Film: Ratatouille

Just how enjoyable can a film about a cooking rat actually be? I mean a general audience can't possibly relate to a rat and it's not like cooking is the most exciting subject to base a story around either, right? These thoughts contributed to a general sense of cynicism I had before I sat down to watch Ratatouille, but as this was a Disney-Pixar film I had to give it the credit I wouldn't have offered to just any other film.

The first thing that came to my mind was how mature the output of these particular CGI collaborators has become, both in terms of visuals and general production values. It seems that these films are no longer a showcase of the latest computer animation tricks; that's not to say Ratatouille wasn't visually stunning because it absolutely was - it's perhaps the best looking CGI out there. But now the visuals complement the film instead of potentially distracting from it, and as a result you tend to appreciate them even more.

Content has grown up a little too. I spotted at least two suggestive innuendos which went far beyond the usual brand of adult humour this genre usually provides. There was also a pretty passionate scene during the film that, although not being totally out of place in a Disney flick, came pretty damn close.

Otherwise, barring the laboured start, Ratatouille was just as funny, engaging and heartstring tugging as any of its sibling films were. I would say that it wasn't as emotionally undulating as it could have been, sticking to a more consistently medium level of pace and fun and frolics, but I don't think the film suffered much because of that - it just wasn't as epic as, say, The Incredibles was.

Overall it was an ace flick and totally put any cynicism I initially had to bed. So, just how enjoyable can a film about a cooking rat actually be? Pretty damn enjoyable actually, and I urge everyone to go watch Ratatouille as soon as they can.