8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.8 |
A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely — and certainly unwanted — visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down. Remy finds himself torn between his calling and passion in life or returning forever to his previous existence as a rat. He learns the truth about friendship, family and having no choice but to be who he really is, a rat who wants to be a chef.
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter SohnFamily | 100% |
Animation | 85% |
Comedy | 38% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
From Disney-Pixar comes Ratatouille, the touching tale of Remy (Patton Oswalt), a lonely and misunderstood rat. When Remy reads the book (yes, he can read!) "Anyone Can Cook," by the famous French chef, Gusteau, he discovers his one true love in the art of haute cuisine. Remy is misunderstood by his fellow rats because he aspires to be more than just a scrounger. Remy wants to live, create and to be set free from his humdrum existence as a bottom dweller.
As Remy is overcome by the joy of cooking, he is discovered by a startled Linguini.
This high definition 1080p Blu-ray release from Pixar, framed at 2.39:1, looks spectacular. Colors
are vivid and pristine, contrast and black levels perfect, and resolution exceptional. Every strand
of fur on Remy's coat is captured with exacting detail.
For examples of the disc's amazing picture quality, be sure to pay attention to the fast-paced
scene where Remy first enters the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant. There is an abundance of
fast action and beautiful detail in this scene. Also, be sure to check out the sequence where Remy
is separated from his pack. This scene in particular shows an amazing amount of shadow detail
and also highlights the fine details in Remy's fur. You can actually see the droplets of water
gathering in his fur causing his fur to clump together.
Finally, there is not a single compression artifact to be found in this AVC encode. To say that
Ratatouille is reference grade would be an understatement!
This Blu-ray Disc release offers a few audio options. There is an English 5.1 Uncompressed PCM
mix (48kHz/24-bit) as well as English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. I listened
mainly to the uncompressed PCM while switching to the English Dolby Digital 5.1 a few times for
comparison.
As is normal for a Pixar film, this 5.1 soundtrack is very aggressive and will give your sound
system a wonderful workout. The surround channels are filled with many discrete sounds. This
is especially true in the many kitchen scenes where the subwoofer is used aggressively, but not
overwhelmingly. There is also a lush sense of ambience mixed in throughout the film. These
things combine to give the mix a great sense
of spacial depth, motion, and fullness. The clarity and detail of the 48/24 PCM recording is
exceptional and helps to convey a great sense of realism to all of the special effects and dialogue.
Switching between the uncompressed PCM and the Dolby Digital tracks, I must say that the
Dolby Digital soundtrack did, at times, sound pleasing. Ultimately, it lacked some clarity in the
dialogue as well as some overall impact and smoothness in the midrange. If you can, go with the
uncompressed PCM, but the Dolby Digital will do nicely otherwise.
While there are a great number of extras available on this disc, most are geared toward the adult
audience, so don't expect the kids to get much pleasure out of them. There is a Java-based game
included, Gusteau's Gourmet Game, the object of which is
to help Linguini prepare meals as orders stack up. I found that even this game would be more
well suited to older children, and even they might find it boring in today's PS3 world.
The real highlights of the extra features on this disc, are the two high definition Pixar animated
shorts. This is something Pixar is well known for. Their reputation for producing great shorts
exists for a very good reason as these two shorts are fantastic.
"Your Friend the Rat", a hand drawn, 2D short "hosted" by
Remy and Emile, explores rats and their relationship with humans throughout history. Next up is
"Lifted", the humorous story of an alien who has a little trouble
trying to abduct a sleeping human.
The second best extra on the disc, in my opinion, is the featurette Fine Food and Film,
with Director Brad Bird and Chef Thomas Keller (French Laundry). This one gives a little behind
the
scenes look at how the two worked together to bring the haute cuisine element into
Ratatouille.
Other than that, there are a few deleted scenes and some behind the scenes discussions on how
certain scenes came together. There's also a short featurette on composer Michael Giacchino
along with more discussions with the Pixar animation team. None of these extras will require
more than one viewing, but they are very thorough in documenting how the film came
together.
Trailers
There is a preview for the next Disney-Pixar feature, WALL-e, in HD, as well as the
following additional trailers, all in high definition:
Now on Blu-ray:
Cars
Pixar Short Films Collection
Meet the Robinsons
Coming to Blu-ray:
Sleeping Beauty
Tinkerbell
Easter Egg
There is an easter egg on this disc, but for those who would rather I not give it away, please scroll
down to find the details:
...you must be on the full menu screen where Remy and Emile are
rolling the cheese wheel. From there, scroll to the "Features" selection then scroll "left" and the
hidden extras will appear.
Have fun!
Disney-Pixar continue to amaze and prove why, when it comes to animation, there are no two names that are more synonymous with quality, class, and distinction. Ratatouille is a heartfelt tale of a loveable rat that wants to be more than just what society tells him he should or can be. That's something many, if not all of us, can relate to. Older children and adults should find this film quite enjoyable. This high definition Blu-ray Disc release, with its flawless picture and sound, is an excellent way to experience it. The two high definition Pixar animated shorts on this disc in addition to the slew of other extras only make this disc more of a value. Run to the store and buy it - - what are you waiting for?
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