Brad Bird's RATATOUILLE

Review by Dennis D. McDonald

The Movie

Number One Daughter was home for the weekend from college. We packed ourself into the family chariot and located the one theater in the Northern Virginia area that was still showing Ratatouille ($3 per ticket - cash only).

What a sublime and funny film.  Splendid animation, real and funny characters, amazing action. Another winner. A work of genius that is definitely one of the best films of 2007.

The DVD

Viewed on a 36” screen, I noticed a subtle difference between previous Pixar films and Ratatouille. Cars, for example, is glorious in its shimmering artificial surfaces and wide-open-spaces desert color palette. Ratatouille, on the other hand, is so lavishly detailed in its urban and architectural surroundings that it begs to be seen on a giant theater screen.  Remy’s first view of Paris at night, for example, is breathtaking and must be seen on the big screen to get the whole effect.

The difference is comparable to the battle scenes in Peter Jackson’sReturn of the King; the sound track is great ongood home screen but the bigger the image the better.