Celluloid Confetti

People often come up to me and ask, “Milo, how is it you have such good taste?”.

Wearing my pinstriped cummerbund and orange jodhpurs, I look down at them through my pink tortoiseshell spectacles and reply,

“It’s a gift”.

One way or another, the Pixar films are all about gifted people, so I identified with them instantly.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I actually liked them all…

I thought Toy Story 2 was fun, though it betrayed its straight-to-video roots (incredibly, Disney only realised its potential as a feature midway through production).

I loathed A Bug’s Life, and wanted to stamp all over the wide-eyed, gormless-faced four limbed arthropods (I thought Antz was far cleverer, and the protagonists all had the correct number of legs).

And I am still trying to see the fun side of Monsters, Inc. For one, it simply wasn’t scary, and films about monsters must always be scary, otherwise, what’s the point in having monsters?

I am sorry to say that I skipped Cars altogether, though I plan on catching it on Blu-Ray. I guess I never thought that Doc Hollywood needed a remake.

So that’s my list of don’t-likes. But the other Pixar pictures I loved! Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles were all fantastically delightful, effervescently enjoyable slices of light and magic.

Well, I saw Ratatouille last week, and I had no idea where it would fall in my bipolar categorisation of Pixar’s output. Would it be A Bug’s Life with fur, or Finding Nemo with smells?

Nothing I had seen from the trailers impressed me one way or another - rat being chased through a kitchen by an angry chef? Hmph. So far so Tom and Jerry.

Well, not to over-egg your anticipation, Ratatouille is a five-course banquet of filmic joy that left me sated, smiling, and faintly teary.

Ratatouille is the tale of a rat with an unusually refined palate - and this is a curse as well as a blessing, for the only place he can find the range of tastes and smells he craves is a high-class Parisian restaurant, where his kind are pretty much Rodentia non grata.

Along the way, he befriends a hapless kitchen-boy, and together they attempt to set the culinary world ablaze, but before doing so they must face Anton Ego, a sepulchral restaurant critic voiced by Peter O’Toole (who comprehensively steals the show).

Of course, the film wouldn’t work if the food wasn’t believable. But is it possible for a computer to product something that looks as if it might smell and taste? Or would each morsel appear as sterile and cold as the smooth plastic faces of the Toy Story characters?

Well, thanks to some remarkable digital trickery, not to mention the hard work of artists who possess more talent than most medium-sized city, Pixar have pulled it off.

The sense of texture is absolutely remarkable - an omelette looks like an omelette, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and utterly delectable. There is a brief shot of a medium-rare steak that compelled me to salivate with an almost Pavlovian urgency.

And I can guarantee the range of glazes and sauces on display will sell more copper-bottomed saucepans than any celebrity chef.

Of course, none of it is real, but it’s worth remembering that most food shown on film isn’t food at all, but some foul concoction designed to stand up to the heat of the studio lights.

The proof of the digital pudding is that Ratatouille actually made me hungry; it’s a feast for the eyes that goes straight to the stomach.

In fact I am getting a bit peckish now….

But before I dash of to the nearest McDonald’s, what are your favourite foodie-movies?

(oh, and here’s a plug - if you are into all things edible, check out my friend’s website - it’s foodtastic!)