Amazing, spectacular, and perfect.

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2008)

The greatest test of whether or not a film is truly admirable is how well it holds up years after its release. It has been almost three years since Ratatouille has been released and I have now seen it at least four times, maybe more. I am proud and thrilled to say that it has not lost any of its charm, still looks amazing and holds up better than almost any film I've seen as many times as I've seen this.
It's hard to put your finger on, but why exactly is Pixar able to create these astonishingly good films that aren't just entertaining and delightful, although they certainly are that. They are able to tap into the very realms of the human condition, and with this bring to the surface emotions and feelings you come to not expect from an animated film because after all, animated automatically infers a film for children.
Of course Ratatouille breaks that mold and I am just so pleased that I got caught up in the world of Remy once again. With their endless budget from Disney, Pixar can create and explore any aspect necessary and writer/director Brad Bird does just that. The story here comprises elements of drama, sadness, family relations, job pressures, as well as a wonderful monologue near the end by a critic for critics. The story is pitch-perfect, always understandable and the foundation for which the film is made.
And, since it is Pixar and Disney, the look and feel of the film is so engrossing, it looks better than other animated films made after it. One of the things Pixar does so well is find the middle ground in making elements of the frame look real but not too real, thus still maintaining an animated universe. They did it with the water in Finding Nemo, the cars in Cars, and they do it here with the food, which at times looks so real you want to taste it.
I really can't say anything bad about Ratatouille. Even the story elements of how Remy and his human counterpart, Linguini, are able to work together work because this is the animated world which lends itself to more freedoms than our world. The voices are terrific from Patton Oswalt to Ian Holm to the great Peter O'Toole as deathly-thin food critic Anton Ego. There really isn't anything here that doesn't work and Michael Giacchino's score emits the spirit of Paris that sets the background for this story. This is just a great film, perfect in its story, its characters and the wonderful, vibrant world it creates. Years after its release, Ratatouille continues and will continue to impress and immerse viewers in a touching story with beautiful surroundings about the cutest rat in the world becoming a chef in Paris. Only animation, and only Pixar, could make this a film and succeed.