Customer Reviews

Ratatouille (Widescreen)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you love quality films and think Pixar is leading the industry in innovation and storytelling, you owe it to yourself to see "Ratatouille." Pixar will only maintain creative control over its product so long as they are earning money for Disney. Unlike its predecessors Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille failed to earn even $50 million in its opening weekend. A lot of money, yes, but not a good sign for the investors.

Money aside, Pixar has proved once again that they can do what no one else can: create fully realized CG worlds that are only secondary to the story being told. The CG here is simply marvelous. Paris comes to life, the food is so realistic you want to reach out and eat it, and the rats move with a delicate grace that is at the same time cartoonish and believable. But what truly sets Pixar apart from every other animation studio is that they can walk that line between animated reality and cartoon absurdity. The key, here, is the people that inhabit the worlds they've created. They don't look remotely realistic. They look, in fact, much like the humans in The Incredibles. Overlarge heads, exaggerated limbs, and a fluidity of movement that can only be recreated in a movie. Unlike Shrek, or Ice Age, or any other CG movie, Ratatouille allows it's humans be to be cartoons, but they surround them with the most realistic world imaginable. This effect isn't disconcerting, it frees the viewer to sit back and simply absorb everything.

Like their previous efforts, the story is everything. Remy is a rat who loves to cook and he befriends a young man who can't cook, but works in the kitchen of a famous restaurant. The story is both hilarious and exciting. It never falls into melodramatic traps, and the characters act in believable ways - they don't simply do what the writers think they should do to advance the plot to a happy conclusion.

In short, this is not a formulaic film. It balances ingenuity, wit, and skill, and produces one of the finest films in it's category. I don't know if this is the best Pixar film yet, but it's at least the equal of Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc, Toy Story, and The Incredibles. In fifty years, we'll all be looking back on Pixar as the finest example of a creative force in Hollywood. Let's hope Disney allows them to continue making films their way.

At the end of the day, the family and I have no problem with "Ratatouille". And I can find fault with just about every movie I see.

A rat resided in a colony
His keen sense of smell was an anomaly
But there were cooking channels on French TV
He learned to cook from a recipe
And he was cooking before he knew it, and as he grew
He said, "I'm not gonna be like you, Dad,
"I'm just not gonna be like you."

And the rat's in the kitchen with the cooking spoon
Chef Gusteau by the light of the moon
When you comin' home, son, I don't know when,
But we'll get together then,
You know we'll have a good time then

Okay, that's how it all begins - Rémy is a rat with gourmet tastes who lives with his extended family of gourmands in the French countryside. His family utilizes him as a poison sniffer, but his great ambition is to be like his hero, Chef Gusteau. One day, in a sequence reminiscent of "Finding Nemo" and "Flushed Away", he finds himself at the restaurant founded by the now deceased Chef Gusteau, which is being run by the former sous-chef.

Alfredo Linguini is the newly hired garbage boy, and as soon as he starts to work he manages to find himself in the soup. He hastily tries to cover his mistake, and is saved by the rat, who is in turn in need of being saved. The two soon form an alliance, and with a little bit of tugging and pulling, the boy starts cooking fabulous dishes while the rat buzzes like a bee in the bonnet.

Sous-chef Skinner has big plans for the future, but when documents come to light that put a freeze on his ambition, he hatches a plot to have the restaurant shut down. At the same time, Anton Ego, the notoriously picky food critic, learns of the new and improved cuisine, and descends upon the little restaurant with the intention of decreasing its already diminished star rating.

What follows are scenes not for the weak of stomach, and it may not be advisable to choose this for your romantic Saturday night "dinner and a movie", at least not if you're planning to have French cuisine (or Chinese take out for that matter).

The animation and scenery are amazing as usual, but the movie has no catchy songs and somehow didn't keep my son's attention for as long as I had hoped. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I think this one is more suited to older children and adults..

Amanda Richards

A gourmet blend of solid storytelling, great voice acting, and some of the best computer animated visuals I've ever seen, which is as much a culinary delight for the eyes as the entrees made by Remy the rat are for the taste buds of Paris gourmands. Another hit from Brad Bird and his crew--this is why Pixar is top of the heap in animation these days, and why Dreamworks is just...dreaming.

