Anyone can cook

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2015)

And a great artist can come from anywhere. It's the sort of motto only Pixar would take to mean an anthropomorphic genius cooking rat. But animation needs these types of crazy premises because there is so much potential in the medium. It's Paris, France however where Ratatouille takes place. The lover's city, one of the most beautiful in the world, and yet that famed shot of the Eiffel Tower is used sparingly to great effect. Most of this film takes place in one kitchen, that of the recently deceased Auguste Gusteau. The vibrant and lively animation from Pixar studios is on in full force here. More than a million hairs animated for the lead character of Remy the rat, but that's not even the best part of it. His character design is full of human mannerisms which add so much to the rodent voiced by Patton Oswald: shrugs, finger guns, running skids, rubbing his hands together and waving to waft in the aromas of French cuisine. Which brings me to another of the film's many strengths; the animation brings the kitchen of a world class restaurant to life. Bunches of spice, fat cloves of garlic, thick ringlets of white onion, a bubbling brimming pot of soup, crunchy clusters of grapes, huge wheels of cheese, even a simple aromatic omelette. Readers of Brian Jacques and George RR Martin know exactly the feeling. Rataouille is a mouthwatering delight equally for those microwave masters and fine dining connoisseurs.
Michael Giacchino delivers an charming and delightful score that never oversteps throughout. It accelerates when it needs to; most notably in the first ascension of Remy to the surface where he creeps throughout the various floorboards and roofs of Paris, racing past fighting lovers and dinner parties and dogs to a frantic yet whimsical flute tune. He climbs higher and higher and the music swells and gently floats as he reaches the top for the first time, the bright lights of Paris and the Eiffel glittering in front of our eyes. A very beautiful scene. This sort of contrast is again seen when Remy is attempting to escape the kitchen. It's the same theme as before, only this time even faster paced, heavier and more menacing as he dodges fiery ovens and knives and gigantic boots. The orchestra builds to a climax and then abruptly switches to a pleasant strings version of "Le Festin" as the cart breaches the boundary between dining and cooking. The sound design is particularly exceptional in this scene in creating and contrasting the frying, banging and chopping of the kitchen to the wonderful ambiance of the dining area. You could almost close your eyes and follow the themes just as easily. And of course Camille's performance of "Le Festin" during a montage in the middle is absolutely wonderful. It's in the alluring language of French but it's not hard to decipher the meanings it conjures: of love and romance, of good food and celebration, of life as a feast to admire and devour.
The voice-acting is another top notch dimension of the film. Patton Oswald is perfect as the ever inquisitive and spirited Remy. His narration is so natural and well-fitting that only a few lines seem overdone; in some revelations it's unnecessary, such is the amount of subtext and information contained in the animation of Remy's gestures and expressions. Brad Garrett's experience shines in his portrayal as the jovial and larger-than-life Gusteau, stealing every scene and figment of imagination he appears in. Ratatouille is filled with so many similarly rich characters which combine with the voice acting and animation to create a living breathing world. Lou Romano's over-exaggerated screams and stutters fit perfectly with his character design of a bumbling human marionette, flustered, clueless and over-enthusiastic yet possessing heart. And who gives a more menacing performance than veteran Peter O'Toole, as the scathing British food critic Anton Ego (probably could have come up with a better name). He lives a life of disappointment despite his love of food, bouncing from restaurant to restaurant in search of some well-seasoned perspective. He gets more than that in a blast from the past with his first mouthful of the so-called peasant dish of Ratatouille; a loud rush of nostalgia as we flash back to his childhood, a modest hut bathed in the warm afternoon soon, filled with an ethereal glow, a boy tucking in to a homely afternoon meal. Even without the slow motion drop of the pen we know exactly what Ego is experiencing. His face creases up in delight. There's not even a word to describe it: just an audible mmmmhm from a mouth used to spitting out harsh criticism. Even Skinner at the other table can't hold it back when he tastes the dish. It's an extremely evocative and poignant scene that sits up there with Pixar's best.
There's no need for O'Toole's voice-over in that moment; in fact it might have diminished it's significance. It's later heard in a voice-over of his review of that meal. It's the perfect bookend to a film about new expectations and ambitions. Remy's humble origins don't hold him back from attaining greatness in the face of a city that mostly disdains pests like him. It's not the most complicated plot but it's one that is lifted from the simple framework of a young character aspiring to be more into a lavish and memorable story about an unlikely genius. The screenplay is simple yet almost never bloated (the romantic angle being one slightly forced arc). The animation, voice-acting and score all play their part in this heart-warming film which, like Ego, leaves you hungry for more.