Technically brilliant, but Pixar storytelling process stumbles - SPOILERS ABOUND!

Rating: 6/10 (10 August 2007)

I went into Ratatouille with huge expectations due to the glowing reviews. I generally love Pixar features.
To my surprise, I wasn't immediately swept off my feet as the movie started. I waited, and waited... and though there were some brilliant sequences, there were just too many elements which did not ring true for me to get into the film.
Things I had problems with: 1) Remy isn't really a rat, he's a human in rat shape. He already knows how to cook, he can read, he's hygienic, he has moral qualms about 'stealing'... His only problem is that he's a rat, and thus unable to achieve his desires. That's a purely physical limitation, not a psychological one. So there's no real growth on his part, just the search for the opportunity to live his dream.
2) Linguini is so passive and incompetent, he's really an uninteresting character. The conflict between him and Remy is forced - even when he's taking credit for Remy's talent (very late in the story), he does so because of circumstance and Remy has never before given any indication he's not okay with this.
3) Colette is completely superfluous to the story. Moreover, she starts off extremely feminist and violently tough, but soon after becomes just another lovelorn female pining for idiotic Linguini. Her anger at the female-unfriendliness of the haute cuisine world is immediately forgotten.
4) Skinner is a badly realized character. He's only interested in his line of Gusteau frozen foods, yet he keeps the restaurant open and expects it to produce quality food. However, he doesn't try to improve the star rating (which could only help his business plans). On the other hand, he doesn't deliberately cut corners or lower standards to save money. (It's not clear to me whether his frozen foods have already been launched or whether this is a secret plan of his - if so, it's never discovered (as a revelation) by anyone during the film, so it doesn't really add to the storyline. Also, Skinner is so very concerned about Linguini being Gustave's son, feeling certain that he 'knows' something and his appearance just before the deadline is no accident. However, nothing is ever discovered about Skinner, he doesn't appear to have any dark secrets. So why the paranoid worrying? Finally, Skinner isn't really a successful villain to oppose Remy, as their goals never really clash. When Skinner finally captures Remy, it's not to kill him but to force him to cook more deep-frozen meals... Not exactly a fate worse than death. I was also irritated by his English name being coupled to a French(ish) accent.
4) Anton Ego is an even less suitable opponent for Remy. He's a very mean character (almost vampire-like in looks), and directly responsible for Gusteau's death. Yet there is no punishment (though he indirectly killed Linguini's dad!), only a sense of immediate and total redemption. Why did he become such a monster (compared to the sweet and innocent boy he used to be)? If you think about it, the character is all about exercising tyrannical power (destroying the reputation of chefs for the fun of it), not the love of food as he claims. How does this put him into direct conflict with Remy? He's the main threat of the film but only shows up in the third act (when the less imposing Skinner has been largely disposed of). (It would also have been nice if Remy's food had first provoked culinary hallucinations of an incredible potency before flashing him back to his childhood)
5) Remy learns to control Linguini perfectly, but when they have to cook the sweetbreads, Linguini is once again careening off the walls etc. like in the much earlier apartment scenes.
6) The kitchen personnel is very dull: nothing is done with them, and they have almost no personality (despite being introduced in a way which makes you expect them to have a far greater impact on the movie). Perhaps the whole rat family theme should have been dropped and more time should have been spent with the kitchen staff)
7) major coincidences propel the story forwards: Remy losing his family and (especially) finding them again is really arbitrary.
8) The final fate of Gusteau's restaurant is disappointing.
9) Remy's unwillingness to believe humans hate rats when his father shows him the shop is really strange, as he's experienced the homicidal old lady. It would have been better if he remained convinced that Linguini is his friend and would never harm him no matter what, unlike other humans.
10) The film lacks a climax as spectacular and inventive as Monsters Inc., Nemo and Incredibles.
11) The paternity angle is resolved extremely quickly, after having received quite a build-up. The resolution was very unsatisfactory (more could have been done with it story-wise, and during development it probably was at one time or another).
Finally, the film isn't that funny, compared to the other Pixar classics. Heck, Flushed Away (which had a less likable hero by far, and was less emotionally involving) is funnier by far than Ratatouille.
Ratatouille is more serious in tone than many other Pixar films, but for me, the story told didn't convince and the moral lessons were far too heavy-handed (follow your dream, prejudice is bad, family comes first, critics are generally bad :-)...) The set pieces are very impressive, technically the film obviously breaks new barriers, and there are some nice jokes and little touches scattered over the film - but to me, the magic was missing. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the development process of the story must have been extremely complicated and I often had the feeling that bits were left in that probably worked better in previous versions of the story, or alternately were added later without fitting the overall story perfectly.