Ratatouille (2007)

 

Pixar and Brad Bird do it again! In spite of the absolute bonkers' premisse (a rat can actually cook better than most humans), this is one heartwarming and fun tale (tail?) that will leave no one indifferent.

It also helps that both voice cast and animation are pretty brilliant as well.

Remy is a rat who constantly feels as though there is more to his life as a rodent in the countryside, because he has an insane nose for smells and tastes. He is also smitten with Gusteau, a French chef who always claimed that anyone can cook. When the colony Remy lives in is discovered and chased out of the house, he gets separated from his clan and ends up in the middle of Paris and also close to Gusteau's restaurant. There he discovers that a young man named Linguini is just starting out as help, but this guy also wants to cook but is horrendous at it. Remy fixes Linguini's mistakes and they form an uneasy pact where Remy controls Linguini in the kitchen, thus making it seem as though Linguini is an excellent intuitive chef. 

But of course things take some bumps as it transpires Linguini is Gusteau's son and rightful owner of the restaurant, which is not to the liking of head chef Skinner. Also: Remy's family track him down and this complicates matters even further. What's even worse, is that a critic by the name of Anton Ego, who took away one of the stars of the restaurant, decides to have another go at it because of this new chef... 

If you like food, France (Paris in particular) and possibly one of the cutest rats you'll ever come across, then this is absolutely a film for you. It is lighthearted all the way and even though the idea is pretty far out there, it just works. Remy is enormously endearing, helped in a massive part thanks to the voicework of Patton Oswalt, who just works in the role. The animation style is a bit stylized, yet a lot of the movements that the rats make are genuine. (having pet rats of my own, can confirm this)

So this is just one of those snuggly, warm and fuzzy projects that don't need massive antagonists or humongous stories to get the idea across. No, this is a simple, feelgood yarn with fun characters and a story centred around emotions and trying to be someone. 

The digs at critics are pretty spot on as well, to be honest. 

Absolutely recommended!