Expectation is the mother of disappointment.

I tried really hard not to inflate my expectations. It's Pixar, it's Brad Bird, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are two of my favorite films of all time...but I was trying to stay grounded, "remember Cars" I said to myself, "remember A Bug's Life."

The ads and the trailers were awkward, like they didn't know how to pitch it. That's the sign of a great film isn't it? Great films usually stump the advertising departments.

Well there is greatness in Ratatouille, but sadly, it is not a great film. I was really rooting for it to be, but it isn't. Spoilers ahead.

Things start off clunky with unnecessary narration and a "how did I get here?" freeze frame. But then immediately it's followed by a bit of brilliance with a stylized rat, eyes glowing in the dusk light. I guess that sums up the movie. Hit and miss. The narration probably bothered me the most in the film. Cut that out and the film would have taken a great leap forward. It feels like it was either a remnant of an older version of the film or a last minute addition tacked on in fear that there would be too many confused kids in the audience without someone to help them along. Scenes that would have played out as beautiful moody montages instead have Remy telling us EXACTLY what's happening AS it's happening.

After the clunky start and flirtations with brilliance the movie builds. It continually improves with every scene and by the time we get to the final act I was really swept up in it, even as the film repeatedly tried to kick me out with it's grating narration.

But even as it got better and better there were still too many disjointed scenes and leaps in the story to really hold the film up. It's often the films that are so close to greatness that bother me the most. I know this film has a history with a previous filmmaker and even a version of the film that was thrown out when Brad Bird came on board. But that's no excuse cause they proved throughout the movie they could reach those high points, they just kept slipping.

Then, as the movie has me all sorts of torn, really excited by the last act, really bothered by the narration, the credits start...and suddenly it happened. A great film. A brilliant film. A film that does not exist. It's rare that a credit sequence is better than the movie itself. It happened in Lemony Snicket and it ALMOST happened in Ratatouille. The only reason I say almost is because the Lemony Snicket end credit actually told a story, where as the Ratatouille end credit was just a series of playful gags. The end credit is 2d (or 3d using 2d shading?) in the "Art Of Ratatouille" 50's modern style.

It was so so beautiful. And so so frustrating. I'm used to seeing concept art that blows away the finished product, but it's not often you see it so fully realized. It's like they were mocking me "yeah, we could have made a beautiful, groundbreaking 2d film, but we didn't."

*sigh*

The other major missed opportunity in the film was the hints of Fantasia-esque color/music sequences as they show visually what "taste" is like. That cried out for a full blown jazz routine, and I thought it would happen in the end with the critic, but instead they opted for the flashback, which while it made me giddy I think they could have done both.

I'm not very good at structured reviews but I enjoy lists. So here's what I liked:
-The moments of "evil" glowing rat eyes.
-Rat poison smell tester.
-The musical "taste" sequences.
-The roof collapse.
-Alone in the sewer.
-The couple with the gun.
-"Hell"
-The puppet master animations.
-The rat corpse scene.
-Colette.
-Drunkenness.
-The walk out.
-Anton Ego.
-The rats running the kitchen. I was waiting the WHOLE movie for this scene.
-The flashback.
-The closing montage.
-The end credits.
-The overall classic/older feel of the film. Removed from pop culture and songs and parody.

The other side of the coin:
-The narration.
-The false start freeze frame.
-Slow first act.
-Clunky pacing.
-A kitchen full of rich character designs and archetypes...wasted?
-Underdeveloped romance.
-The movie mostly runs on light conflict, where's the heavy, story driving conflict?
-Dropped/fumbled plot elements, the ominous rat corpse scene set up...nothing?
-Confusion as to who the protagonist is? Remy or Linquini?
-Remy's story arch was unfulfilling? There was almost a connection between him and Anton Ego...but it could have been built up more? Even so, their quiet moment between creator and critic was ruined by narration.
-Having the ending TOLD to me, when it could have easily been SHOWN.
-"Our Quality Assurance Guaratee: 100% Genuine Animation! No motion capture or any other performance shortcuts were used in the production of this film." I guess it was meant to be lighthearted, but it makes Pixar sound like a bunch of dicks. Did they forget the "shortcuts" they used in The Incredibles? Live action water splashes and what not? Or the rich history of rotoscope animation used since the beginning of film?

From the reviews I've seen, it looks like most people are loving Ratatouille. Yes it's probably the best American animated film this year, yes it's better than Cars. But it didn't reach it's full potential.

Labels: critiqua, listy