(They couldn't use a cat? They couldn't call it CATATOUILLE? My cat is organizing a protest as I write this...)
CAST: Voices of Patton Oswalt, Janeane Garofalo, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Will Arnett, Brian Dennehy, Peter O'Toole, Peter Sohn.
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WARNING: Minor SPOILERS and some frighteningly creative rodents straight ahead...
Several weeks ago, I was at a cafe until almost midnight doing a combo of socializing (sharing lattes with a pal) and working (finishing up some reviews). After getting booted out by the cafe staff so they could close up, my and pal and I parted. He went one way, I went the other with my I-Touch blaring. Listening to Eddie Money and Ronnie Spector's TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT - which never fails to get me dancing - I boogied my way up the darkened sidewalk and along the closed store-fronts. Thank Jehosaphat it was close to midnight, and there was nobody around, because I might have gotten arrested on suspicion of DUI - Dancing Under The Influence.
I was right at that point where Ronnie Spector sings "Beeeeeee my little baaaaaaabyyyyyyy..." and was executing a moonwalk/ass-wiggle combo in tune with it - when I came to a dead halt. The cause of my unscheduled brake? My eyes had caught a flash of movement behind the glass front of one restaurant nearby.
It was a RAT, folks. A fat fucker of a rat.
It was running down the inside of the restaurant's front windows. Then it jumped on a nearby table, scurried across it, and jumped onto the floor. And then it dashed towards the darkened rear of the restaurant. Right before it disappeared into the shadows, I swear the bastard turned and looked right at me standing like a dumb shit outside - and smirked. Then it dashed into the dark.
I stood on that sidewalk for a full minute, staring into the restaurant, thinking: "Did I just fucking see that? Did a rat just dance like a Showgirl across the restaurant that... I... have.... eaten... at... SO... MANY... TIMES... BEFORE!?!?!?"
Needless to say, this perturbed me. And based on the counsel of a good friend, I knew I had two choices: either inform the Health Department, or have a little heart-to-heart with the owners of the restaurant. Now, I know I'm no angel, but I like to think that I treat people fairly and with respect (unless they really deserve otherwise), and I'd conversed with the owners on the times I'd eaten there and found them to be nice people. I felt that I should give them a chance to save themselves. So I told them about the rat - and ordered them to fix it. Better me than the Health Department.
Later, when I told someone else about what I'd seen, he laughed and said: "It's just like that movie RATATOUILLE! Where the rat becomes a chef. Maybe it's running the kitchen there!" Well, given that the food at that place is merely okay, maybe using a rat for a chef is just not worth the risk. Just a thought...
In the case of RATATOUILLE, the rat in question is Remy (voice by Patton Oswalt), who is a French rodent but sounds thoroughly American. Remy and the rest of his clan live within the floorboards of an old crone's cottage in rural France. Remy, however, is different from his Dad (voice by Brian Dennehy) , his brother Emile (voice by Peter Sohn), and the rest of the ravenous rats in their community. See, Remy has a passion for food - as well as being creative with food. Unlike Emile who would sooner tear into an apple core without further thought, Remy would consider the different ways he could transform that apple core.
In other words, Remy is a misfit in the rat community. Unlike them, he is fascinated by humans, their quirks, and - above all - their eating and cooking habits. To him, food isn't just something to eaten without thought, but to be created and savored and shared. Basically, Remy is like Tony Manero from SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - only he doesn't want to dance. He wants to cook. And his inspiration is a cookbook called "Anyone Can Cook," written by Remy's idol, Chef Gusteau. Turns out Gusteau was a famous chef whose reputation was destroyed by feared food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole).
When an unfortunate series of events forces the rats to leave the cottage, Remy is separated from them and finds himself in the sewers of.... Paris. Fortunately, Remy managed to snag a copy of "Anyone Can Cook" before he and his clan fled the old crone's cottage. And out of this book comes the ghost of Gusteau to counsel Remy on how to fulfill himself. Which starts with the two of them going to Gusteau's restaurant - which is still open - and spying on the kitchen staff.
