In recent years, animated film has seen a dramatic increase in quality and has gained acceptance by a wider audience. The genre, which once seemed exclusive to children and the young at heart, has evolved into a form that can express ideas that both juveniles and adults can identify with. And the famed animation studio Pixar is likely the most responsible figure in this transition.
With their recent computer-animated feature Ratatouille, it would appear Pixar has taken an even greater leap ahead in terms of crafting an amazing story that has appeal beyond the typical family-friendly audience. It's a wonderfully fun tale about the potential for greatness in anyone (or any rat). I was further surprised to discover by utilizing the cooking process in a symbolic sense, director Brad Bird also says much about the process of composing and directing a film.
The plot of the film concerns a confused but intelligent rat, Remy, who has an unusually sharp palate. This fact causes him to seem drastically different than the rest of his rat family and friends, and feels alienated from the rest of his rat family. When an unfortunate accident separates Remy from his family, he finds himself at an upscale French restaurant named after his late cooking idol, Gusteau. He quickly befriends a young man who has just gotten a position at the restaurant, and their secret friendship enables the man, Linguini, to achieve massive fame for Remy's work in the kitchen. Yet as the friendship continues, Linguini becomes more unappreciative of Remy's skill, and Remy becomes more disenchanted by the fact that his appearance is requiring him to be hidden from the rest of the restaurant employees.
This is director Brad Bird's third animated feature film after The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, and like those two previous efforts, this film is an animated masterpiece. The first thing that is very apparent is the visual style of the film; not only does the art of computer animation continue to become finer and more enchanting, but Bird takes the technique further by utilizing very skilled live action camera techniques for a number of the animated sequences. This provided the film with a live action feel in many scenes, despite the fact that it is an animated feature. But the film's appearance is not its only strength; story has always been the driving force behind Pixar's success, and this film continues that trend. Bird was likely intrigued by the subject of cooking because of its parallels with directing; it requires seeing a final result that has yet to exist, and directing a number of unique and different elements to make the final result successful. Can Fellini's 8 1/2 be remade with a rat serving as the protagonist? With Brad Bird at the helm, it might be a possibility.
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