Change Your Image
samcohen-86165
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Ratatouille (2007)
The greatest animated movie ever made.
Movies don't get much better than this. I watched this a lot as a child but this is not nostalgia; this is a perfect movie. There's a lot that can be said about Pixar as a studio, their ability to blend childlike whimsicality with adult messages, but it is at this point when they made Ratatouille when they peaked. This is the most mature movie they've ever made and it has the best characters, easily the most intriguing, gripping, mesmerizing and stunning story out of any animated movie I've seen thus far and in cinema in general. Brad Bird triumphs on this one and it's most likely he'll never make a movie this good again but very few can make a movie this good in the first place.
Remy is a lovable rat who goes on a journey across the most gorgeous landscape in a Pixar film, that being Paris, and discovers how despite barriers in life he can achieve his dreams which sounds cliché and a bit pretentious but it's executed so masterfully in this film. The sentiments of final lines that a good artist can come from anywhere is so brilliant. You really genuinely feel like you are one with the characters and that you go on this journey with them, and when they succeed it feels like you succeed and when they have ups and downs you have ups and downs. This film has expert pacing and we see each character grow with so much depth; we see Remy go from a mere rat who simply aspires to become a chef to someone who learns to let his family and friends into his life and help him to realise his dreams. Along the way we see the family become more open-minded to humans and vice-versa. We see Linguine go from someone who's a nobody, a garbage boy to someone who skyrockets in fame to someone who learns to be more grounded and to accept others, what a brilliant character.
It is mind-blowing the amount of genius put into this film, it's like a perfect storm, so brilliantly written. This is something that comes about once in a lifetime and I'm lucky to be able to even see this; I feel honoured.
The animation is fantastic but really the art style and the design of Paris is the crown jewel, it is so lush and lovingly crafted, I've never seen anything that looks so passionately beautiful in an animated movie before and I don't know if I ever will again. The food is so well animated so don't watch this film on an empty stomach because you will be very hungry by the end. Oh my and don't even get me started on the score; it's amazing.
It really goes without saying at this point for Pixar with the voice acting which is top-notch. Patton Oswalt is perfect in this role and is incredibly lovable as Remy. Lou Romano as Linguini is brilliant and so is everyone really and of course, you've got John Ratzenberger in there. I absolutely love Skinner who is a villain with a genuine motive, he really wants the restaurant back and dislikes Linguini for his immediate rise to power. You've also got this sort of white whale narrative going on where he becomes obsessed with Remy and tries to debunk Linguine. He's also very funny. I love the chefs; I love Horst, he's such an underrated character and Colette is fantastic and I love how she tells the audience about the gender imbalance in the cooking industry.
And of course, you have Anton Ego one of the most intriguing and terrifying movie characters in general. With perhaps the best voice acting ever from the legendary Peter O'Toole. His character is so well-crafted and revered and villainous throughout the film (his room is shaped like a coffin as well) that when the final scene of him and his flashback to his childhood hits it's like no other. I felt overcome with a rush of emotion as he drops his pen and realises how great the food is. I don't get that from any movie. That's another thing that this movie can do it makes me all emotional not with sadness not with joy but with love and passion. I just love everything about this film and I will not fault it for anything. It's really hard to put into words how much this movie means to me. I really don't want to spend my time analysing it any further because it is that good and I feel that analysing it is pointless, for me this is art, yeah this is a movie but for me, it's more than that, it's an experience and a journey that sucks you in like no other. It holds on to you as it takes you on a journey through the streets of Paris, you bond with the characters and by the end, you will be rewarded and content.
This isn't the funniest Pixar movie nor is it really a comedy at all, this is Pixar taking a very mature approach. This film is really for adults, there are a lot of things and ideas in here that probably wouldn't resonate with kids. It's unlikely we will get another Pixar film this laser-focused in telling a convincing story that just sucks you in. It would seem impossible for Brad Bird to top himself with The Incredibles considering how near-perfect that film is but Ratatouille absolutely blows it out of the water.
This movie is pure art to me, I love it, I love it, I love it, I can't say enough good things about it. I love the story and I love the pacing - just absolutely perfect. The characters are beautiful, the landscapes are beautiful, the animation is fantastic, the direction by Brad Bird is unlike any other film I've seen. It makes me happy, it makes me joyous, it makes me feel warm, it makes me feel comfortable and it makes me feel all sorts of emotions. This is Pixar's masterpiece and one of my favourite films ever made.
10/10.