Ratatouille SteelBook[Blu-ray]

Only Pixar could create a tear-jerking tale of resilience and radical acceptance based on a rat that cooks befriended by a hyper-flexible underdog and beleaguered by a 4 ft villain who wants to create a frozen food empire...and only Pixar could name that film after a French peasant delicacy that works simultaneously as a play on words and a plot point. A masterpiece of storytelling.For Amazon's part, since my children have a horrible habit of ruining DVDs and since I have a horrible habit of hoarding Disney Pixar films, I love the fact that they've made the special features available on digital download. Finally a way to safeguard my collection.

Ratatouille (2007) reminds you of your childhood and the simple pleasure of enjoying a good meal. Brad Bird wrote and directed Ratatouille with his usual eye for usual shots and perspectives. His track record for excellent direction is inarguable now as The Iron Giant, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Incredibles, and now Ratatouille are all wonderful and unique. Ratatouille is a breath of fresh air.The setting in Paris is so romantic and lovely. The romance and the adventure of cooking both work plot-wise. The animation is so fluid and colorful with more detail than you usually see in Pixar's repertoire. In fact, I think Ratatouille is the finest film Pixar has ever produced. It is funny and cute. Families will surely enjoy Ratatouille. The kids will love Remy the rat, while the adults will appreciate the more mature themes of family, love, and dreams.I must mention Camille's musical theme for Ratatouille, "Le Festin" is such a beautiful tribute to French Jazz and Chanson genres. It's a light and airy accompaniment to truly caring Parisian attitude and luxury. Le Festin is like a comfort food all on its own. Michael Giacchino's score is just as thrilling and romantic as Ratatouille's atmosphere and environment.Lastly, the vocal talents are so fitting and mesmerizing in Ratatouille. Bird really cast apt voice actors for each role. Patton Oswalt just carries the film as Remy. He is thoughtful and sympathetic even though he plays a rat. His existential ruminations are quite charming. Ian Holm is genius as the greedy French Chef Skinner. His mad ravings and hectic delivery with his seedy French accent are captivating. Peter O'Toole's deep soothing voice as Anton Ego exemplify the harsh nature of critics as well as their deep reverence and joy for their chosen area of critique. Brad Garrett pulls of a very different charming and bubbly voice as the late Chef Gusteau.Many of the other supporting roles are very fun voices such as Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo, and Will Arnett. But, I have to give respect to Brian Dennehy as Remy's rat father Django. Dennehy gives Django a serious weight and adds much appreciated grounded quality to Ratatouille.Just watch Ratatouille and have a good time during this animated feast!

Dont get me wrong, the movie itself is great! But as far as buying from third party goes you never no what you'll get. I went the cheap route and bought a used bluray from a store called thriftbooks and it costed me 19 and some change. Took a little over 4 weeks to arrive and when it did; it was in a black DVD case with a New York public library piece of paper for the sleeve. I wouldn't have minded cus I really dont care, but when I go to open the case it's still locked! I had to get a butter knife to pry it open hahah on top of that the disc was just rolling around as I'm trying to pry these death lips. I finally get it open and luckily the disc was fine but the case went to crap. And I should of known it wasn't gunna come with the dvd... I could've just been unlucky with buying a used bluray. But just be cautious when buying third party.

We are only disappointed at the length of time we are able to view the movie AND how many movies Amazon is charging for, rather than allowing you to enjoy them free as a Prime member. It would seem 'A' is making so much money in other avenues, that increasing the number of free, family style movies would be an automatic act of generosity.

Ratatouille might be my all time favorite film by Pixar and that’s saying a lot. It’s about how food can bring people and in this case rats together. That seems like a disgusting mix but the movie makes it happen. As a food lover I adore this film.The theme is laid out in the opening scene as a famous French chef Auguste Gusteau released a cookbook called Anyone Can Cook. This is the basic idea of the film. Anyone that loves food can make it. In this case it means both humans and rats.Next up is the main character Remy a French rat who has a highly developed sense of taste, smell and loves eating and cooking. That meant he was fascinated with humans and what they did with food. He watches Gusteau’s cooking show in a woman’s house and even reads his book. Here the film explains the beauty of food such as when Remy talks about things like mixing flavors together and how it made him feel. You can feel Remy’s joy. It also sets up the conflict between humans and rats. People obviously don’t want rats trying to cook in their kitchens like Remy likes to do.The heart of the movie is about Remy meeting up with Alfredo who works at Gusteau’s restaurant. He has no idea what he’s doing, but Remy finds out that he can control Alfredo’s body and therefore Remy can become the chef he’s always wanted to be. Here you get to see the different jobs of the different chefs in a restaurant. There’s the discrimination against female cooks. There’s the critics. Most importantly you just get to see the joy of cooking. This will also lead back to the conflict between rats and humans. Can Remy’s cooking overcome that divide?

I let my young French students watch this movie during the second half of class recently, and for me, it was my first time watching it. I thought it was cute and funny, but the Pixar animations were incredible. I loved the voice-over actors' performances. I would never have guessed it was Peter O'Toole behind the evil-looking Anton Ego's voice. I thought the overall quaint French ambiance added that extra magic to the story. By the way, ratatouille is a delicious meal. My French students who had made the dish the day I showed the movie thought so too.

Not in good enough condition to play on a portable DVD player - does play one a proper one though. Fun film, but you probably knew that already.

Amazing

Good

This is of course a really beautifully made animation, much praised, and it does look a lot better in Blu-Ray. It is nice to have the DVD as well since the kids can watch on the second setup (we don't have HD everywhere in the house yet). Delivered on time for a good price.

Perfectly funny