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Pixar
only needed one flop for Disney President Bob Iger to realise they
weren’t King Midas and he’d reign them in, giving the old school
animators and creatives some autonomy back.
Unfortunately for
them, Pixar movies are like pizza – even when they’re not the best
they’re still great. Those hand-wringing 2D animators are going to have
to occupy Disney headquarters, lock the new superstars out of the
building and hurriedly make and release their own movie – now there’s
an idea for a Pixar film.
Ratatouille
isn’t Pixar’s strongest film, but you can still see every drop of
creative sweat shed to make it as perfect as possible. The locales of a
Paris restaurant kitchen, its surrounds and the characters who work in
it are all faultlessly executed stylistically as well as technically,
so all that’s left to talk about is the story.
Remy lives in the
French countryside and really wants to be a chef. He idolises Gusteau,
owner and chef of a famous Paris restaurant who maintains that anyone
can cook, a philosophy that gives Remy hope.
When he finds
himself in Paris right in front of Gusteau’s after being separated from
his family, Remy realises his big chance is staring him in the face and
decides to let nothing stop him in his dream – not even the fact that
he’s a rat.
Forming an unlikely alliance with the gawky new
garbage boy Linguini, Remy gets his shot in the kitchen of Gusteau’s
despite the forces arrayed against him, from creepy head chef Skinner
(Holm) to vampiric food critic Ego (O’Toole).
The story and
themes are more multi-faceted than most Pixar films and thankfully
comprise more than just the tired ‘follow your dreams’ message. The
story isn’t as simple as that of Monsters
Inc or Toy
Story so, Ratatouille
isn’t as iconic, so it’s for Pixar fans only.
Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for the newly-demoted
ink-and-painters), most of us are.
DVD EXTRAS
with Sean Lynch
Name
me one Disney release which doesn't put 110% into their DVD extras, and
I'll jump off a bridge. These guys are flawless, and are quite possibly
the only Studio that are consistently using the DVD format to it's
fullest extent.
They've even gone to trouble to make some
damn
cool animated menus - that's how serious the folks inside the Disney
factory take it - if only other studios would follows suit! Included
here is the Short Film Lifted
(which can also be seen on the awesome Pixar
Shorts, which was released late last year), as
well as a slew of featurettes including "Your Friend The Rat" and "Fine
Food And Film: A Conversation with Brad Bird".
The
brilliance of the featurettes is that they are specifically aimed at
the kiddies - so it's actually entertaining, with Bird often going out
of his way to make it more than simply a fluff piece.
As is always the case with any Pixar release - a must have for the DVD
collection.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 75%
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