记得小学时候,最爱看郑渊洁大叔的《童话大王》。那里有皮皮鲁与鲁西西,有机器猴与蛇王阿奔,有折腾地球的五个苹果,当然最少不了的就是舒克贝塔了,小小的老鼠,开着直升机和坦克车,竟然干出了许多惊天动地的壮举。一晃多少年过去了,舒克贝塔差点就要从我的记忆里消失了,好在Pixar拍的动画片《美食总动员》,让我在一群法国籍老鼠的身上,找到了当年舒克贝塔的影子。片子的主角小米是一只有“厨艺”天赋的老鼠,鼻子超灵,味觉也一流。由于这种天赋,他能准确地认出老鼠药,数次拯救了全家族的性命;也正由于这种天赋,他对偷来的残羹冷炙不屑一顾,他想自己“烹调”。小米的哥哥叫大米,胖嘟嘟的,只知道捡剩饭剩菜吃,和小米相比,虽然算是鼠各有志,但他们的兄弟情谊可是谁也不能动摇。小米的偶像是“食神”,食神不是老鼠,是个胖大叔。食神有句名言,“人人皆可烹饪”;正是这句话鼓励着小米,也改变了片中一干人等对烹饪的看法。最终,小米实现了自己做厨师的梦想,用一顿Ratatouille征服了最为挑剔的恶魔美食家Anton Ego。Anton对小米的评价相当经典,恐怕是我看过的动画片里最富有哲理的一段话了,贴个英文原版的对白上来学习一下:
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.
“人人皆可烹饪”,多么富有哲理和教育意义的中心思想,在Pixar的精心打造中,哲理变成了充满着乐趣和奇妙幻想的童话故事,让我笑出眼泪的同时,不得不再次向Pixar的大牛们致以最崇高的敬意!记得电影上映前一个月,某日回家上楼,于三楼处撞见一只肥胖肥胖的大老鼠,也不知道怎么爬到三楼来的。它一双大眼睛瞪着我,我一双小眼睛看着它,我迈一级台阶,它就往上蹦一级。台阶很高,它一身肥肉,要很费劲才能蹦上去。我就一步一停地走,它就连滚带爬地蹦,一直蹦了两层,它累得上气不接下气了,我看也快到自己家门口了,心想不能把它赶到自己家里去啊,就闪在一边,给它让出一条路。它瞪着大眼睛瞧了我半天,突然使劲一蹬腿,从我身边冲过去,飞身一跃,直接从十级台阶上跳到四楼去了。现在想起来,这只大老鼠长得怎么那么像大米呢?它是不是陪着兄弟来家属楼里面找菜谱的呢?
电影的英文名叫Ratatouille,这是小米最后做的那道菜的名字,直译成中文应该是“东北乱炖”之类的;美食总动员这个译名虽俗,但也算沿续了Pixar作品的传统命名原则;又看了看mtime上台湾版的电影海报,把电影名字翻译成“五星级大鼠”,真是太有才了。