The best animated film ever...

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2007)

To describe Ratatouille as the best animated film ever made is still an understatement. It is a topnotch achievement--the chef d'oeuvres amidst a world of hamburgers and fries.
The advanced screening of the latest collaboration of Disney and Pixar, directed by the ingenious Brad Bird, whose previous works were never disappointing (The Iron Giant and The Incredibles), was probably most anticipated by some Filipino viewers who are aware of the increasing popularity and immense critical acclaim of the Ratatouille. To paraphrase a critic, it was even hailed as the "prophet who spreads and embodies the new age of the world of animation." As much as I wanted to digress back then, I admit that I was giddy and excited to witness what the fuss is all about. As soon as I heard that there was a two-day advanced screening of Ratatouille, I told myself that I had to see it by hook or by crook.
I went inside the theater with extremely high expectations. I was blown away--the film did not disappoint--and the critics were right. BUT more than that, watching Ratatouille is a cinematic experience--I left the cinema shivering and in awe. The last time I had the same experience was with Martin Scorsese's The Departed, the Oscar best picture last year. I won't be surprised if this--yes, animated film--gets the same honor next year.
The quality of Ratatouille's animation can be compared without embarrassment to modern paintings or visual art compositions. The texture and the colors of Paris juxtaposed with the vivid outlines of the furs of the rats--combine these with excellent camera movements that follow the world of a rat adjacent to the oh-so-romantic alleys and lights of Paris--these unlikely combinations are beautifully illustrated that the audience is easily enchanted-- transported into the lovely world of Remy and Linguini: the little rat chef and the simple young man who just wanted to get by after losing his mother.
The story is focused primarily on Remy, gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell which eventually developed into his keenness and sensitivity to food. That's not a problem at all if he were perfectly a normal human being--Remy is a rat, one of the icky rodents that survive in packs, stealing food, rummaging through your garbage, causing disease and infections. He feels terribly odd about his special gift, often finding himself at the kitchen of human beings, experimenting his own cooking. After a series of unfortunate events, he finds himself lost and away from his family in the sewers--luckily, these sewers are in Paris, practically a food paradise for food enthusiasts. Eventually, he meets Linguini, a recently orphaned young man who turns up at the restaurant of a former famous chef named Gusteau, who happens to be a TV chef idol of Remy during the times he snuck out to the house of humans to get the spices he needed for his cooking. Unlike Remy, Linguini's knowledge of cuisine and food is close to nothing. After being assigned as a garbage boy in the restaurant, at one time, without thinking, he spoiled a soup being prepared for the restaurant's customers. Remy intervenes and saves the soup, which will turn out to be a big sensation soon. The rat is discovered by the young man, the head chef discovers the rat and orders the young man to get rid of the rat. Of course, Linguini cannot get rid of the rat because he needs to know how the rat cooked the sensational soup. So he decides to save the rat and the soup and eventually, everybody's saved. Though that's just the basic premise of the story.
The plot is solid, mixing a dash of vintage Disney archetypical hero in Remy (who reminds us of other Disney heroes who just think of themselves as different, who want to go out there, somewhere else where they will be more understood and where they are meant for greater things) and the Pixar's archetypal hero in Linguini, whose real heroism is found lingering among his inner values and natural kindness. But more than this, watching Ratatouille feels like reading a favorite bedtime story for people across all ages.
What really amazes me the most is the story's utter simplicity which exceptionally utilizes and combines realism and fantasy in the lovely world of Remy and Linguini.
The dialogue is extremely witty, the humor is not forced and most of the times delivered with taste.
I can't wait for a second, a third, a fourth helping of Ratatouille. Yes, an original DVD will definitely be worth the entertainment feast that this luscious film offers.