Ratatouille

RATATOUILLE has a simple statement to make about art. It does not attempt to transcend, but entertains (quite well actually). It's tale is centered around simplicity, and does this from the Pixar Animation Studios at Disney, which has made some of the best animated films that often cringe inducing company has ever churned out. The film tells of a humble rat with extraordinary smell capabilities named Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), who, within his horde (of rats), only uses this ability to check for rat poison on garbage. His real desire, however, is to become a cook after watching the famous Gusteau on a woman's tv in the suburbs of Paris. The horde is found one day by the woman living in the house Remy occasionally ventures into for spices, and they are forced down a drainpipe, separating the family, but leaving Remy free from his past obligations. He ends up preparing a soup in Gusteau's now only 3 star restaurant. Everyone thinks the goofy Linguini is behind the soup, and he becomes famous, with Remy controlling him. As the film progresses, director Brad Bird shows his talent as an animator and developer of likable characters. The films greatness as a simple statement on art comes out when a critic comes to review Gusteau's. I would not reveal what happens, as it is what the entire, entertaining film is leading up to, but I will say that RATATOUILLE in this closing scene exhibits itself as a humble, but noble film that wishes to entertain and remind, rather than transcend and persuade.
Ratatouille: ★★★★