This week @ the Byrd: Ratatouille

photo credit:
Jake Lyell

Remember when Pixar was so insecure about the way their newfangled technology represented humans that they only sporadically showed them – always in a rush and always only bit by bit? Now, as my moviegoing friend reminded me, they are able to digitally portray humans so realistically that they have to purposefully make the characters cartoonish so that the viewer still gets the animation experience.

This makes me feel kind of weird. Pixar is TOO ADVANCED that it has to dumb itself down for us? Come on. I mean, the cars of Cars only exist in my memory as animated figures, not amazing works of art. Stop dilly-dallying around with genius technology and get back to your formerly incredible scripts. It’s quality we want from Pixar – a feel-good movie that delivers some seriously good jokes. Am I right??

Well, I’m almost right. Ratatouille, Pixar’s latest feature about a rat that wants to be a chef, is the first Pixar film whose animation struck me straight off. They may be caricaturing up the humans in the film, and as expected, the portrayal of rats is a little skewed so that they become adorable cuddlers instead of what we all know is their natural state.* The other stuff though – the Paris streets, the professional yet warm kitchen, and even the sewers – is so visually appealing that you find yourself wondering how they got a computer to make an image look so softly lit and appetizing. A sunset over a French farmhouse and the afternoon light slanting into the shot makes you wonder why people bother to make live action movies at all.

In fact, the obvious and complicated care gone into making this film look both worn around the edges and on the cutting edge of taste (like Remy the Rat’s signature dish, ratatouille**) is clearly the theme behind the entire film. Remy’s culinary adventures are abbreviated by the fact that his very presence can cause a restaurant to be shut down, even when the crustiest food critic (played by Peter O’Toole – who really rules, what is going on with that guy? I hope he lives to be 200!) will deign to admit that a lowly rat can bring some much needed humility to the world of food – and, it was enjoyable to see, the world of criticism.*** But the pervading message of the film, “you can do whatever you want as long as you set your mind to it, etc.” is delivered with more sincerity than any children’s movie I’ve seen in a long time.

The humor in Ratatouille isn’t quite as memorable as in former Pixar greats, at least, I don’t remember more than a couple incredibly side-splitting moments. But you know what? Was Finding Nemo all that funny? It was more of an entire package, not just some cheap laughs like Cars, and it’s the “entire package” film that wins hearts (and Oscars).

*Demons.

**Which, in America, is pronounced (as the film keeps telling you) ‘Rat-a-TOO-ee’ and if you try to say it like you are French, I will come after you with a giant, stale baguette and a host of angry escargot.

***A movie about food AND a movie about criticism? Replace the colony of rats with a colony of Johnny Depps and I would swear never to watch another movie ever again.