Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Movie Review : Ratatouille

Ratatouille is an  American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird. The title refers to a French dish which is served in the film, and is also a play on words about the species of the main character.
Ratatouille
Remy is a rat gifted with a sense of smell; though he aspires to be a gourmet chef, he is tasked to sniff out rat poison for his pack. When the pack is forced to abandon its home in the French countryside, Remy is separated from the pack, ending up in the sewers of Paris. In his hunger, Remy has hallucinations of his idol, the recently deceased chef Auguste Gusteau. Following Gusteau's advice, Remy finds himself at the skylight overlooking the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant.


As Remy watches, Alfredo Linguini, a son of Gusteau's "old flame," is hired as an escuelerie by Skinner, the restaurant's current owner and Gusteau's former sous-chef. While cleaning, Linguini spills a pot of soup and attempts to recreate it with random ingredients. Shocked at Linguini's actions, Remy accidentally falls through the skylight. Remy tries to escape but cannot help but stop and correct the soup. He is caught by Linguini at the same time that Skinner catches Linguini near the soup. As they argue, the soup is served and found to be a success, misattributed to Linguini. Colette Tatou, the staff's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini. Ordered to destroy Remy, Linguini instead takes Remy home, realizing he is the "little chef" behind the soup.


After several misfires, Remy and Linguini find a means to overcome the inability to verbally communicate, as Remy can control Linguini like a marionette by pulling on his hair. Safely hidden under a toque blanche, Remy helps Linguini demonstrate his cooking skills to Skinner. Suspicious of Linguini's newfound talents, Skinner learns that the boy is truly Gusteau's son and proper heir to the restaurant; this would foil Skinner's plan to use Gusteau's name for marketing microwave dinners. Remy discovers Skinner's evidence and, after eluding Skinner, brings them to Linguini, who takes control of the restaurant and fires Skinner, much to the rest of the staff's delight. The restaurant continues to thrive, and Linguini and Colette develop a budding romance, leaving Remy feeling left out. One night, Remy finds his brother Emile searching for food behind the restaurant, and is brought back to the pack to be reunited. His father, Django, warns Remy that he cannot trust humans, but Remy denies this and returns to help Linguini.

Restaurant critic Anton Ego, whose previous review cost Gusteau's one of its star ratings, announces he will be re-reviewing the restaurant the following evening. Panicked, Linguini and Remy have a falling out, and in revenge, Remy leads a raid on the restaurant's pantries. Linguini catches them and throws the rats, including Remy, out. Depressed, Remy reacts too late to avoid capture by Skinner, who is now aware of Remy's gourmet skills. Remy is freed the next day by Django and Emile, and he returns to the restaurant where Linguini apologizes to him, and shows the rat to the rest of the staff. They all walk out, but Colette returns after recalling Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook". As the restaurant fills up with anxious diners, Django arrives with the rest of the pack, offering to help after seeing his son's determination. Remy directs the rats to cook for the patrons while Linguini runs the front of the house; the rats are only briefly distracted by the appearance of a health inspector and Skinner, who are both bound and tossed in the pantry. For Anton, Remy and Colette create a variation of ratatouille, which brings back to Anton memories of his mother's cooking. After dining, Anton requests to see the chef; Linguini and Colette wait until the rest of the diners have left to introduce Remy and the rats to Anton. Anton leaves without comment, but writes a self-castigating and glowing review for the newspaper the next day, stating that Gusteau's chef is "nothing less than the finest chef in France".


Despite the review, Gusteau's is closed down due to the rodent infestation, and Anton is fired as a critic. However, Anton eagerly helps fund a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille", created by Linguini and Colette, featuring a kitchen designed for Remy to work in, and dining areas for both humans and rats alike.


Casts :
Lou Romano as Alfredo Linguini
Janeane Garofalo as Colette Tatou
Patton Oswalt as Remy
Brad Garrett as Auguste Gusteau
Ian Holm as Skinner
John Ratzenberger as Mustafa


Julius Callahan as Lalo


Peter Sohn as Emile
James Remar as Larousse


Will Arnett as Horst


Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego


Brian Dennehy as Django
Music
Brad Bird reteamed with Michael Giacchino on the score for Ratatouille since they got along well during the scoring of The Incredibles. Giacchino had written two themes for Remy, one about his thief self and the other about his hopes and dreams. He also wrote a buddy theme for both Remy and Linguini that plays when they're together. In addition to the score, Giacchino wrote the main theme song, "Le Festin", about Remy and his wishes to be a chef. Camille was hired to perform "Le Festin" after Giacchino listened to her music and realized she was perfect for the song; as a result, the song is sung in French in all versions of the film. The music for Ratatouille gave Giacchino his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score as well as his first Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album.

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