Ratatouille

directed by Brad Bird
USA 2007

The moral of Ratatouille is delivered by a critic: a gaunt, unsmiling fellow named Anton Ego who composes his acidic notices in a coffin-shaped room and who speaks in the parched baritone of Peter O’Toole. “Not everyone can be a great artist,” Mr. Ego muses. “But a great artist can come from anywhere.”

Quite so. Written and directed by Brad Bird and displaying the usual meticulousness associated with the Pixar brand, Ratatouille is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised.

Its sensibility, implicit in Mr. Ego’s aphorism, is both exuberantly democratic and unabashedly elitist, defending good taste and aesthetic accomplishment not as snobbish entitlements but as universal ideals. Like The Incredibles, Mr. Bird’s earlier film for Pixar, Ratatouille celebrates the passionate, sometimes aggressive pursuit of excellence, an impulse it also exemplifies.

Excerpt from A.O. Scott, at The New York Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 28 June 2007 (Chile and Russia)

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DVD Review: Buena Vista - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Yunda Eddie Feng for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Buena Vista Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	111 min
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.59 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	DD 5.1 EX English, DD 2.0 surround English
Subtitles	Optional English
Features	Release Information: Studio: Buena Vista Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Short Film--Lifted • Short Film--Your Friend the Rat • Fine Food & Film • deleted scenes • previews of other movies DVD Release Date: 6 November 2007 keepcase with cardboard slipcover Chapters 31

Comments:

Video:
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is of astonishing quality. The sharpness and level of detail are amongst the highest I’ve ever seen with an SD DVD. The image is so well-rendered that the animation often looks like real physical objects and plasticine were used to make this movie.

Audio:
Pixar’s movies have always benefited from their company’s close association with audio aces like Gary Rydstrom, and with Ratatouille, you get a sense of how alive a movie can sound even when the subject matter is as low-key as a rat that cooks. The primary DD 5.1 EX English track is, like the video, astonishingly detailed, with a variety of directional effects coming at you from every speaker. Sound placement is so adept that you will feel as if you’re in the middle of the kitchen. At one point, a car trunk being slammed shut sounded like the car was right in front of me.

You can also watch the movie with a DD 2.0 surround English downmix. Optional English subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
As with Cars, Ratatouille arrives on DVD without a huge slate of extras that we’ve come to expect with Disney animation titles.

Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other Buena Vista movies.

From the main menu, you can select two short films. “Lifted” accompanied Ratatouille in movie theatres, and “Your Friend the Rat” (hosted by Remy and Emile) is a documentary about rats.

“Fine Food & Film” is an assemblage of footage featuring director Brad Bird and chef Thomas Keller talking about their approach to making movies and food. There is also footage of Bird and Keller working in their respective environs.

There are three deleted scenes, though they’re really discarded alternate takes. These appear in rough sketch form with dialogue and snippets of music cues that were used in the final cut.

Easter Eggs: In the main menu, click on the two tall pots on the far left and right when there’s a rat standing behind them. You can watch a fake commercial for rat poison and a clip with people trying to pronounce the movie’s title.

In the first Scene Selection page (chapters 1 - 4), click on the cake on the far right to see a clip of people and movie characters shouting, “YES!”

--Miscellaneous--
You get an insert with chapter listings as well as a cardboard slipcover over the usual keepcase.