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DVD Review:

Ratatouille

      
   
           

I had the chance to sit down and watch one of the first Pixar films that I had not got a to see in the theaters.  The name in case you have not seen it at the top of this review is Ratatouille.  Pixar is definitely on a roll here.  They have crafted some of the finest animated films in the last few years.  Ratatouille is one of those films.  In case you don’t know the movie is about a rat named Remy.  He is tired of eating garbage like the other rat’s do, and longs to eat the finer foods that humans enjoy.  He also wants to be like his idol Chef Gusteau and be a chef.  My wife actually sat down to watch this one with me, Eric told me and I quote said “this movie is not my cup of tea”.  Eric is missing out, I thought it was fantastic.  There is plenty of humor and this movie should really appeal to adults.  If you did not get a chance to see this in the theater it would do well sitting beside Toy Story or Monster’s Inc.  As you can probably tell both my wife and I thought it was great.
         
                   

Since this movie is completely CGI the transfer should be flawless, and it is.  The movie takes place mostly in a kitchen in Paris, but the colour pallet for this movie is really warm and rich.  The transfer does a great job of showing it off.  Colours are bright and the clarity is brilliant.  The audio for this film was a little bit of a letdown for me.  It was slightly more subdued than I am used to.  It’s not that there is anything wrong with being a little laid back, but I am used to the thumping sounds of something like Monster’s Inc.  Ratatouille is more about ambience and it has that in spades.  All the sound that you would expect to hear in a restaurant in Paris are here.  Everything was also nicely balanced.
 
                   

This is a single disc release, and I can’t help but think that a 2 disc edition is not that far off.  What you do get is:

  • Animated Short: Lifted
  • Animated Short: Your Friend the Rat
  • Fine Food and Film: A Conversation with Filmmaker Brad Bird and Chef Thomas Keller
  • Deleted Scenes

Lifted played in the theaters alongside the movie and is a welcome edition here.  Your Friend the Rat is an animated history of the rodent.  Other than the two shorts the only other extra I enjoyed is something that I don’t usually enjoy and that was the deleted scenes.  Even at this early stage it does a great job of showing what these scenes could have been.  Overall I wish there was more to the extras.

 
mad chefs

Should you buy this disc? Well that depends are you going to be mad if they release a more extras heavy disc?  If not this is an excellent disc to pick up.  It has a beautiful transfer and a great story and it also has Pixar quality.

Overall I would recommend it.