***Ratatouille

The theatrical poster of Ratatouille

Imagine that you are a talented chef, with the sharpest nose ever to pick out only the best ingredients for your entrees.  You dishes are exquisite, and you have a gift for cooking that can’t be found anywhere.  But wait!  There are just a couple “little” problems: (1) most of your family members are against your dream career, and (2) you are a rat.

Summary: That story you read above is that of a little grey rat name Remy (Patton Oswalt), who lives in the French countryside outside of Paris.  He can sniff out the best ingredients to create wonderful, savory dishes, but this is a secret he must guard from the rest of his family–except for his older brother, Emile (Peter Sohn)–because of their disapproval of human activities such as, well, cooking.  In fact, Remy isn’t acknowledged for much, besides having the talent of sniffing out rat poison in the trash that his kinsmen eat.  But it’s when he and his family are chased out of their home by the old lady whose home they live above that Remy gets the chance he’s been waiting for.  Through a sewer, the rat reaches Paris, and, with the help of his conscience, which is in the form of his late culinary role model, Chef Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett), he reaches the said chef’s restaurant.  It just so happens that on that same day, a young man named Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano), whose mother was a friend of the late chef, comes to Gusteau’s for work.  Since he has no culinary experience, Gusteau’s former sous-chef, Skinner (Ian Holm), hires him to be the garbage boy.  As Remy watches the restaurant go about its business, he spots Linguini spilling some soup and trying to cover up his mistake by adding in random ingredients.  Remy accidentally falls into the restaurant through the skylight, but before he escapes, he can’t resist but to fix the ruined soup.  Linguini catches Remy in the act, and before Remy knows it, he’s created a delicious soup that a well-known food critic savors.  Skinner decides to hire Linguini as a cook, but when the kitchen staff realizes a rat is in the kitchen, Linguini is put in charge of getting rid of Remy.  Since Remy saved Linguini’s job, the former garbage boy keeps the rat and the two make a deal to work together and make it appear as if Linguini is cooking…although Remy is really the one doing the work.  But when Linguini’s fame grows practically overnight, does that mean that his secret will be undercover forever?  And will Remy get to make his culinary dreams come true in the end?  Also stars Janeane Garofalo, Peter O’Toole, Brian Dennehy, Will Arnett, James Remar, John Ratzenberger, Teddy Newton, Brad Bird, and Thomas Keller.

Thoughts: One should never doubt the quality of a Pixar movie, especially if it’s one that was nominated five times at the Oscars.  Ratatouille had every good thing a movie should have: comedy, action, a bit of romance, and a cast of fun characters.  What more can you ask for?  In addition, the screen writing was done wonderfully.  Take a look at this quote Remy says in the movie to his father, Django:

Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.

Pros: First of all, the animation is breath-taking, as is the usual Pixar fashion. Although it is animated, you feel as if you are right there, or as if the characters are real–even the rats. Part of this is based on the animation itself, but another part of it is also the storyline. And what’s not to love about a cute little rat who can cook? I could go on forever and ever listing pros of this movie, but let’s put it this way: right beside (not next to) Finding Nemo, this movie is my favorite Pixar film.

Cons: There are cons? There are cons?! No, really, I simply can’t think of any. Set one forth to me, and I’ll probably shoot it down.

Recommended For: The whole family! It’s a very family-friendly film, and teaches kids and adults, the young and the old that no matter who you are, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Red Flags: Uhh…I think Linguini attempts to curse, but in kid-friendly family film fashion (ooh, alliteration! ), he only says a part of it, and if kids don’t know what the real word is, they won’t understand the rest. They’ll just get the impression that he’s mad or irritated. There’s also one scene of kissing, but honestly, if you’re concerned about this, you shouldn’t be watching Disney movies; when you think about it, almost every Disney film has this kind of scene. Oh, and drinking. Nothing to be concerned about unless you are a total stickler to ban every film that has something concerning adults in it.

Grading

Plot: 10/10

Acting: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Tidbits

Original Release Date: June 28, 2007

Length: 111 mins

Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava

Producer: Brad Lewis

Screenwriter: Brad Bird (story by Jane Pinkava, Jim Capoblanco, Brad Bird, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg)

Distribution Company: Walt Disney PIctures, Pixar Animation Studios

MPAA Rating: G

Also Recommended:

• Finding Nemo (2003)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• Spirited Away (2002)

Check It Out!

• Official (apparently, there are some games on here as well, which sound cute if you want to check them out to burn a few minutes or if you have kids running around that you want sitting down calmly and quietly for a bit )
• Wikipedia (includes some fun trivia)
• IMDb profile (includes trivia and goofs)
• Rotten Tomatoes profile