Review of Ratatouille (2007) by Sean S — 26 Oct 2012

Brad Bird makes excellent films, because he DESPISES the acceptance of flaccid mediocrity as something of value. This ideal is lived up to and even more evident here than his bar-raising for the studio with the 'Incredibles' which expanded their tech and story telling ambitions (see DVD documentary where Bird joins Pixar), and it remains Pixar's most sophisticated film in terms of its intellectual conceit, and is executed with impeccable filmmaking technique, period.

What could have been a forgettable parable for doing what you love (and therefore merely mediocre) becomes a defiant argument in the defense of genuinely gifted creative talent against a culture that accepts the comfort of unchallenging, stale creations. (Ex: 'Madagascar' movies). Why eat a cooked meal if garbage is perfectly adequate? Because the banality of limited experience is poison to what we can achieve with some damn sense of finely tuned taste! Acceptance and production of cheap and derivative work means great experiences of the future are lost, or at minimum held further at bay for all of us.

"Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere" defends Anton Ego, humbled by the end of the film yet refusing to compromise to the idea that greatness is some sort of universally attainable quality. Brad Bird has proven himself a great artist with his animated works, and how sadly fitting it is to see this near perfect film get overlooked or undervalued so often by so many in the public at large. My inner Remy the rat sheds a tear and tug his ears in passionate frustration when people are in surprised disbelief that this expertly and passionately wrought work is one of my favorite Pixar movies.

This is a film in the elite tier of its peers without falling into the pretension of elitism by saying mediocrity is systemic to anyone in particular. It also puts critics in their place while still valuing them as necessary partners in the birth of great works later shared and enjoyed by the public.