Animations though seem kiddish to a few of our "i think im soo mature" juvenile audience always have a hidden lesson to teach...its juss tht we have to start watching thm without givin thm the status of juss a toon character...n tht my friend, makes all the difference...
I read somewhr tht single ppl are able to enjoy animations much better than married ones with kids...well no wonder...cos most (dont pounce on me..i said MOST! :-/)married ppl r usually busy controlling their kids who watch these beautifully crafted animations as juss another "tom n jerry" cartoon.n as usual have to comment n question on almost everythin in the movie WHILE ITS RUNNIN..sigh!i seriously think its a sheer waste bringing a 3 yr old for sucha movie n expecting it to enjoy ..because thn u have to explain to thm whts goin on, tell thm to shutup n pamper thm to hush juss to avoid everyone else lookin angrily at u for disturbing n most of all go out of the movie hall whnnever they feel bored or feel like having popcorn wch apparently is almost always at the part u dont wanna miss.n thn ur lost and have to spend the rest of the movie guessing wht happened n thn it juss becomes a CARTOON FILM to u like it is to ur pampered brat..sigh! anyways most ppl dont realise tht n so the audience in the movie hall had a lotta kiddo croud too:-/ making me feel all the more nervous lest i couldent hear a word of the movie had i have to sit beside a a "mommie with a irritating kid"(psst!luckily i was sitting next to a 40 yr old couple who were as interested in the movie as me...tht made me happy! even started imagining myself goin for such firstday-first shows whn i turn 40...only diff being il'l go ALONE..heehee)
There were lessons each character thought us..though they were cleverly crafted in good humour, cute graphics and a wonderful story...
kudos to the imagination wch create such marvels! :)
Thrs somethin about animations wch make me smile even long after the movie has ended.."Shrek", "finding nemo", "madagascar", "lion king" has had similar effects on me ..heyy mindya im not talkin bout the cartoon animation shows on TV..those r the ones wch dont have ne lessons to give, no brilliant lines to strike the audience with, no "perfectly relates to my life"scenarios..(heehee ya ya i know.sometimes can even relate to animated characters..lol!!),no hidden messages....basically they juss thr to give the kiddo audience a laugh. and most of the times i dont find thm funny! hmpf!!(not tht it matters now but as a kid used to n was pretty jolly well excited bout watchin thm too..sig:-h!)Anyways enough of digression :-/
The story revolves around REMI who aspires to be one of the best chefs in the world .he is confident tht he has wht it takes and is throughlly inspired by a famous cookbook "anyone can cook"...he knows his knowledge of spices and talent in mixing up flavours can show him the way up there in no time.
the only drawback he faces is tht he is juss a RAT :( ...
But lady luck is on his side and in a strange sorta way, life gives him an opportunity to unleash his talent n show off his culinary skills but the hitch is WITHOUT ANY RECOGNITION FOR IT..remi's real love for cooking is clearly reflected by the way he goes on and seizes the opportunity without bothering even once bout anything else...he just wants to prove he is a fine cook and wants to make sure his talents dont go to waste..ohh whattaboy! oops sorry WHATTARAT!!! :P
As the story unfolds , we meet new characters and with thm come several othr messages ...GUSTEAU--the author of "anyone can cook" is a famous gourmet and one of the best n most reputed restaurant owners in remi's dream city-paris!
As luck decides remi gets a chance to land up in his dream city and be guided by his very own mentor "gusteau"'s spirit as gusteau is long dead outta depression after reading a slashing article about his restaurant by a food critic "ANTON EGO" who is supposedly the worst of the kind.
As remi discovers later tht gusteau is nothin but a figment of his own imagination, it juss goes to show us how much we have in our control but sometimes we juss need tht extra push ...everybody's got it within thm, but all we need is tht lil ego boost from within, we need to listen to tht lil voice in our head (who most often we prefer ignoring), the voice wch tells us wht we need to do, wch tells the right frm the wrong and most importantly the voice wch never wants us to give up whn we still have the capacity to go on :)...wished we all had a small lil "mr gusteau's spirit" guiding us.
thrs this particular dialogue in wch the spirit tells remi not to lament over the loss he has suffered "if u dont let go of the past, u will never get to see whts in store for u in the future" ...very true!
most often we stick on to the past , hold on to it sayin its difficult to let go whn the truth is tht we dont want to let go! we tend to brood over something wch is long lost and isnt even thr with us anymore...n what we dont realise is we are losing out on our present and future in the bargain! luck and time wait for noone and yess it is easily shunned too...it has a big ego...who knows one day u refuse to acknowledge it and the next time on it starts doin tht to u---refuses to acnowledge u!
this thought has often crossed my mind,each time ive let an opportunity( to go hand in hand with time into the future) slip by.
wht wud u do if this was the last time u seein it come?It is scary but wht wud u do if it turned true??