A person (or writing team) must be pretty creative to come up with the concept of a French rat who desires something more out of life; the desire to create works of art through the culinary arts. The absurd idea that a rat has a personality and yearns to be something more than just a scavenger of garbage is in and of itself a humorous one. This crazy idea sets the tone of Ratatouille and the fun keeps building from there.

Mix that worldly rat's existential desires to take his gifts and become a creator of something with a bumbling young man who needs a job and you have the perfect recipe for a fun and entertaining film. The film is definitely absurd but that's what makes it fun. As an individual who loves to eat and loves to create dishes I was actually able to relate to the main character even though he is a rat!

As with any Pixar film, there are several great characters who do nothing short of improve the film and make it that much more enjoyable. Pixar has been highly successful, once again, in creating a film that an entire family can enjoy together and that in itself makes it worth buying and watching.

There are movies and there are great movies that will become classics over
time, and i think Ratatouille has enough ingredients to become one.
Very nicely animated, good characters, a very good story and the right
pulls on our emotional strings this movie comes out a winner. And even
better, its good for everyone.
And from the word of mouth, the second view retains the magic and is as
good as the first time.
Classic.

Ratatouille (animation, comedy, family)
Directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava
Starring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm and Janeane Garofalo

Disney / Buena Vista | 2007 | 111 min | Rated G | Released Nov 06, 2007

Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio:
English: LPCM 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

Remy (Oswalt) is a young rat with an enhanced sense of taste and smell. When he saves his dad from eating food laced with poison, he's given a job as food tester for the whole colony. Remy quickly becomes bored with the job and dreams of better things. After seeing a TV cooking show, he decides that he would like to be a chef. Unfortunately, he's almost killed by the TVs owner and the entire colony is discovered and forced to leave her house.

Remy is separated from his family and talks to an illustration of Gusteau, the TV chef, because he's alone and there's nobody else to talk to. When he discovers Gusteau's restaurant, he finds that he knows the function of every member of the staff. Remy gets into trouble when entering the kitchen, but he adds ingredients to the soup and the customers love it. He's discovered when trying to leave and Linguini (Romano), the kitchen boy, is told to kill him. But the worried look on Remy's face stops Linguini in his tracks and he realizes that Remy fixed the soup. The two decide to work together.

Although Remy can be understood by other rats, that's not the case with humans. Instead, he uses gestures to communicate and is very expressive. His tiny shrugs and nods are easy to understand. Quite by accident, Remy discovers that he can control Linguini by pulling at strands of his hair. The two practice at home and come up with a plan to do the same at the restaurant. He hides under Linguini's hat and continues to prepare food by controlling him.

The story is well thought out and quite complex in places for an animated film. The 111-minute running time is necessary to show everything in detail. The streets of Paris look real and it's clear that the Pixar team researched the setting thoroughly.

Linguini is trained by Colette (Garofalo) and starts to develop feelings for her, but it's Remy's skill that wins the approval of the restaurant's customers. Linguini is deeply resented by the Head Chef (Holm), who knows that Linguini is Gusteau's son and the restaurant's rightful owner. The problem is, Linguini doesn't know that.

The film is full of peril, chase scenes and humor, and has a little action. The characters are well developed and Remy is easy to like. It's challenging to make a rat appear friendly and lovable, but Pixar somehow pulls it off. Remy is always happy and smiling and chooses to walk upright on two feet. I think that was done to make him appear more like a human and less like a rat. He's also very particular about cleanliness and washes his paws before preparing any food.

The restaurant eventually captures the attention of food critics and is visited by Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), who is the most famous critic of them all. He's hard to impress and had written off Gusteau's as insignificant years ago, but decides to see why it's become relevant again. One of my favorite scenes happens in the restaurant when Ego takes his first bite of food, but I'll let you discover what happens for yourself.

The film has a lot of important messages. It shows us that it's wrong to steal and that family is important. But most of all, it's about following your dreams. Remy is a rat. How can he possibly become a chef? Even if he did, how could he succeed? I imagine that children watching the film could be inspired by Remy's achievements. Maybe a few will grow up wanting to be chefs, and they are rarely out of work.

