MOVIE REVIEWS
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Movie Reviews Ratatouille - Robert's Review
Remy is a rat who loves to eat fine foods, unlike his family and friends who literally eat garbage. Remy secretly watches the cooking channel, reads cookbooks and really wants to become a chef in his own right. When fate lands him in Paris at the famous restaurant of his culinary hero Auguste Gusteau, Remy soon gets captured by the young and kind-hearted garbage boy, Linguini, who just got hired at Gusteau's and is desperately trying to keep his job. Instead of "disposing" of Remy as he was ordered by the mean-spirited head chef, he soon realizes that Remy can actually understand him when he talks – and that leads to a crazy idea. Since Remy can cook and Linguini is a human with no talent for cooking whatsoever, they team up and Remy becomes a puppet-master of sorts and together they begin making some of the best food Gusteau's has served in years, which causes the mean head chef to worry, now that all his dastardly and selfish plans may be jeopardized.
The folks at Pixar have done it again and "Ratatouille" is a great children's movie. It's fast-paced, funny at times, has lots of cute moments and it has a great message for kids – no matter who you are, always reach for your dreams and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. I was a little surprised at the amount of gun violence though; it was right in the beginning and some old lady went nuts with a shotgun, shooting up her entire house, trying to kill Remy and his brother, who were stealing food in her kitchen. Shortly thereafter there was a completely different gunshot scene involving some kinky French loving. I was amazed they put that in a kid's movie, especially since they didn't show it from a gun safety angle. Oh well, I digress… Overall, this was a fun movie and kids will love it, but for adults it won't be as exciting.
All in all, I'd give this movie 3 Rats (out of 5). Re-Watch Value: MEDIUM (for adults) and HIGH (for kids).
Movie Reviews Ratatouille - Brett's Review
The folks at Pixar have been busy and now it seems that their latest movie "Ratatouille" will be the next great feather in their cap. "Ratatouille" is about a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely – and certainly unwanted – visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.
Whenever I see a Pixar movie I am continually amazed at the quality of their CGI and "Ratatouille" is no exception. In my opinion it is probably one of the best CGI movies Pixar has put out to date. The story is an excellent story about no matter who you are (even if you're a rat) then you should follow your dreams and do everything possible to make them come true. Along the way Remy finds new friends, new enemies, and he even gets his family to accept him for who he is. I thought the movie was a joy to watch; the adults will like it and the children will love it.
Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars (out of 5). Re-Watch Value: High (I will purchase on DVD.)
Trivia: (1) The animation team worked alongside Chef Thomas Keller at his restaurant French Laundry in order to learn the art of cooking. Mr. Keller also appears in a cameo role as the voice of a patron at Gusteau's. (2) Several changes to the design of the rats (primarily the nose and ears) were made after Debbie Ducommun, a rat expert, brought down several of her personal pets for the art and animation departments to observe.
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