LOS ANGELES (AP) - Pixar Animation will serve no rodent before its time. The outfit behind such animated smashes as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" has a simple secret: The company takes its time and lets a story mature to its finest. That includes the new "Ratatouille," the tale of a rat that gets an unlikely chance to do what he loves most - cook in a French restaurant in Paris.
Unlike "Shrek the Third," the animated sequel that grabbed big audiences but was dismissed by critics as a tired afterthought, or "Surf's Up," which earned good reviews but could not pull in the crowds, "Ratatouille" is drawing critical raves and has all the ingredients to maintain Pixar's perfect track record - seven previous movies, seven hits. Opening Friday, "Ratatouille" is a rarity in this summer of sequels: An original story with newly created characters that is not based on a comic book, a TV show, a children's story or anything else that came before. "I joke about summer sequels and how we made this as the prequel to the sequel," said "Ratatouille" writer-director Brad Bird, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind "The Incredibles.
" "Ideally, we'll stand out in the crowd of sequels. All this time we pour in getting the story right is something that is a luxury for a producer," said "Ratatouille" producer Brad Lewis, who came to Pixar after working on such films as "Antz." "There's a commitment from the top on down.
'You guys do what it takes to make the story work.' In some films, you don't have that time to actually craft and craft and craft the story." "Ratatouille" presents the adorable Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), a rodent possessing keen senses of taste and smell compared to his rat brethren, who are content to eat any old garbage.
Remy dreams of following in the footsteps of his deceased hero, human chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett). Circumstance lands Remy at Gusteau's restaurant, where the spirit of the chef guides him through a bizarre partnership with clumsy clean-up boy Linguini (Lou Romano), who becomes the rat's accomplice in cooking up delectable dishes. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Pixar Animation will serve no rodent before its time.
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