A Rat's Life

Rating: 8/10 (6 December 2007)

First there were toys. Then there were bugs. Then there were one eyed green things with Billy Crystal's voice. Then there were automobiles. Pixar has asked us many favours over the years and we have all happily, gladly and willingly obliged. Empathise with the things in this world least likely to be empathised with. Inanimate objects. Insects. Now - rodents. Pixar have succeeded in everything so far, but rats must always have been tricky. Specifically, we're talking semi-real world rats, in a semi-real world setting. In this case, a kitchen.
It is a testament to Pixar's genius that I even mention having a problem with this. Most of the little animated cuties in films like Basil the Great Mouse Detective or The Rescuers etc are set apart from all other vermin by being distinctly cuddly and humanoid. Basil, for one, was Sherlock Holmes, wearing human clothes and adapting the rodent underworld into a human-like environment. But in this case, we're dealing with Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, who gives us little gems of nuance to give his animated reality an identifiable sheen. The Incredibles, for example, is as preposterous as Sky High, yet includes such themes as bored in the office, family troubles and the like. His storytelling is unique and the animated world is so very layered that it is lifted high above some of the child fodder put out by Fox animation and, ahem, IDT Entertainment. It is this that gives Ratatouille some of it's magic.
Yes, these rats talk, but only to each other. All human ears can hear is squeaking. But really, this movie does not delude itself or it's audience. These are cute and cuddly rats, but nevertheless, rats in the kitchen are disgusting. So, once you get past that aspect, you can begin to invest. The plot involves a rat named Remy who loves good food and likes to experiment with cooking. A chance meeting with a young man named Linguini in a restaurant kitchen causes them to team up and begin cooking together, garnering acclaim. I won't tell anymore than that because it's much more fun to find out for yourself.
The film's voice talents are spot on. The trick here is that no-one is particularly recognisable (aside from Peter O'Toole who is absolutely marvellous as usual). In animated films such as Shark Tale, the focus is taken off the story in favour of showcasing Jack Black! Will Smith! Angelina Jolie! much to the detriment of the final product (the excessive pop culture referencing is enough already as well). In this movie, the story is it's own boss, even going so far as to continue to be real-world even in light of certain ridiculous developments (which are a lot of fun, just ridiculous!). There is slightly less laughter than one might expect, but it's not really noticeable as everything else is so absorbing. The existing one liners however never miss ("we don't mean to be rude, but we're French!"). The animation, shown up wonderfully on the crisp, clear DVD (that's normal DVD, HD can kiss my butt) is perfect, showing Shrek the Third up easily. So, my only comment would be the slow start. Normally these movies get better when I watch them again, so maybe opinion will change. Until then, any further analysing would be overkill. It's a cartoon after all, and a damn entertaining one at that. Now, who's hungry?