Disney and Pixar change they way you think about rats in the kitchen as Buena Vista Home Entertainment today releases the animated hit Ratatouille on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Still the top box office draw in Europe, the latest film from acclaimed writer/director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) comes garnished with a new original animated short film and an array of other tasty extra features.
In Ratatouille, a rat named Remy teams up with bumbling kitchen worker to realize his dream of becoming a gourmet chef in a five-star French restaurant. Remy and his brother, Emile, also star in Your Friend the Rat a new short that will be available exclusively on the home video release. The film is the first 2D effort from Pixar, which is broadening its bag of tricks after bringing about the 3D animation revolution.
The disc also offers the Pixar short film Lifted, deleted scenes with introductions by Bird, and the featurette Fine Food and Film: A Conversation with Brad Bird and Thomas Keller, which details the master chef’s contributions to the movie. The hi-def Blu-ray Disc version also includes Gusteau’s Gourmet Game, a new Java-based game that will have players helping Linguini by moving quickly from station to station to prepare the perfect meal. In addition, the release offers Cine-Explore, an innovative, in-movie Java feature that allows viewers to customize their own behind-the-scenes experience with animation briefings, documentary shorts, cut shots and deleted scenes. The Blu-ray disc carries a suggested retail price of $34.99, and the standard-definition DVD lists for $29.99.
