Brad Bird strikes back again! With Giant Robot and The Incredibles under his belt, I had a fairly high expectation for his latest work - Ratatouille. Taking a sharp turn from the previous “larger-than-life” setups, this time around, he takes us on a trip to Paris, seeing the City of Good Food through the eyes of… a rat (no, not Mickey Mouse… Mickey is a giant mutated mouse. Here we’re talking about rats… those ones that live in a sewer… like some mutated turtles).
In many ways, Ratatouille is a pretty standard Pixar fare. We’re first humored with a “silent” Pixar short (”Lifted”), as you’d come to expect. Then the feature animation starts with the typical CGI Disney logo, followed by a long pan into our first scene… Here’s where things started to change a bit. Unlike previous Pixar animations, Ratatouille begins and ends with a long narration - which I think is a first for a Pixar film, and it worked quite well. Another change here is that the voice talents for most of the main roles are either lesser known actors (or should I say less “mainstream”) or “professional” voiceover actors. This was a pleasant surprise! Although Pixar never put much emphasis on their voice talents, hearing a familiar actor’s voice can sometimes draws you back to reality and prevents you from being fully immersed in the experience (this was most apparent in my experience with the Cars… Owen Wilson’s voice is so unique that I had trouble not relating Lightning McQueen to him). This is absolutely a positive change that helped me enjoy this movie much more than I would otherwise. I would love to see them continue to do so in their future animations.
The story set up follows a more traditional Pixar formula - a character not content with their current community’s “way-of-life” and is determined to change that. Through some coincident, the character meets up with some supporting roles that helps him/her realize the “dream.” Obstacles surfaces, the team falls apart, and then through some adventure and self-reflection, the team unites, and so they live happily ever-after. Yeah, a bit Disney-ish, too, I know. But look back at Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, and Cars… hasn’t that been the formula all alone, but played by different “objects”? That’s what made The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo stand out - though they may in some way resembles this story structure, they depart from the Pixar norm, and took us on a fresh adventure.
So yeah, the structure feels a little tried and old… but it is an enjoyable movie nonetheless. The humor in Ratatouille is much more subtle than the other Pixar productions (pay attention to the “French drama,” the shape of the room, the style of the typewriter… etc)… at least for the first 2/3 of the movie. It doesn’t have much of laugh-out-loud moment, but it does put a grin on your face here and there. The joke REALLY picked up towards the last 10 minute or so (mixed with some slapstick jokes, of course). Quite frankly though, I’m not sure how much kids would enjoy this movie compared to other Pixar productions. Somehow I feel this one is geared more towards an adult audience. On the other hand, it doesn’t have as much depth as other Pixar films… I’ll say I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure if I want to go back and revisit it again…
Nothing to pick on the animation, really. It’s on par with most Pixar animation. But I didn’t notice anything shocking either - Nemo we had water, Incredibles we had fabrics, Monsters we had fur, Cars we had reflection/lighting, Ratatouille… has all of the above, but I failed to notice anything new. Though I have to say the characters feel a lot more cartoony in Ratatouille, and in some weird way, have more of a 2D-touch to it. Maybe that’s just me. In any case, it’s visually entertaining, that’s for sure. In the audio department, loved the music. In a few segments there’s a snippet of some French song (Le Festin), which is a nice touch. Composer Michael Giacchino (fame of Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and The Incredibles) did a terrific job at providing the movie in the right tone (pun intended). However, priced at $11.99 on iTunes, I found that a bit difficult to stomach (yeah, there are 24 tracks + 1 video… but most those tracks clock in at 2 minutes top!).
To sum it up, if you liked any of the Pixar animation, chances are you’ll enjoy this movie. It’s entertaining, and it’s cute. But like what I said in the Transformers review, this movie lacks a bit of the WOW factor, and leaves you wanting just a bit more than it had to offer… (but the scallop looks so delicious!)
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