The main theme is introduced Le Festin, a song so convincingly authentic that it could be an old standard. Mind you, the delivery by Camille is rather sweet; Edith Piaf she ain't (possibly a good thing, but then, je ne regret rien...). With a certain inevitability, the Marseillaise kicks off Welcome to Gusteau's before launching into the first of many delightful variations on the main theme, here performed on accordion. It seems churlish to complain that so many Francophone cliches are present throughout, but in fairness to Giacchino, he makes most of them his own. Several reviews have noted the influence of Georges Delerue - a natural starting point - and that's true, up to a point, although more the light jazz end of Delerue's output, than his more opulent string themes. Although there are hints of Delerue, the jazz of Claude Bolling is an even stronger precedent, although Bolling is less well known to the film music community (despite having scored over a hundred films in his career). The flute writing of Wall Rat and Losing Control, in particular, evokes Bolling's California Suite (well worth checking out if Ratatouille peaks your interest for that kind of lightly hewn jazz), but mixing it with a dash of Carl Stalling orchestral fireworks.
Giacchino's way with more up tempo scoring (I'm loathed to say "action scoring" in this context) keeps getting better and better, the highlight here being the five minutes of Dinner Rush. The cue is anchored by a descending fanfare that wouldn't sound out of place in a Mahler symphony, but I doubt even Mahler would have given it to an accordion. However, when belted out by the horns it's a grand gesture indeed, the only disappointment being that it doesn't occur elsewhere in the score. The End Creditouilles are arranged very much like those for The Incredibles, a boisterous jazz melange of the score's major material, but I must admit that I would have preferred something a little lighter that emphasized the gentler jazzy elements and the more romantic aspects of the score. However, the two minute arrangement of the main theme is a nice coda to the score as a whole. In a fairly lackluster summer of movies and scores, Ratatouille stands out as one of the strongest releases and another nice addition to Giacchino's filmography.
Rating ~ Total Time ~ 62:25
It's hard to believe that it's been three years since Michael Giacchino took to the Pixar recording studio to musically usher in The Incredibles to movie theatres. Brad Bird's Pixar movies are unlikely to become the highest grossing the studio has to offer even if they are some of the best - but then again, it's all relative. His follow up is a complete change of tack, following a trainee chef as he strikes up an unlikely culinary alliance with a gastronomic rat. If nothing else, the title is wordplay genius (and yes, as it says on the posters, it's pronounced rat-a-too-e for those unfamiliar with continental vegetable dishes). His score to Mission: Impossible 3 was more of a fine technical exercise than anything else, but Ratatouille is Giacchino back to his melodic and more heartfelt best. Being set in Paris, the accordion is never far away, but the composer draws inspiration from a wider source than merely instrumentation.
