Toon Talk: Ratatouille
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(c) Disney
Lonely and hungry, with only his treasured cookbook by his favorite chef, the renowned Gusteau, to keep him company, Remy imagines a conversation with the late gourmand, embodied in spirit-form and voiced by Brad Garrett, who then leads our hero to the celebrated restaurant that bears his name. Remy cannot believe his eyes upon peering into Gusteau’s - all that food, glorious food … just waiting to be lovingly turned into the hautest of cuisine. Urged on by his imaginary mentor, Remy finds himself inside the kitchen, saving the soup of the day when a bumbling garbage boy named Linguini (Pixar artist Lou Romano) nearly ruins it. When the dish is a hit with the diners, Skinner (Ian Holm), Gusteau’s former assistant who now runs the restaurant, thinks Linguini made it. Even worse, Remy is caught, and Skinner charges Linguini to dispose of him … and return the next night to make the soup again.
But Linguini saw the rat making the soup, and he knows that he can’t make it without the help of this “little chef�?. They hatch a plan that let’s Remy cook and Linguini keep his job, a plan that ultimately goes too well; Linguini is hailed as the next big thing in French cuisine, much to Skinner’s disdain. Having found romance with sexy fellow chef Colette (Janeane Garofalo), the instant success goes to the boy’s head; that, along with the untimely return of Remy’s family, threatens the relationship between the rodent and the human. It all comes to a head when their newfound fame provokes the interest of the poison pen of infamous food critic Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole, in a delicious performance), who comes to taste the wares of Paris’ new top chef.
(c) Disney
Sumptuously animated with gorgeous hues and brilliant lighting, Ratatouille is a feast for the eyes - and stomach; even though it is mere pixels, the food onscreen looks mouth-wateringly delicious (whatever you do, do not go to the theater hungry). Writer/director Brad Bird (who won an Oscar for Pixar’s last homerun, The Incredibles) deftly crafts the humor to evolve out of the situation, allowing it to come naturally. Any reservations one might have over a story that not only places a filthy rodent into a spotless kitchen, but actually has the vermin handling food that people will eat, are easily overcome (there are several shots of paw washing too that help). My favorite Bird touch is when Remy visualizes the flavor of foods through swirling curly-q’s of color, actually conveying visually what so many live action movies about cooking (Big Night, Babette’s Feast) could not. And it’s not just the food that looks good; you’ve never seen the City of Lights looking quite so glittery romantic as here.