I can't watch the film without thinking about Hans Landa's speech in Inglourious Basterds where he asks Perrier LaPadite what his reaction would be if a rat entered his home. How would that differ if a squirrel were to enter? It's true that humans often have a problem with rats, and many of us actually fear them. It's quite an achievement to invent a rat that we like and root for as he attempts to live out his dream.

All of Pixar's movies are worth owning, but Ratatouille just edges out Up as my favorite. If they ever decide to do another sequel, I hope that we get another story about Remy. It's aimed at older audiences more than the likes of Cars and A Bug's Life, but children will still be able to enjoy it.

Well done, Pixar.

Video Quality 5/5
Ratatouille looks fantastic on Blu-ray. You can see the individual hairs in Remy's fur and the way it beads when he gets wet. The colors are striking and the sheer amount of detail in background scenes tells you all you need to know. This is a reference quality presentation that's ideal for showing off your home theater.

Audio Quality 5/5
The lossless LPCM 5.1 track is full of subtle detail and delivers well during all of the louder scenes. Although there's very little traditional action, your system will receive a full workout during chase scenes and when Remy is trying to avoid being captured. The sound has good depth and you'll hear the surrounds highlight quieter effects such as vegetables being chopped or background conversation in the restaurant. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout and there's really nothing that falls short of perfection.

Special Features 3.5/5

Lifted (5:02, HD) - One of my favorite short films from Pixar.

Your Friend the Rat (11:16, HD) - Remy and Emil talk about the history of rats in an amusing way.

Gusteau's Gourmet Game - Control Linguini and help him meet incoming orders.

Fine Food and Film (13:54, HD) - Director Brad Bird and chef Thomas Keller talk about some of their ideas for the film.

Animation Briefings

Documentary Shorts

Deleted Scenes (15:06) - Three scenes that were removed before they were finished.

Deleted Shots R.I.P. (3:12)

The Will (2:48) - With composer Michael Giacchino, featuring an alternate score for one of the scenes.

Remembering Dan Lee (3:00)

There are also five Easter eggs. Press the left button on your control while in the main menu. It works for the top or bottom item.

Ro-Dead Commercial (0:12, HD)

Yes! Shots (1:06)

How to Pronounce Ratatouille (0:55)

L'ecole Culinaire D'Pixar (1:02)

Producer Plays Trombone (0:50)

Pixar has produced some wonderful films and all are worth owning. The Blu-ray presentations are all just about perfect and Ratatouille is no exception. The film has heart and warmth and is a fun place to visit. It doesn't have the constant action of some titles, but the story is gripping throughout. Adults will be pleasantly surprised at the depth of the story, although very small children may lose interest. That would be a shame, because I rank it as Pixar's best, and that's saying a lot.

Good film - a bit mature for my toddlers, but I'm sure they will enjoy it in a few years.

This was my first purchase through Amazon.ca and I was a little worried about buying online from a company I wasn't familiar with. I was not let down and I can honestly say that I have no complaints whatsoever about this product... It arrived in good condition and in a timely manner, and I didn't have to pay a cent more than planned. I wouldn't hesistate to buy from here again or to recommend this product to a friend!

The blu-ray visuals on Ratatouille are astounding - the clarity and colour scheme details really bring the picture alive. Also the audio is uncompressed! If you like this film, I highly recommend the blu-ray - it truly showcases this film's artwork. I also like the cine-explore feature (which is often a pop-up pic-in-pic with deleted scenes and featurettes) - it's very entertaining. There is also a beat-the-clock type game involving many recipes, for any aspiring chefs. For me however, it's all about how fantastic this film looks on blu-ray.

Normally I would stick with good old-fashion 2D animation; but I will make an exception with this CGI animated film from Pixar, along with The Incredibles; though the film is a Disney/Pixar collaboration, I still consdier it a Pixar film. And I love movies that are set in Paris, like "The Last Time I saw you in Paris" starring Elizabeth Taylor (one of my favorite actresses) and Van Johnson; and the 1962 animated feline-film "Gay Purr-ee."

You know,in real-life, I hate rats...not mice, but RATS! But not Remy, and not this film. Another reason I like this film, because it's all about chasing a big dream, like what Remy is trying to do...MY big dream is to a fiction writer.