RATATOUILLE

Director: Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Iron Giant)

Starring: voices of Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm,

Animated movies are in a golden age right now. The first golden age was of course the Disney films, sweet fables all. For me the second high point in animation were the 50s, 60s, and 70s TV cartoons, led by Looney Tunes, but followed by a host of other intriguing, albeit lower quality works (Scooby Doo?). Now we're in a new animation era ushered in by computer technology, and at least in movies these might just be the best kids flicks that we've ever seen.

It's been a step by step growth I think, from the first digital scenes in Disney's Aladdin to this film. Digital has gotten better and better. It's obvious that these films are still enamoured with how much the new technology allows them to do, and they still have a tendency to fill up every inch of every cell with as much "stuff" as they can. There are a lot of examples of movies that just feel meaninglessly cluttered (See *all* of the recent Star Wars movies as a great example). And in this regard Ratatouille isn't that different. There is a LOT going on in many of its frames. The big difference is that here it's beautiful stuff that seems to fit into a wider whole, whereas in Star Wars it was usually just pointless fluff.

Yes, Ratatouille is a beautiful movie. One of the most beautiful animated films I've ever seen. It's got a much improved visual style over most of the previous digital films. I loved the exagerrated faces of the human characters. It's also taken a bold step away from some other conventions of the recent wave of animated movies. First, this is not some arbitrary cast of name-brand actors, globbed together for marketing appeal. There are only 3 significant Hollywood names in this film (O'Toole, Ian Holm, and Janeanne Garofolo), and you might not even recognize their voices when you hear them. All in all this no-name cast works wonderfully. These characters exist as themselves, not just as famous voices. Instead of hearing David Schwimmer or Ray Romano in a movie, and thinking how lowest common denominator it all sounds, I was listening to a rat named Remy in Paris. I was completely transported to the world of the story.

Secondly, this film is calmer, more subtle, more substantive than most of the kids flicks these days. Rather than degrading kids and their parents with a fart or poop joke, this film spends a long time discussing the art of cuisine. This is an elevating story. A movie that will force kids to think a little bit, rather than one that panders to them. Believe me, if kids today are anything like I was, they'll come up with plenty of fart jokes on their own, without the aid of Hollywood. It's a story about a rat that loves to cook, and ends up turning a Paris restaurant into the talk of the town with his culinary masterpieces.

Thirdly, this film has a thematic center. I'll admit it's not one I really agree with, but it is there, and it's substantial. And that's unusual for a kid's flick. The Incredibles was a fun film by Brad Bird about a family of super-heroes that the little people in society jealously hated. I liked the film, I hated its message. Ratatouille is a fun film by Brad Bird about a genius Rat also held back by society. Brad Bird seems to be quite a fan of Objectivism. Objectivism, if you're not aware, is sort of the philisophical equivilent of Scientology. Primarily they were both money-making schemes by their inventors. They're easy to swallow, easy to sell, versions of religion and philosophy. Objectivism in many ways is a marketed version of Neitzsche's Superman notions, the idea that there are genius individuals among us who have the right to disregard civilized morality, since their value is far greater than the average engineer or ditchdigger. It's an easy sell to people who think they're special. You'll find a lot of business types who like to make millions and pay lower tax rates than their secretaries who believe in Objectivism. They're special, you see.

Anyhow, whatever your opinions on the Ayn Rand religion/philosophy, this film luckily doesn't go nearly so deeply into my more hated aspects of Objectivism. It mostly sticks with the theme of a rat struggling to overcome the fact that he's a rat. Gourmet diners tend to have a stereotype about rats. Remy, though, is different. He's a rat who likes to cook. He's a rat, who through a little luck, and a lot of effort manages to overcome the prejudice of his kind and becomes successful. I don't see how anyone can argue with that as a theme, whatever else the film says. I mean, how often can you even have an argument about the thematic material in a kid's movie? So that must be a good thing right there.

The best and most surprising thing about this film is undoubtedly just how engrossing it is for such a small subject. It's fun, and sweet, and sincere, and it's about cooks and cooking. It's also entertaining, and pretty enlightening for a kid's flick. I highly recommend it.

Standouts: Visuals, story, direction. Most everything.

Blowouts: My personal distaste of some aspects of film's theme.

Grade: A