Picking one's favorite Disney/Pixar film is a very personal process. Nearly all of the Disney/Pixar films are so perfect, that one really can't claim one is better than the other, and anyone's claim to being the best is a pure matter of preference and taste. That being said, no one will be thought less of by picking any one movie as their favorite, and while many may pick Toy Story or Finding Nemo, my personal favorite has been Ratatouille. This pick did not come lightly, nor was it instant. In fact, I didn't hold Ratatouille in very high regard upon my first viewing of it. It was not until my various re-watches of the movie that I gradually came to appreciate it and love it more and more with each viewing, that I finally decided to name it as my favorite.This film is filled with heartwarming moments, just the right amount of humor, and perhaps the best dialogue and characterization ever achieved in an animated film. When compared to live action, it is perhaps the only one of the Pixar films that truly would have been worthy of going toe-to-toe with the best picture nominees at the Oscars, and considering the dominant themes of the film, as well as its semi-serious tone, it really escapes me that it didn't.
The story follows Remy, a rat living on the french countryside who has developed a keen sense of smell, and as a result, has come to appreciate good food. his talents lead him to have a desire to become a chef, and he takes the writings of celebrity chef Gusteau as his guide to achieving his dreams. When his family is forced to abandon their homes in a hurry, he gets separated, and finds himself in Paris, being led by the voice of his chef hero. Finding the chef's restaurant, he intervenes when the kitchen's new garbage boy has accidentally ruined a batch of soup, and he proceeds to make it a culinary delight that everyone loves. The boy sees him and hides him, and incidentally takes the credit for the soup, prompting the owner to take him on as a chef. Remy and the boy eventually overcome communication barriers and Remy uses him as a puppet, literally, to become the city's new great chef.
The themes of this movie are aplenty and profound. There is the theme of following your dreams despite what barriers stand in your way, no matter who you are or where your from you can achieve greatness, as well as the theme of friendship, family, and loyalty. This is a story that could easily have been converted to a live action movie and been very successful. The cast is brilliant and the character development is as good, if not the best you'll find in any animated film or live action for that matter. There really is no character whom you don't understand or sympathize with by the end of the film. There is Linguini, the shy new garbage boy orphan trying to make ends meet, Collete, the aspiring chef who wants to be a success and is forced to take Linguini under her wings, chef Skinner, someone who is is not necessarily evil, but wants what he feels belongs to him, Anton Ego, the food critic who is despised with food, but not because he hates it, but because he has yet to find what in his mind is the perfect meal, and Remy an amateur chef from humble backgrounds trying to realize hs dream of cooking in a restaurant but would have trouble finding acceptance due to the fact that he happens to be a rat (take away the last part, and he would be a character in just about any movie about aspiring chefs). These are all very real and complex characters who interact with each other in a very realistic and entertaining way.
The climax and ending of the movie are perhaps the most surprising and heartwarming ever to be captured in an animated movie. Ego's reaction when he eats the ratatouille is priceless and brilliant, bringing back his childhood memories and reminding all of us how food can take us places, sometimes back home to a more simpler and easier time in our lives. We all have a favorite food our mother would cook for us and would cause us to have the same reaction. It reminds us just how important food can be in our lives and how we all enjoy it and it reminds us that there is more to food than just sustenance.
In the end, Ratatouille is heartwarming, humorous, creative, original, and perfectly written and executed. Its cast was brilliant, and their performances impeccable as was their animation. As for the music, it was the best scored Pixar film and perhaps one of the best scored animated features ever, perfectly capturing the essence of the street music found in Paris today, and seamlessly blending it to fit the characters and story. It is truly one of Pixar's best feature and despite the fact of Toy Story 3's success and critical recognition, it is in my book, the only Pixar film that would have stood a chance at the Best Picture award, if only the voting members of the Academy could, like Ego, put aside their prejudices and see the film for what it was as a film, and not merely as an animated feature.
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