“Ratatouille” is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised.
There was a moment near the end of Ratatouille (Disney)—the scene in which a snooty food critic, hilariously voiced by Peter O’Toole, finally samples the movie’s title dish—when I choked up a little bit. Not for the usual reasons you’d cry in a movie: because the story was moving (though it was) or because I identified with the protagonist’s triumph (though I did). No, Ratatouille moved me to tears because it was just so well-done—not kinda cute, not OK-for-a-kids’-movie, but a work of art crafted with as much passion and attention to detail as its hero, Remy the rat chef, puts into every vat of soup he makes.
The nine-minute excerpt free from iTunes is delightful.