Ratatouille

Karrie and I attended a sneak preview of Ratatouille this past Saturday at our favorite theater, the Cinemagic in Westbrook. Most likely due to its early release, the film was not screened on one of the cineplex's digital cinema theaters; however, the movie was quite enjoyable nonetheless.

Ratatouille follows the intertwining story of both a young rat with an impeccable sense of smell and a young man with a penchant for making mistakes.  The film was slightly under two hours, making it a refreshingly long computer animated film; most seem to lean towards the hour and a half mark.  The visuals are top-notch, the story is spot-on, and the pacing is right on the money.  Hard as I try, I can’t find anything wrong with this movie.

Unlike some of Pixar’s earlier projects (which are all quite good in my book), this film has some real excitement in it, and much like The Incredibles, it is great fun to watch.  This is not surprising, as Pixar newcomer Brad Bird directed both.  From what I understand, this is why they hired him - to bring a new spark of life into Pixar before it became complacent.  I think it’s working; Ratatouille is a delightful foray into the Parisian culinary world with pinches of a critic’s world and that of an adolescent’s thrown in for flavor.

Rating (out of 4):