Note: This DVD review was originally published on Blogcritics.org.

Since the debut of Toy Story more than a decade ago, few tunes have become as familiar as the song of praise so often directed toward the formidable team known as Disney/Pixar, and for good reason. Few studios have been as consistently innovative, in animation and in storytelling, as this now legendary pairing. Pixar seems to bring a sweet simplicity to things that should be extraordinarily difficult, and it’s this ease of execution that makes their movies instant classics.

Enter into that pantheon Ratatouille, the story of a foodie rat (Remy, voiced by Patton Oswalt) who finds himself in the kitchen of a famous Parisian restaurant, playing puppeteer to a bumbling garbage boy (Linguini, voiced by Lou Romano) posing as a chef under the late owner’s mantra “anyone can cook.” The duo soon become one of France’s hottest chefs and try to keep their arrangement under wraps while battling with the restaurant’s high-strung new owner (Ian Holm) and the city’s most dour critic (Peter O’Toole).

With Brad Bird, who produced Pixar’s best film The Incredibles, at the helm, Ratatouille is all at once a feast for the eyes, a humorous bit of entertainment, and a touching story about fighting for a sense of self. Like the cast, the animation, unsurprisingly, sparkles. Bird’s Paris is breathtaking, from the grand nighttime views of the Eiffel Tower to the quirky, colorful bikes and cars that fill the streets. The kitchen at Gusteau’s, meanwhile, is a study in photorealism (the food, the silent third star of the movie after Remy and Linguini, looks edible right off the screen). At this point it feels repetitive to remark on Pixar’s animation chops, but they continue to amaze. None of this quality is lost on DVD, and even on the small screen in my bedroom, the movie looked stellar.

While too many movies these days seem to come to DVD too quickly, leaving buyers with the choice of getting it right away and being robbed of extras or waiting longer than they’d like for an overpriced special edition, Ratatouille comes packaged with a plethora of bonus footage. “Fine Food and Film: A Conversation with Brad Bird and Thomas Keller,” a mini-documentary featuring interviews with the film’s director and food consultant, is an illuminating look into some of the movie’s inspiration. “Your Friend the Rat,” meanwhile, brings bonus laughs from Remy and his brother Emile (Peter Sohn) as they teach a crash course on rat history in hopes of winning mankind’s affection.

With a stellar cast, unrivaled animation (unless you count motion capture) and a slew of entertainment beyond the film proper, Ratatouille has quickly transitioned from a classic kid’s film into a must-own DVD for all ages.

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