Ratatouille (www.the-usher.com)

"Anyone can cook"

Remy (Oswalt) has always loved food and with his overly developed sense of smell that is so sensitive that he can pick out the ingredients of any dish, he would make the ideal chef. The problem is that Remy is a rat and can't even get close to a kitchen. When his latest attempt to create fine food ends up with him been wasted down the sewer and ending up alone in Paris, away from his father, brother and the rest of the colony. The first thing he sees however is the restaurant of his favourite chef, the late, great Gusteau (Garrett) but when Remy goes to see a real, working kitchen for the first time he witnesses the new cleaning boy Linguini (Romano) ruining the song and only he can save it from disaster.

When Pixar releases a movie the whole world gets excited and the great news is that 'Ratatouille' is a movie that you should get excited about.

After producing the 'Toy Story' movies, 'A Bug's Life', 'Monsters Inc', 'The Incredibles', 'Finding Nemo' Pixar was on a roll and even with the minor blip of 'Cars', the studio can do no wrong. Now the writer director of 'The Incredibles' Brad Bird, brings his latest creation to the silver screen and instead of superheroes we have Parisian rat who dreams of been a gourmet chef.

The lead character Remy loves good food. With keen nose that can smell the individual ingredients of any dish, he dreams of following in the footsteps of his hero, the great Gusteau, France's most famous chef who believed that anyone can cook. The problem is that Remy is a rat and rats and kitchens never really mix. His father and brother just want him to be part of the colony and basically steal food from the human, whatever state it's in. When Remy's curiosity gets the better of him however and he and his brother Emile are caught in the cottage kitchen where the colony live, with disastrous results. Now alone in Paris, Remy heads to his hero Gusteau's restaurant where he meets Linguini, a accident prone cleaning boy who is mistakenly thought of as an up and coming chef, when Remy saves the soup that he accidentally ruined. Now together they have to keep up the rouse so Linguini keeps his job and Remy gets the chance to cook. This might sound like a completely unbelievable plot and it is but this has that magic Pixar ingredient to make it an extremely appetising dish.

As with all Pixar movies, the emphasis is on character and story and 'Ratatouille' has an appetiser, main course and a desert all rolled into one glorious, delectable delight of a movie meal. While the premise is over the top, the execution is exquisite. Comedy, slapstick, love, hate, fear and family are beautifully blended together to produce a film that will have you salivating. The characters flesh out the story like a fine wine, with memorable favourites such as Lou Romano's accident prone Linguini, Janeane Garofalo's strong hearted Colette, Peter O'Toole's villainous food critic Anton Ego and Patton Oswalt's loveable Remy one their way to becoming fine vintages.

With animation that pushes the boundaries to the next level again, Pixar and director Brad Bird have produced another classic. Setting the standard again on how an animated movie should be concocted, the studio and the man at the helm should be given all the plaudits they deserves, as this is one fine dish that the whole family will love. Bon appetite!

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:39:1 up to 1080p, with Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround sound. As they used to be on DVD, computer animated movies set the standard for High Definition transfers and Pixar have done an extraordinary job with this Blu-Ray.

BONUS FEATURES

Cine-Explore
A new feature for Pixar Blu-Rays that combines commentary, behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and storyboards all while the movie is playing. Director Brad Bird and producer Brad Lewis provide the chatty and informative commentary, with storyboards and other production material appearing in windows on the screen when they talk about it and deleted scenes appear when they are mentioned. Featurettes are also played when key scenes are covered. This is fantastic home entertainment innovation and one that really shows how good interactive Blu-Ray discs can be.

Feature Documentary: Fine Food and Film (13.54 mins/High Definition)
Producer Brad Lewis talks to celebrated chef Thomas Keller and 'Ratatouille' director Brad Bird about their ideas, inspiration, spontaneity, getting started and working with people when it comes to makes food and movies.

Your friend the Rat (11.16 mins/High Definition)
Rats: disgusting? Or just misunderstood? Join Remy and Emile as they attempt to persuade humanity that rats aren't all that bad in this new animated short.

Lifted (5.01 mins/High Definition)
When an overconfident teen alien gets behind the controls of a spaceship, he must attempt to abduct a slumbering farmer under the watchful eye of a critical instructor. But abducting humans requires precision and a gentle touch, and within a few missteps it's painfully clear why more humans don't go missing every year.

Animation Briefings (14.24 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch director Brad Bird give his briefings to the crew of 'Ratatouille' and see the creative process in action.

Documentary Shorts (50.58 mins/Standard Definition)
Entitled 'Care and feeding of your CG rat', 'Building parts', 'Tiny rat cameraman', 'A woman in a man's world', 'Behind the swinging doors', 'Something new where colour isn't', 'My Dad, the composer (A rat-u-ment-ary), 'Good enough to eat' and '2D animation', these shorts are part of the Cine-Explore feature and can been seen separately here.

Deleted Scenes (15.06 mins/Standard Definition)
Entitled 'Chez Gusteau', 'First Day' and 'Melt go steady', these deleted scenes are presented as animated storyboards and also feature in the Cine-Explore feature.

Deleted Shots R.I.P. (3.12 mins/Standard Definition)
Pixar animators mourn the lost of the shots they worked so hard on before they ended up on the cutting room floor. Game: Gusteau's Gourmet Game Play an interactive Blu-Ray game that allows you to run Gusteau's resturant.

Extras: The Will
Composer Michael Giacchino explains how to score a movie and lets you have a go

Extras: Remembering Dan Lee (3.00/Standard Definition)
The Pixar animator who made a real impact on some of the companies biggest hits is remembered after passing away from cancer.

Trailers
Previews of 'Sleep Beauty', 'WALL-E', 'Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1' and 'Cars'

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'Ratatouille' is exceptionally good. The Cine-Explore feature is extremely good, combining everything you need to know about the movie in one sitting, relating everything to what you are watching on the screen. Fans of this exceptional film will revel in this and Pixar continues to set the standard for Blu-Ray special editions.

BLU-RAY

The Incredibles

The Iron Giant

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2007