Disfans

Author’s Note: I try not to give away spoilers or ruin the movie, but there are some scenes and plot points I will discuss that I feel are important if you are bringing a child to this movie. I hope that this will not ruin your enjoyment of the film. If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip down to my final paragraph.

My initial reaction when I heard about this film was probably the same one that most people over the age of 18 or so had when they thought about a film starring a rat that cooks. I was disgusted. Rats are revolting creatures that carry disease and the rumor of a single rat in a restaurant kitchen is probably enough to ruin that restaurant. I couldn’t imagine how even the mighty Pixar could turn that into a cute feature film for families.

I watched a few film clips on the Moviefone site, and on the Disney site (see my previous entry), and I started changing my mind. The film looked great, the actors sounded great. I showed a clip to my children (girl age 12, and boy age 8  ) and they were enthusiastic about going to see it. We made plans to go see the movie on opening day, Friday June 29. I was actually looking forward to it, having taken the same 2 kids to see Shrek the Third a week previously, I felt that this movie would probably be much better.

I have been a fan of Pixar since Toy Story came out on video, and my kids wore out the VHS tape. The only Pixar/Disney film I haven’t seen is Cars. My whole family has seen and loved The Incredibles, directed by Brad Bird, who is the director of Ratatouille. Therefore, my anticipation for this movie, after I watched a few clips, was pretty high. I felt confident that if Pixar could make me believe in Woody and Buzz, they could charm me with a rat who cooks.

Before heading to the theater, I had a brief conversation with my 5 year old niece. I told her we were going to see Ratatouille, thinking that if she was interested, I would invite her along. Her mother had taken her to a Sneak Preview a couple of weeks prior to opening day, but I thought she’d like to go with her cousins if she enjoyed the film. Her review was as follows: “You won’t like it.” Stern frowny face, arms crossed over chest. If she had been standing, she would have stamped her foot. Niece’s mom explained, there is a scene where Remy’s dad tries to convince him that humans really have it in for rats, and shows him a shop window full of rat poison and dead rats, which really bothered my niece. She didn’t understand why something like that would be in a kids’ film, and I kind of agreed with her. I decided that at 8 and 12, my kids could probably handle that level of scariness.

I won’t lie to you and say I headed off to the theater confidently with my kids in tow. I was reasonably sure my 12 year old would be just fine, but I wasn’t sure about the 8 year old. He’s a pretty sturdy rough and tumble kid, but he has a sensitive side, and I didn’t want him to be worried or frightened by the film. Then I got a grip, and reasoned that Pixar, unlike other film studios, hadn’t let me down yet, and I’m a good parent, I should be able to handle my son’s concerns, if he had any.

I really enjoyed the film, ick factor and all. There were points during the movie where I turned to my 12 year old and said “that’s just gross” or “now they have to throw all that food away”, but her reaction was “Mom! He’s so cute!” So I don’t think the feeling was mutual. The kids seemed more able to turn off that “ick factor”. There is no blatant grossness like you would find in a lot of films put out for kids today, other than rats eating garbage and even that was only mildly gross in comparison with some other kids’ films I’ve been forced to sit through. (*cough* Shrek*cough*)

The scenery and animation are beautiful, and well up to the Pixar standard. Its all so detailed you really do feel like you are there with Remy and Linguini. I want to see it again just to look at all the beautiful scenes of Paris, and the detail of Gusteau’s kitchen is fantastic.

***Possible Spoilers in the next 2 paragraphs, don’t read if you don’t want to know***
My concerns about the film were slightly warranted. I think that this film is not for younger viewers (6 & younger) for many reasons. The plot itself is very detailed and lengthy, while not difficult for the kids to follow, there is a bit in the middle of the film where my son was a bit bored. This is not the standard Disney film with lots of music to keep the kiddies attention. There are no musical numbers and the action scenes are a bit frightening. My son remembered quite vividly the scene with the old lady shooting at the rat family with her shotgun. It was a very long drawn out scene with a lot of loud shooting, and rats running for their lives. I’m not really bothered by the fact that the lady was shooting at the rats (although its kind of foolish to shoot up your own house, in my humble opinion), but it was kind of startling and loud, followed immediately by a kind of frightening escape through the sewers beneath Paris. Its easy to see that might be a bit scary for the kids. The scene mentioned by my niece was very brief, but I could see why she would be disturbed by it. The dead rats hanging in a store window are very macabre looking and, I would imagine, frightening to young children. There is only a brief glimpse of them with a flash of lightening, but the scene is very creepy.

On another note, there is a major plot point which no reviewer I have read has mentioned, that did bother me a bit. Linguini comes into Gusteau’s restaurant with a letter from his mother, a former girlfriend of August Gusteau’s. Its pretty easy to figure out that the letter says that her son, Alfredo Linguini is also Gusteau’s son, even before the Chef confirms that by reading it. I was a little annoyed that this was a major plot point in a family movie, that Gusteau had an illegitimate son he never knew about. From a parent’s perspective, how has it become so accepted to have an illegitimate son you had no knowledge of, that it can be a major plot point in a movie for children? (remember when that might have been a bit shocking?) Furthermore, when it is found out that Linguini is in fact Gusteau’s son, and the rightful owner of Gusteau’s, Linguini’s fortunes change overnight. I thought that might be a bit confusing for kids because they might have no idea why Linguini is suddenly the boss of the restaurant, since we only see Gusteau as a figment of Remy’s imagination or on his TV cooking show. There is no joyful reunion of father and son to explain why Linguini is suddenly no longer a lowly janitor, and if you’re a slightly bored by all this talking 8 year old, you might not get what had happened.

In all honesty, despite my misgivings about the movie, I really, really liked it. I think it’s a movie for older kids and parents, and maybe not the toddler set, but all in all I thought it was a great movie. My favorite character was the food critic Ego, voiced by Peter O’Toole. He’s so wonderfully dry and stern, a character that reminds you of an undertaker with his tall, vulture-like posture, his dour expression, and finicky, perfectionist attitude. The scene where he reviews Gusteau’s restaurant again after so many years is the best scene in the entire movie.

Patton Oswalt is perfect as Remy, and I thought all the voices were just right for the characters they portray in the movie. Its easy to forget the famous and not so famous voices and just connect with the characters in the film. The characters are well rounded, believable and likeable, and the scenes are beautifully animated and richly detailed. The good things about this movie make up for a lot of things I wasn’t so crazy about. There is a lot about Ratatouille that I loved. I would see this again, and I will probably buy the DVD for the kids.

Pixar does it again, and charmed this movie goer, who entered the theater with some initial concerns about the movie. I’m a little disappointed with some plot points, and its not a standard Disney animated film with snappy musical numbers. There is a lot of great humor, the animation is fantastic, with the level of detail and quality that Pixar stands for. I give the movie an A-, and recommend it for children 7 years and up, and adults who love animation.