Ratatouille

We went and saw this movie the other day and I was quite surprised! I knew that I would probably like it going into it, but I wondered about the three little one-if they would appreciate it, or if the humor (knocking haute cuisine) would go over their head.

I'm pleasantly happy to saw that for a two hour movie about a talking, cooking rat, they handled it quite well. The character development was very well done, and the human animation plus the voice acting of Peter Oswalt (Remey), Janeane Garofalo (Colette), Ian Holm(Skinner), Peter O'Toole (Anton), Brad Garrett (Gusteau) and others made it an enjoyable outing. The Pixar short had people rolling in the aisles and a large knowledge of cooking is not required. The story of a rat (Remey) aspiring to be something he is not, nor should aspire to be according to convention is timeless and done with enough humor and believability to make it not a retread of something you've seen before. The monologue at the end is a delicious performance by Peter O'Toole.

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more."