This lush, evocative and vastly entertaining animated film redefines the genre.
We have come to expect some mighty fine CGI today, spoiled by the leading edge body of work of studios lead by Pixar, but this is way beyond, even for that innovative bunch.
Pixar chief John Lasseter, a wine and food aficionado who lives in the Sonoma Valley and benefits from the fruits of fine living to be had there, has created a film so yummy you can smell the rosemary and cheese, the chives and garlic of the stupendous dishes onscreen.
The artistic detail is so rich that it hurts.
It ‘s a scrumptious outing enriched by a solid story about a boy and his rat who happens to be a culinary sophisticate. They toil in one of Paris’ pre-eminent kitchens, which has fallen on hard times following the death of its five-star chef. They experience vicissitudes and victories and carry off a caper or two.
The cast of characters includes hundreds of individually drawn rats, a dead-faced food critic, colourful cooks, restaurant patrons and evil instigators, one of whom looks just like Steve Buscemi.
But the film’s sensuality is what stands out. The words, look and feel of the film disarm us, even the most fervent animation-averse. From the storybook and richly detailed country cottage where the cookbooks, laid out near the rat holes, beg to be grabbed and held, to luxuriate in their luminous super realism.
It gets better. When Remy, the rat with the flair for food, escapes the miserable sewers where he has been lost and starved, and sees Paris for the first time, our hearts swell as much as his does. The depth of field and dimension, and the designers’ sensitivity to city’s character is stunning; the city is vivid, alive, super-real but not hyper-real.
These are places we want to be. Linguini’s one room cold-water flat is Spartan but warm, the kitchen with its warm woods and copper pans, the lush, red restaurant itself and to the beginning and the kitchen counter of the amateur chef who owns the cookbooks; these are jewel-like places heavy with meaning and unstoppable appeal.
A problem with animation is that you can be distracted by the sheer volume of man-hours it takes to make a frame, a sequence, the whole thing. Years and years of loving labor, the results of which must delight out senses and remain consistent from beginning to end; really a life’s work.
But those obsessions melt away in the film’s joyousness. The team that put it together was not bored or harried, or so it seems.
Something else about Ratatouille is that it is a safe place for kids to be. There is nothing scary or extreme and it’s about people, not machines or monsters. And with any luck, it may inspire youngsters to think about the magic and muse that is food.
Ratatouille has a huge heart and plenty of laughs. Plan to eat and drink in a fine restaurant afterwards because you’ll be hungry - and not for burgers and root beer.
Ratatouille
Opens USA, June 29th MPAA: Rated G
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