What works very well for this movie is the writing; it follows a natural progression, has nicely developed characters and is just a delight to listen to. The approach is not to create a talking-animal comedy, rather to create a film where the characters come alive. Compare this to Shrek the Third. In the ogre movie the characters are there to set up the gags, whereas in in Ratatouille the gags are created organically out of the characters. It is very good writing.
The film as a whole is reminiscent of the old screwball comedies, with well-written characters placed in zany situations leading to physical comedy. The jokes throughout this movie are very good, plenty of jokes in the dialogue, lots of physical gags. All of this is told with some of the most gorgeous animation to grace the big screen yet, right there with Cars as the best seen yet.
Brad Bird just keeps turning out great films. From his debut with The Iron Giant to the Pixar masterpiece The Incredibles to this, he can do no wrong. He has a wonderful grasp on how to create these vivid characters and create the situations around them out of them, rather than letting the outside desire to reveal plot or tell gags be the driving factor or the stories. Plus, he has some great talent providing voices, particularly Patton Oswalt as Remy and Janeane Garafolo, with a great French accent, as Colette. There is also nice work from Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, a food critic who serves as the villain of the piece, and is one of the finest representations of a critic that has ever been made.
Tech details: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound.
Extras: Animated Short Lifted, Your Friend the Rat Featurette, Fine Food & Film Featurette, Deleted Scenes.
Also out this week:
- Seinfeld: Season 9. And the series is complete, the final season of show about nothing, and one of the best sitcoms ever produced is now available in its entirety on DVD.
- Seinfeld: The Complete Series. For those who want it, but never bought any, now you can get it all in one place with exclusive features that include a coffee table book.
- Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season. This series from New Zealand was a hit on HBO. I hope to get a chance to check it out.
- Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series. I love the show, but these prices are outrageous for a 13-episode season!
- SiCKO. An interesting watch the first time, but I doubt I will have a desire to revisit it. Recommend renting only.
- Help! Never saw this one, but so long as it is better than that Yellow Submarine film.
- Pixar Short Films Collection: Vol. 1. This is a must-have, their shorts are nearly as a good as their features!
- The Best of the Colbert Report. For those looking for a DVD with a little more Truthiness.
- I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Rental only, if that much. This was not a good film.
- Sesame Street: Vol. 2 Old School - 1974-1979. I grew up with Sesame Street. I didn't even know there was a first volume.
- Deck the Halls. Avoid at all costs. This was an awful Christmas film.
- The X-Files Ultimate Collection. For those looking to have it all in one place, plus the case looks like a batch of files!
- Chinatown: Special Collector's Edition. Classic Jack Nicholson neo-noir in a newly remastered edition.
- Opus n' Bill: A Wish for Wings that Work. I have faint memories of this years ago, surprised it was not released before now.
- Magnificient Desolation: Walking on the Moon. Saw this in IMAX 3D, and it was magnificent, though better for the visuals than in depth content.
- Casino Royale: 40th Anniversary Edition. The original Bond spoof featuring David Niven and Woody Allen.
- Election. No, not the Matthew Broderick/Reese Witherspoon film, this is an action film from 2005 directed by Johnnie To and starring Simon Yam and Toney Leung.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
DO NOT BUY THIS! Sorry, but this film deserves the brilliant deluxe treatment Pixar has delivered on its other releases, and the only way to vote is with your wallet. I suggest everyone ignore CB this week and make a stand. Hold out rather than bend over and take it the shorts from the studios again. Surely there's enough to watch and listen to that you can go without a mediocre Ratatouille DVD sitting on a shelf in your library. Otherwise, you will double dip when the deluxe version comes in the near future, and come it will.
No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law.
2 - Mat Brewster
Don't seek your vengeance on me ElB, but I already bought Ratatouille. In my defense it was a bootleg screener so I highly doubt Disney say a dime from it.
So keep those spartans at bay.
3 - Chris Beaumont
Considering the stellar AV quality I have read about, plus the sheer excellence of the movie, I have no problem adding this to my collection. Would I have preferred a big deluxe edition (with better cover art)? Sure, but I find that for as much as I love extras I rarely get to all of them.
You can get some more info regarding the lack of special editions (which began last year with Cars) here.