RATATOUILLE [2007] review

Brad Bird is the only person working in animation that can bring up thoughts of Hayao Miyazaki. RATATOUILLE is a wonder to the eye from the very first scene. CG animation is reaching an amazing level, especially if you like to notice thing like how water reflects light, which I do. The story and characters are just as solid as the CG, coming together to produce a special movie.

…I was surprised how good the action sequences were. The camera stays tight on Remi, the rat that can cook, as he whooshes down a sewer, scurries across the sidewalks of Paris, and most spectacularly when he avoids all attempts to crush him, smash him, slice him in the kitchen where he will eventually work, in a sense. By keeping the camera tight, the viewer can’t see where any dangers come from, so we see things as Remi, a rat, does, and thus the audience gets to see through his eyes just how fast and quick rats have to be to avoid death at any given moment.

…The human characters are interesting, especially the feisty Colette. The two villains in the film are quite different. The head chef chews up scenery and is constantly frustrated by the mere thought that Remi might be in his kitchen and that he might lose ownership of the very restaurant. The other villain, a restaurant critic, has much less screen time, but is very effective in the small screen time he gets, and has a very satisfying character arc.

…As a vegetarian, I expected some of the cooking scenes to be offensive to me, but Remi largely cooks with vegetables so vegetarians go see this movie without fear!

…Remi struggles with not fitting in with his rat family and with trying to fit in to the human world. The deepest thinking of the movie concerns trying to be more than what you came from without alienating those who helped you get to a point where you are able to go off on your own. Remi is strikingly independent and his boldness yield both positive and negative results.

…I also found getting to see the intricacies of how a 5-star French restaurant kitchen runs to be fascinating as well.

…This is a special movie that will leave you feeling a better person and feeling better about the world than when you walked into the theater.

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