Ratatouille

Directed by: Brad Bird -­ 1 hour, 51 minutes -­ 2007 -­ USA ­- Color -­ 2.35.1

Starring: Patton Oswalt, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garret, Jeaneane Garofalo, Ian Holm, Will Arnett

"I think it’s quite simply the best food movie ever made. [...] The best restaurant movie ever made – the best chef movie. The tiny details are astonishing: The faded burns on the cooks’ wrists. The "personal histories" of the cooks…the attention paid to the food…And the Anton Ego ratatouille epiphany hit me like a punch in the chest – literally breathtaking. I saw it in a theater entirely full with adults – and the reaction to that moment was what movie making was once – a long time ago – all about: Audible surprise, delight, awe and even a measure of enlightenment. I am hugely and disproportionately proud that my miniscule contribution (if any) early early in the project’s development led to a "thank you" in the credits. Amazing how much they got "right."" ­ - Anthony Bourdain

Pixar's 2007 entry into their decade-­long series of one­-upping themselves is possibly their best film ­ a paean to food, France, and humble starts. Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt) is an epicurean rodent who yearns to enjoy the finest foods of Paris but is limited to typical rat cuisine. He is separated from his family and ends up with the chance to rescue a formerly-­great French restaurant from the dregs of American frozen food hell. The details of the kitchen are fantastic, helped by consultations from Anthony Bourdain and Thomas Keller, who also created the film's eponymous dish. Rather than hiring French actors, the characters are all voiced by Americans and Brits doing outrageous French accents, including Jeaneane Garofalo, Ian Holm, Will Arnett, and Brad Garret as Remy's hero, Chef Gusteau. I expect that in 10 years "Ratatouille" will be a popular answer when cooking school instructors ask their students, "when did you decide you wanted to be a chef?"

IMDB page

A.O. Scott NYT review­ - "a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film"

Roger Ebert revie­