There are instances whr remi is very tempted to go bak to his old ways..being frm the "rat family" he has this tendency to steal into stuff ..but somewhr he hates it...now tht he is in one of paris's finest restaurants, thr are wayy many instances wch try to make him succumb to temptation...but the "spirit" (wch is nothin but a face to the lil voice in his head) reminds him of wht he believes in---tht he is here to MAKE and not to TAKE..n our sweeet lil remi resists all temptations (err..almost all)!kudos!!
"rat-a-too-ee" also reminds us tht no matter what, family is FAMILY and even whn everyone in the whole world leaves ur side, u can count on thm to be there for u --forever...no matter how much they disagree with u, they still want u to be happy.
But it also tells us tht no matter wht, dont give up on ur dreams, cos in the long run, ur dreams are all u got and u juss cant afford to spend the rest of ur life feeling dissatisfied coz u sold thm...u juss cant sell off ur dreams no matter how much the emotional pressure frm family or loved ones...cos one has to remember tht ur family wants to see u happy at the end of it all...so they try to keep u away frm all things they think might harm u or make u unhappy...but no matter how close, u are the ONLY one who knows wht can truely make u happy and if u r confidant enough, dont look back! If thts wht u really want and are sure tht its goin to make u happy, believe me thts wht ur family could ever want for u! :)
Comin bak to the story, remi enters gusteau's famous restaurant only to find it being run by "SKINNER" who has taken over after gusteau's myterious death...remi likes it thr...he see's new opportunities knocking and cant resist the temptation to try out his culinary skills..and so he does by helping "LINGUINI" who is a honest, down to earth timid boy desperately in need to save his job...the duo create marvels much to the awe of everyone around thm who can only but wonder how a simple garbageboy can suddenly turn into sucha fine cook...(thanks to remi who is hardly visible under the gourmet toupe tht linguini wears,frm wch he guides him)...the dilemmas they face, the confusion they create and the solutions they come up with to sort out the mess are amazing and one cant help but admire remi's cuteness , intelligence and the "never say die" attitude...
and thus remi and linguini happen to bring back "gusteau's" lost name and reputation, win over skinner's evil corrupt ways, and prove gusteau's well known philosophy "anyone can cook"...Remi's "i want to make and not take" policy holds true n strong till the end ...and much to everyones suprise and amazement his extraordinary culinary skills win over even the cold stonehearted "ANTON EGO"...
"rat-a-too-ee" also shows us tht no matter how stone hearted a person is, somewhr deep within he still has a heart...maybe it appears to be wicked, maybe it appears to be frozen but sometimes a small gesture is enough to rekindle the warmth it seems to have lost ...
realisation dawns as the evil hearted critic tastes the "ratatouille" made by our very own "gourmet remi" and gets flooded by nostalgia ...the taste reminds him of his childhood, the simple life he lived and the wonderful ratatouille his mom used to cook for him...and he is awe struck and completely swept away in emotion as he savours every bite of it..
He later realises tht its very easy to slash ppl with sharp pointed words but very difficult to understand wht they go through...and equally tough is it to realise the value of somethin and appreciate it! so he gives up his job as a food critic, his last article being one in wch he confesses his wrong doings and praises and appreciates "gusteau" present day status...
The beautiful friendship between linguini and remi shows a lot...
the "sayin sorry without any ego comin in between whn they realise their mistakes", the "feeling the need to clear off misunderstandings whn any", the "missing each other not only because they need each othr but they want each other",the "not spilling out their secret even whn linguini is under the pressure of alcohol or even for tht matter with the love of his life "COLLETE", the "selfless attitude" and the "im sooo very angry with u and i want to GET BACKK AT U " spells alternating with "damn! its all my mistake and i WANT EVERYTHING BACK AS BEFORE" couldent help but make me smile...:)
Inspite of all the challenges faced, the hurdles to be crossed, the misunderstandings to be sorted and the difficulties to be overcome, REMI finally emerges victorious and proves his talent thus daring us all to dream and strive towards making thm wht we want thm to be---REALITY!
REMI proves tht no matter how far and distant it seems, if we have the will, no goal can be labelled "impossible"...we juss gotta keep trying and never give up...juss gotta listen to the small voice in our head and keep goin as he says "with luck, forward" :).
Afterall it is but a "RATRACE" ...ya sometimes u feel it still makes u a rat,but if ur like remi, u wudent mind being one wudya? :p heehee
All in all "ratatouille" is yet another success in the world of animation!!
I left the movie hall a satisfied soul!:)
cheers!!!
