Brad Bird is my master now

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2007)

I had heard nothing but good reviews going into Ratatouille, written and directed by Brad Bird. Much like going to a fine restaurant, I was expecting to be impressed. Even though my expectations were high, I was totally blown away by what was served up on the silver screen.
Although it's an animated movie, this is NOT a movie made for or directed at kids, although there's enough slapstick and action that kids will enjoy this. It is an extremely well-made movie, with amazing sets, characters, and story, that can stack up against any live-action movie out there.
The attention to detail is amazing. From the peeling paint on the shutters of a French cottage, to the cityscape of Paris, to the innards of a French kitchen, the world feels real. And, many of the scenes, which are shot from a rat's-eye point of view, are both frenetic and fascinating to watch.
This movie was perfectly cast. Peter O'Toole as a pompous food critic is especially delightful to watch, although it took me until the end of the movie to figure out who was voicing that character. And Linguini, one of the main protagonists, is as tall and thin as his noodle's namesake, a picture of teenage awkwardness.
The story is a classic coming-of-age story. Well, sort of. Here, a young adult must find his place in the world, and leave the nest--literally. The main twist, of course, is he's a rat, but there are other surprises in this story which keep the story as fresh as a just-picked sprig of Rosemary.
Brad Bird, I salute you for continuing to elevate the genre of animation to an art form that's on par with any movie out there. At the heart of your story is the idea that dreams, even the ones that seem impossible, can come true. Here's to my dream that Ratatouille wins an Oscar--not for Best Animated Feature, but for Best Picture.