Review: Ratatouille (2007) – A treat to all citizens! Pronounced Ra-at-too-ee
Quality Score: 7/10

The pride of Pixar Animation Studios is their innovation & creativity. They guard these traits of theirs so closely that their intensity, passion and commitment is unmatched. Pixar yet again manages to maintain its intrinsic characteristics in their latest rodent venture. A slight deviation in the theatres led us to watch Ratatouille instead of Transformers which I eagerly awaited since last summer which I watched too later in the week!

If your thinking Ratatouille is the protagonist’s name, you are mistaken, a certain person of French origin might relate to it better or perhaps his taste buds might. It is a side dish comprised of the likes of tomatoes, garlic, onions and other ingredients, which actually isn’t a matter concern for this review. Shifting focus to Remy (Patton Oswalt), a rat residing in the interiors of France, has the gift to guess about anything from the smell and the ambitions of becoming a chef. He is audacious and has a motto of not eating garbage setting him apart from his hog-anything clan. An eventful attack by a human separates Remy from his family, and by fate finds him in the very place he dreamed of – Gasteau’s, France’s famous restaurant extraordinaire. Remy is enthusiastic but has to find a way to find himself to fulfill his lifelong desire.

Constantly motivated by his psychological angel – the great Gasteau himself, Remy finds the slow stuttering Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) as his conduit into the kitchen. Remy is able to control Linguini’s movements by pulling his hair and uses this to cook up the delicacies in the kitchen. The flawless food even melts the arrogant critic Ego who eats his own words along with ‘Ratatouille’. Eventually he gives in to the rat’s inexplicable ‘chefness’.

While Ratatouille strains to live up to ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘The Incredibles’, that have set the bar very high, it certainly stacks up as another of Pixar’s exceptional animative exploits. Ratatouille is directed and written by Brad Bird (The Incredibles).

Genre: Animation, Comedy

- Chandrachood Ramkumar