An experienced comedian and intelligent comedienne also bring some great surprises (and accents) to the table. Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond television series) voices the famous chef Gusteau who believes “a great artist can come from anywhere.” Filmmakers creatively use Gusteau to advise Remy with gems like “if you focus on what’s behind, you’ll never see what lies ahead.” Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites) voices the tough cook Colette who mentors Linguini as his chef status quickly rises. “Your sleeves look like you threw up on them! Keep them clean,” she says.
An almost unrecognizable Sir Ian Holm (Lord of the Rings) voices the antagonistic head chef Skinner who uses Gusteau’s name for selfish gains. Linguini threatens Skinner’s plans without even trying. “He acts like an idiot, but he knows something…he’s toying with me like a cat with ball of …,” says Skinner. “I refuse to be sucked into his little game.” Predictably, Skinner does get sucked into it, providing some nice comedy including a running gag about rat sightings.
Director/screenwriter Brad Bird incorporates the same television clip method at the beginning of The Incredibles for essential background introductions. Bird provides some amazing visual entrees like the awesome crawlspace shots, point-of-view shots from the floor, a quick watery trip in the sewer and a nice circular shot around a stew pot. Bird recruits another Incredibles crew veteran for the fantastic musical score composed by Michael Giacchino (Lost and Alias television series).
The film’s climax seems to come at the hour and a half mark, but filmmakers add even more ingredients to this palatable plot by bringing some touching drama and Anton Ego into the forefront. After the satisfying ending including a hilarious kitchen climax, filmmakers have even peeled away some of these ingredients as the main characters remain after conquering their respective conflicts. One of the most sophisticated and entertaining animated films ever. Highly recommended and rated G.
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