Oui, it's that good

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2007)

In a season virtually filled to the brim with disappointing follow-up installments, Pixar Animation Studios and director Brad Bird cook up yet another winner in "Ratatouille," a story of a rat named Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) who hankers to hone his improbable talent of mixing the right ingredients to make a delightful fare. The members of his colony don't recognize his passion, if not entirely against it, especially his father (Brian Dennehy) who constantly reminds him that humans are dangerous. But as someone who looks up to the late Chef Gusteau, Remy believes what the celebrated culinary expert believes: anyone can cook.
But an attempt to prove this to his brother Emile (Peter Sohn) causes him to separate from the other members of his colony, eventually ending up in Paris, and in Gusteau's once five-star restaurant. Now reduced to three stars, it's run by Chef Skinner (Ian Holm), a collusive restaurateur who plans to use Gusteau's prestigious name to sell mass-marketed frozen foods. A series of events bring Remy and Linguini, a bumbling garbage boy working at the restaurant, together. Driven by Remy's desire to cook and Linguini's desperate effort not to get fired after a kitchen mishap, the two team up to prepare the restaurant's new menu items that has the elites of Paris appreciating the restaurant again.
Soon, Linguini gets all the credit Remy deserves and Remy's loyalty to his family members are questioned, eventually leading to some sort of a falling out between the two even as renowned food critic Anton Ego is set to do a review of the restaurant.
"Ratatouille" is firstly a sight to behold (ah, Paris!) and praising Pixar for it seems as effective as calling a fast food restaurant unhealthy. It just is. What really sets the studio's projects apart from other films of its nature (I'm consciously trying to keep myself from labeling animation as a genre; you know, Brad Bird... ) is how their stories successfully embed genuine motivations to their characters while adding nice blend of drama and humor, without resorting to an overkill of pop culture references.
I understand Disney's dilemma, though, in marketing this film. Save for the fact that it's an animated movie featuring a talking rat, Bird's follow-up to his equally laudable "The Incredibles" is placed in such a sophisticated setting with a tad too many culinary jargon which younger audiences might not easily appreciate. In fact, it seems it might appeal to parents more than to their kids. But it's paced well, is thoroughly engaging, and the cast provides memorable voice performances that the movie overall is a, well, delicious experience.
In the end, "Ratatouille" is a visually pleasing, touching and humorous tale that further proves Pixar and Bird a formidable combination.