Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageRatatouille (2007)
Director: Brad Bird
Synopsis
There's a rat in the kitchen in this Disney film.
Movie review
From Time Out London
The title of Pixar’s fabulous latest animation gives you its three elegantly dovetailed elements: rodents, food and French. Co-director Jan Pinkava’s original idea was sweetly ridiculous – can a naive, ambitious rat (baby-eyed Remy, charmingly voiced by Patton Oswalt), long inspired by his reading of a famous French chef’s recipe book, realise his dream to become a chef? This has been turned by its final director, Brad ‘The Incredibles’ Bird, into one of the most witty, clever, gently moral, dramatically convincing and visually stimulating family entertainments of the year. The animation is extraordinary too, and occasionally breathtaking. It’s so enticing, in fact, that card-carrying anti-anthropomorphists like this reviewer can readily accept its ‘big ask’: not onlya talking rodent but one able to make a celebrity chef out of his hopeless human helpmeet (the docile, disaster-zone Linguini, voiced by Lou Romano) by jerking his hair from inside his hat, like a Pinocchio pulling his master’s strings. It’s a tribute to the film’s tonal and directorial control, not to mention its sympathy, detail, intelligence and lack of pretension, that such subtextual sub-currents and metaphors – be they the immigrant experience à la ‘American Tail’, digs at McBurger food ethics or the assignation of artistic credit – never obscure its pleasures. Those pleasures are found in its vivid characters (such as its frightening Snow White-style villain, the power-crazed Anton Ego, a food critic with the features of a Gothic Will Self and the voice of Peter O’Toole), richness of ideas and daring sense of fun. A test for tiny tots, a mite nostalgic and as male-dominated as a modern kitchen it may be, but these are mere quibbles about this delightful addition to the Pixar pantheon.
Author: Wally Hammond
Time Out London Issue 1938: October 10-16 2007
User reviews of this film
-
- fhui said...
- Posted on Mar 11 2009 09:59 goood bad
- Report as inappropriate
-
- tia said...
- Posted on Feb 25 2009 10:41 this film is rubbish, more for litto kids and this film was not funny , SHIT
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ellie said...
- Posted on Apr 16 2008 17:19 I think this film is the best it is funny and the rat is cute.I like it so much I have got it on Nintendo wii! It is gr8t! (:
- Report as inappropriate
-
- dude said...
-
Posted on Dec 16 2007 17:04
good but bad
pathetic its not the best and its not better than the rest - Report as inappropriate
-
- frannie said...
- Posted on Dec 15 2007 19:42 dissapointing. i didn't warm to the characters at all.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Juliet said...
- Posted on Dec 15 2007 15:57 I saw Ratatouille in August when we were in Paris on holiday. The night before we saw the real Ratatouille running by the river Seine when we went past in a boat with my grandad and nana and Keir and Tiffany. The film is so good as it really makes you feel like you are really in Paris again. I want the DVD definitely.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- cecilia said...
- Posted on Dec 12 2007 15:56 i thought it was really brilliant, i loved how it was about a rat who loves food and the fact that it is set in Paris.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Pea said...
- Posted on Dec 11 2007 23:17 I was expecting another endurance test but was pleasantly surprised because this film is fun, funny, stunning and totally charming. A must see!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Lucy said...
- Posted on Dec 11 2007 10:09 i thought this film was amazing its really funny and cool! :D gr8 4 little kids! :):)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- grace said...
- Posted on Dec 09 2007 12:05 it was quite good nothing special.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Benni G said...
- Posted on Dec 08 2007 14:25 it was well bad innit bruv. But I Is finking of seyin it latters.Fred claus is well betta, innit.go see it wiv me kevin. see ya ma brevrin. Toodles.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Sam said...
- Posted on Dec 03 2007 19:10 The Film of the year
- Report as inappropriate
-
- doddle said...
- Posted on Dec 03 2007 17:06 i thought it was a really good family film, if taking children it may drag in the middle as it is quite long for the little ones but was well worth the watch !!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- adam said...
- Posted on Dec 03 2007 11:05 I love this movie when I saw It. It was funny too.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Mandi said...
- Posted on Nov 30 2007 19:56 amazing film!! x
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Brad Bird
Producer: Brad Lewis
Genre(s): Children's, Comedy
Rated: U
Duration: 111 mins
UK Release: Oct 12 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now