As Ratatouille is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray disc in the late fall/early winter, and as it is one of the best movies of 2007, I thought I'd revisit my review of this, PIXAR's greatest achievement! Here it it is: Anyone Can Cook, but It Takes PIXAR to Make Ratatouille with Great Taste Ratatouille: A+ Some had a first impression of Ratatouille (after seeing its advertisements) that didn’t give it the credit it deserves. Some thought the idea of a cuisine-loving rat helping a less-than-talented aspiring chef was too outlandish; still others thought it would come out the animation oven overcooked. Well I’m here to break those misconceptions. Ratatouille is Pixar at its best. I know it’s been said many a time before, but it’s the truth. Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) took an underdog idea and raised it to reality, and it even surpasses the quality of other memorable animated features. It really, truly beats them all. Ratatouille is the story of Remy, a teenage rat who does anything to cook like the humans. So much so that when he comes uninvited to a countryside chateau only wanting to take some spices and herbs, he finds himself suddenly separated from his family, whose only food-related job for him was as head rat poison-checker. He then travels underground and finds himself in Paris, where he has hallucinations of the late Auguste Gusteau, a great chef and Remy’s idol. He suddenly finds himself helping a young boy in Gusteau’s formerly five-star restaurant make a soup. When the kitchen crew believes the boy (his name is Linguini, by the way) created the now winning soup, he and Remy strike a deal to make Linguini into a ‘chef’ whilst Remy is safe in his hat. Soon, the delightful duo becomes involved in the ex-head chef’s plot to make millions with microwaveable meals using Gusteau’s likeness. And the story takes several surprising twists and turns, so don’t worry, you’ll be on the edge of your seat. Patton Oswalt is a comedian who throws his hand into the mix of Ratatouille’s stunning voice cast. His performance makes Remy a fun-loving character and the delight in his excited voice when he is around food makes him seem a lot more believable. Lou Romano is an artist at Pixar, but I can see why they chose him to speak for Linguini instead of some big-name star. His voice matches his character so well, you could swear he had voice training. Nope! That’s his normal voice! Skinner, the first head chef at Gusteau’s when the film starts and the bad guy is voiced by Ian Holm, and his funny French accent really pays off for the rudeness of his character. To continue, Brad Bird does an excellent job directing this movie! His obvious know-how with effects and animation shines, as evident it his first scene with water (the rats escape the chateau in makeshift boats). In frantic scenes, his placement of the camera is genius. His talent for story is obvious. The big decision to have Remy communicate to humans in movement was a good one, as any lines they would have written for him might risk being too cheesy. The soundtrack (score written by Michael Giachinno) was good, but I don’t think it was as memorable as what he did with The Incredibles. It might just be that it wasn’t given enough leisure time. The score (when I could hear it) was authentically Parisian, however, so I prefer the latter theory. All in all, it’s a farfetched idea that turned into Pixar’s most artful piece. It’s a grand adventure filled with love, laughs, and a good plot. Oh, and I forgot to mention Peter O’ Toole! He’s the malnourished restaurant critic Anton Ego a review of Gusteau’s that turns into an inspiring speech that benefits the movie so much. And the rest of the movie is just that inspiring. Great filmmaking+great characters+fun idea+good story=instant classic! Ratatouille’s message: follow your dreams, but don’t forget your family and friends. Ratatouille is Rated G And has a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes Ain’t the animation great?