Hearty, vibrant and comforting - just like a good meal

Rating: Null/10 (26 March 2019)

The second Pixar film to be directed by Brad Bird and once again his strong areas shine through. The story is about a culinary mastermind, a chef of chefs, who just happens to be a common farm rat. Remy, the rat in question, gets separated from his family in the sewers and ends up meeting a cleaning boy, Linguini, who's working for a famous restaurant. Remy's talents pull through and he ends up preparing meals for the restaurant through Linguini.
An odd story, to say the least, but it has its own bizarre logic. And it isn't afraid of acknowledging its own strangeness. Every single time a person learns a rat prepared their meal, their reaction is priceless.
But what really elevates this movie above its peers is the technical talent of Brad Bird. Just like his debut film with Pixar, The Incredibles, this movie is an absolute joy to watch for the pure visual splendour it offers. Its Paris is the amalgamation of all those Parises we've grown to love. Its colours are the colours of dreams. Its way to portray food is something straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. If you're not hungry after watching this film, there's something wrong with your stomach.
Plus, the characters are a lot of fun. Anton Ego, a food critic with a bone to pick with Remy's restaurant, might just very well be my all-time favourite Pixar antagonist. Remy is also a fine character and all the different restaurant workers are a lot of fun. The only one that falls a bit short is unfortunately Linguini, who's the second most important character. But even he's just a bit bland rather than outright awful.
Ratatouille falls on the clunky side of storytelling. It could flow smoother. It juggles a plot point or two too many. But, that being said, it is such a nice experience that I'm more than willing to forgive its minor transgressions. If you haven't seen it already, do yourself a favour.