PIXAR Goes 8 for 8!

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2007)

I am a viewer with a purpose. If the story fails to impress, I find myself yawning half way through. I don't care how much stuff you blow up. Story ain't there, don't bother.
But, with PIXAR, you feel like you are watching an original unfold before your eyes. Maybe it is contrived, but I usually compare PIXAR with the original Walt Disney Studios with their storytelling techniques and ability to create wonderful full characters you care about. Then it has dawned on me that sometime in there Disney referenced Brothers Grimm, JM Barrie and others. Whereas PIXAR comes up with new intriguing stories that have never been in a picture book to my knowledge.
The story is simple: Remy is a rat, Remy is a great chef with a nose for ingredients, Remy finds Alfredo, a chef who cannot cook, and Voila! a wonderful plot is born. Remy cooks under Alfredos hat by pulling strands of hair. Before too long our young and little chefs are the toast of Paris.
Where this all gets complicated is this: How often do you welcome a Rat in your kitchen? Much less MANY RATS? Fish out of water, rat in kitchen. But where most of us would vomit Remy warms you and by the end you are cheering for his recipes and technique. Voiced by a very funny Paton Oswalt (Comedians of Comedy) he is recognizable and solid. Oswalt has wonderful timing and a timbre in his voice that is just REMY. No getting around it folks, you are rooting for a RAT.
The supporting players are wonderful, and wonderfully created by those ingenious artists at Pixar. My favorite however was the delightful Peter O'Toole as Alton Ego, the snobiest yet endearing critic in all of Paris. His study that of a coffin, his typewriter looks like a skull, yet you get him in a way that calls to the food snob in us all.
The visuals are also stunning, superb and brilliant. The movie a feast for your eyes and I dare anyone to leave the theatre not craving a bite or two afterwards. The richness in detail of copper pots, wafting vapors, heck even all the splendid fruits and veggies in the food locker are enough to make your mouth water. Brad Bird at the helm, a wonderful story, it was a great night out with a 3 and 4 year old. I fully recommend to all families!