★★★★★ 

Rewatched 22 Mar, 2020

I know I’ve thrown this word around a lot recently but I really do mean it when I call this film a ‘masterpiece’. I really don’t see any flaws in this film. It does pretty much everything perfectly. It turns out I had forgotten just how good this movie was. Brad Bird shows his genius yet again. This is the film in which in my opinion, Pixar found their footing in terms of animation quality. This set the standard and every Pixar movie since has been raising that standard. The depiction of Paris is simply breathtaking. The ingenuity and originality in the portrayal of the rat society are also quite magnificent. But the most impressive thing about this film is the dynamics between Remy and Linguini. Their friendship and love are beautifully captured throughout the film. The writing is one of the most nuanced I’ve seen in an animated film, it feels like it was written FOR adults. The score is something you can never get out of your head. But the main thing, or person, that makes this film special is Anton Ego, this ‘villain’. He is, hands-down, the best Pixar ‘antagonist’. The symbolism involved with his character, from the coffin-shaped office to the flashback scene towards the end, it’s a masterclass. This film is incredible on so many levels. If you have the time, give this a rewatch, it’s on Netflix. You will not regret it.