The staff is top-lined by: (1) Skinner (Ian Holm), tiny and tyrannical head chef who is obviously the Napoleon Complex poster boy besides, er, Napoleon; (2) Horst (Will Arnett), steely and scary sous chef who is rumored to have a killer thumb, and (3) Collette (Janeane Garofalo), tough but tender assistant chef who is basically Kate Armstrong from NO RESERVATIONS but, well, French; and (4) the new janitor, Linguini (Lou Romano), bumbling and clumsy dishwasher/janitor whose mother Italian mother was once involved with Gusteau. Ahem.
Anyhow, through a rather startling series of events, Linguini finds himself being credited with creating a particularly scrumptious soup recipe. But the problem is that he didn't actually create it - Remy did it, by hiding under Linguini's hat and controlling him like a puppet - by pulling his hair. Yes, folks. Linguini is now basically Remy's cooking bitch.
Meanwhile, though, Skinner's attorney brings the unfortunate news that Linguini just might be the late Gusteau's son - and therefore could legally own the restaurant. As Skinner works madly to unravel this bit of into, Lingiuini's "cooking skills" are garnering attention from the food critics and patrons throughout Paris. Unfortunately, Skinner also suspects that there's some other reason behind Linguini's success - and determines to find out what.
Will Skinner discover that Linguini's been tutored this whole time by... a rat? What will the public do when they find out? Will Linguini and Collette spark a romance between them? What happens when Remy's clan shows up to try to share in Remy's food glory? Will Remy be able to prove Gusteau's adage: "Anyone Can Cook"? Or will he just have to settle for being just another rat in Paris?
See for yourselves. Me? I may never eat out again. And the whole time we were watching this, my cat Casper kept rolling his eyes and going, "Pshaw! I'd look better in a chef shirt. White on white, baby! Besides, that fucking rat doesn't know what the hell he's doing!"
He was so angry, I had to give him a few lines of catnip to snort up. Poor thing...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: This movie, to put it simply, is sublime. Just like biting into an expertly-cooked plate of ratatouille. As with any wonderful dish, RATATOUILLE is full of complex and contradictory flavors that blend together to become an unforgettable movie-going experience.
On the surface, it appears to be an amusing "fish-out-of-water" premise as both an ungainly dishwasher and a brilliantly-talented rat join forces to survive in their new environment. But it's also a deeper examination of the nature of being artist and controlled by that right hemisphere of our brains. As Remy himself says in one scene: "I don't want to just eat - I want to add to the world." This is the fire that burns in the heart of every creative person - the drive to make something that's not for our own consumption or benefit, but for others and the world's.
The voices that give life to the characters are all stellar. They are so singular and unique to the characters they are playing that I was surprised to discover names like Patton Oswalt, Janeane Garofalo, Lou Romano, and Ian Holm among them. It's a testament to how well they "act" that you don't immediately recognize their voices. Patton Oswalt touchingly illustrates both Remy's "other-ness" and brilliance, as well as his powerful need to be something more than just a scavenger. Any right-brained person with a creative streak will feel his pain - and his growing joy as he creates gastronomic art that is truly wondrous.
Lou Romano finds all the soft spots in Linguini, but also the surprisingly rigid ones. In his "hands," the character is endlessly sympathetic and appealing. Janeane Garofalo as Collette brings out both her strong and soft sides, and her voice acting is so superb that I didn't know it was her until the end credits. Ian Holm as the villainous chef Skinner is another voice I didn't immediately nail, but it's a pleasant surprise and Holm doesn't go the easy route of playing Skinner as too over-the-top.
Finally, the most touching performance comes from Peter O'Toole as the fearsome critic Anton Ego. Watching Anton be humbled and slowly realize that he is in the presence of true cooking brilliance is simply beautiful, and his monologue about the nature of artistry - and the risk of great art as well as the need to protect it - is an unforgettable scene.
Finally, there's the food itself - which takes on an other-worldly look and feel with the animation. It all just looks even more scrumptious. And if this film doesn't inspire you to try to cook ratatouille - like Clark Kent did recently - then you're probably one of those fast food people who should be watching SUPER SIZE ME instead.
Now, I'm going to cook ratatouille myself. Of course, it probably won't be as good as Clark's.
