Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame VI

I vastly prefer the look of traditional animation methods over computer-generated images, but even I have to admit that Ratatouille is a fantastic looking film. While the characters, both human and rodent, are highly stylized, many of the buildings have a more classic aesthetic, and the food is typically far more realistic in appearance, sometimes even approaching photo-realism. This artistic blend might sound jarring on paper, but they actually come together quite nicely. Perhaps an appropriate analogy would be that it's an unusual recipe masterfully executed by a talented chef.

Despite being impressed with the opening shots, the first fifteen minutes or so of the film didn't fully interest me. However the introduction of the other main characters, and the shift in focus to Remy and Linguini learning to cook and work together had me fairly engaged. I don't particularly care for the culinary arts, but there's something about cooking shows I find compelling, so whenever people were working in the kitchen, I was extra attentive.

The film started to lose me a bit approaching the final act, but that all changed when the restaurant had to cook for the critic. I absolutely loved every second of that. All the rats, the health inspector, the roller-skating – it all greatly amused me. Peter O'Toole's performance as Ego was amazing, and I could listen to him read his lines all day. The ending was almost too sweet for my taste, but considering it's effectively the dessert course to Ratatouille's heart-warming meal, perhaps those lingering flavours are just the right ones after all.