ratio, remains amazingly crisp and solid throughout with the colors
balanced as well as little too no light/dark issues. However, it is the 1080p Blu-ray delivering
top-notch image still very noticeably better than the standard DVD and overall
playback that makes it one of the top CG playback titles in either HD format,
joining gems like Meet The Robinsons,
Cars and Chicken Little. This too
will be a demo for many years to come.
The PCM
24/48 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray is especially impressive, with another
demo-quality, state-of-the-art mix typical of Pixar features, with remarkable
soundfield, creative use of sound design and richness & fullness that too
is demo quality. Both versions offer sound
quality excellent in its Disney standard of Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surrounds,
though the Blu-ray Dolby Digital is a bit better than that of the DVD.
The instrumental soundtrack used for the film also truly comes alive with its
5.1 surrounds giving the scenes inspiring depth and sound texture aspects that
many other films can not live up to.
The
extras on both versions of this Pixar film are actually not to plentiful but
offers fans a featurette comparing Brad Bird’s vision of Ratatouille to that of a chef that inspired part of the film, a few
deleted scenes with commentaries, and two amazing shorts. The shorts are the best part, with one
entitled ‘Your Friend the Rat’ that
has never been seen before and chronicles why humans and rats were made for
each other. The short is both funny and
imaginative; just as with everything Pixar.
The
Blu-ray adds exclusive extras that are more of what you would expect for such a
high profile title including deleted scenes, Cine-Explore: The Ultimate Behind-The-Scenes Experience and Gusteau’s Gourmet Game for some amusing
fun trying to keep up with cooking orders.
As has
been said, you look at examples of people like that and you understand what
makes them great, commitment. Pixar is
establishing a legacy here that can and will pass on to future
generations. With passion and talent of
this nature it is no surprise that the coupling of Disney with Pixar has only
led to greatness. One of the ending
lines of the film was truly inspiring to this reviewer personally and will
probably in many ways make me think twice in the future. As stated by the character Anton Ego:
In many ways, the work of a critic
is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a
position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our
judgment. We thrive on negative
criticism, which is fun to write and to read.
But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme
of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism
designating it so. But there are times
when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense
of the new. Last night, I experienced
something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have
challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past,
I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can
cook. But I realize that only now do I
truly understand what he meant. Not
everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from
anywhere. It is difficult to imagine
more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is,
in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry
for more.
In the
end, my opinion of this film and many other films may be forgotten as quickly
as they were read, but what will remain is this film. It might simply just be another animated
feature, but this critic says and feels it is much more. Ratatouille
is an inspiration to the film world that creativity is still around and
that it thrives in the hearts and minds of those like the innovative souls at
Disney/Pixar. One mouse changed the
world in unimaginable ways before, maybe this time one rat can do the same.
- Michael P Dougherty II
