07.27.07
The Review I Had to Write
![]() A great film with loveable characters. Aren’t they just so cute? |
Of course I have seen Ratatouille. As a lover of cooking, movies and cartoons, there is no way I was not going to see this movie. On my way home from work last week, I dropped a call to my wife and asked her if she wanted to go see the movie. She was down for a movie date with her husband, so we trotted off to the late showing (9-something) at our local theater.
We were the only ones watching the movie in there with the exception of one other lady who sat in the back and yelled out the answers to all the movie trivia questions that showed on the screen before the previews started. That is, she yelled out the answers to the ones she knew - which was only about half of them. Was she trying to impress us, or did she think that she was going to win a million dollars if she got the “secret question” right? Pathetic. Another reminder of why I usually wait for videos to come out before I see movies.
Anyway, the film itself was of course highly entertaining, as most of the Disney/Pixar films are. (It is a well-kept secret that despite all the hype it received, Shrek was actually nowhere near as good a film as Monsters Inc, which came out the same year…) The animation was nothing short of sublime. The action sequences were not only exhilarating and captivating, but you really felt like you were a part of the action thanks to close “filming” and randomly switching perspectives. The scenes are “shot” low, dark and close-up. Basically it was like NYPD Blue, only without the coarse language or Dennis Franz.
![]() The chef as madman. Hmmm… does this pose of chef and small animal seem familiar to anyone else? (scroll up if you don’t see what I am talking about…) |
The only bone that I guess I have to pick with Disney is their obvious hatred of those in the chef profession. Since the dawn of the “modern era” of Disney cartoons, which began with The Little Mermaid back in 1989, chefs have been given a bad image. How can anyone forget the fish-killing French freak in that movie who sang the incredibly silly song “Le Poisson” while performing a pas de deux with Sebastian?
After that, I guess it is fair to say that chefs have been mostly ignored in the movies until now. When the best chef in the world is - according to them - a rat…
Sigh.
So while perhaps one could be honored to have a whole movie about cooking and the glorification of the love people feel about sharing the wonderful world of culinary experiences with others, I will just have to continue wondering why it is that Disney thinks that cooking is a profession that could best be done by kitchen pests.
No, of course I don’t take myself that seriously. It is a great film, go see it and enjoy it. And if you want to know what to get me for Christmas, I would love a copy on DVD. (hint hint)




















Benas said,
July 28, 2007 at 10:15 am
In my opinion, this is Pixar’s best work yet… especially for foodies.
Just the fact that the movie’s creators spent a great deal of time working in Tom Keller’s restaurants to understand the culinary atmosphere shows that Pixar does actually have an appreciation for chefs…
Eize said,
July 29, 2007 at 9:24 pm
What Benas said–and the animators even got to eat the finished products! I like their job…
The Grim Eater—LOL.
Swarovski crystals chick said,
August 1, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Thanks Matt. I cant wait to see the film it doesn’t open in the uk until the 5th of October I may even take my daughter to the cinema for the first time to see it after I have seen it myself obviously.
Chef Matt said,
August 6, 2007 at 9:05 am
Benas - Indeed for foodies, this is a great work, and so yes, it holds a special place in my heart among all the other things Pixar has done. And adding to that jokes like throwing a health inspector, bound and gagged, into the walk-in, well, that’s just comic gold as far as any chef is concerned. And yeah, the attention to detail was truly astounding.
Eize - Yeah, the fact that they actually threw a guy into a pool wearing a chef’s uniform so they could animate how it clung to his body is not only an example of attention to detail, but indeed how they do have a fun job!
Paula from Only Cookware said,
September 15, 2007 at 8:06 am
When I was in the States just recently I couldn’t believe the amount of advertising for this movie mostly in the form of billboards, They were everywhere. Disney have plenty of money to spend thats for sure. Still haven’t seen the movie but will be waiting for the dvd.