Rat got your cheese?

Yup, this shall be the very reason why I shall be blogging today, even though, yes, it is Wednesday, and only four days away from the all-important Lit paper. Yuck. So, RATATOUILLE. Or, the way which the producers insist on pronouncing it, with that air of desperation for its non-French viewers, cleverly attached underneath the official title, (ra-ta-too-ee). Very subtle indeed. That thing in brackets can go two ways. It's either meant to be a sarcastic one intended at its non-French viewers, or it's hinting that the movie will be a funny, cleverly witted, with subtle humour. Lawl. So, yulp, that's my interpretation. But, there's more to come.

This movie is about a little guy, called Remy (the name is so not modern, isn't it?), who inspires to be the best chef in Paris. The catch? He's a rat. A filthy house rat. So this movie generally personifies Remy and shows how he can control Linguini (the other chef, is that the right person?) by standing underneath his tall chef's hat, or whatever you call it. But that's not my issue today. The thing is, this movie is produced by Disney Pixar Animations, and like all other pixar productions, Ratatouille's peers being Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars, etc etc, it is almost as bland as the others. Monastic simplicity. Why then did the critics give it a five-star rating? Well, here's the thing. Unlike its peers, the producer, Mr Bird, gave the rat some really defined features, right down till you can almost feel the texture of the rat in its scenes. Some of my other girlfriends keep cooing and saying, "Aww...so cute..." at that rat. But when I question them about whether will they really touch a common house rat, the answer was a resounding 'NO'. Well, you see, watching a cartoon rat on screen is one thing, touching a rat is another thing. And that makes the movie very well-woven. It is able to breed that sense of love towards filthy creatures (to a certain extent), hence making us all creature-lovers. Heh.

This movie is also great for the food lovers. See, they did their research, and presented to us some really snazzy French cuisines, which, from the screen, are quite a feast, aye? And, I just learnt a few days ago, that the name 'Ratatouille' is a name of a French vegetable stew, so hop on. I'll bet, 50 years down the road, some bloke is gonna order this dish called Ratatouille, and he'll imagine common house rats like Remy dancing in the kitchen amongst the pots and the pans and the stoves, preparing his dish. I would, if I were that bloke.

All in all, a good movie worth investing in. It's worth it, trust me. But if the rat gets your goat, don't watch it. There's too much ratty scenes in there, if you get what I mean.

Till then!