Ratatouille

Reviewed by Alicia Glass
August 13, 2007

Director: Brad Bird Studio: Pixar Animation Studios MPAA: G Website: Click Here

Remy and Linguini. Courtesy of Disney/Pixar.

Remy has big aspirations to be the best French Chef in all of Paris, there’s just one little problem—he’s a rat. But beset on all sides by his rat brethren, the dangerous humans and the world at large, Remy determinedly chases his dream.

This movie really is adorable. Sure, it’s entirely predictable. Most Pixar movies are these days; they follow a rather stagnant formula of the Hero’s Journey, or something similar, and simply change the characters and settings around to suit the story. Bearing that in mind, a French rat chef certainly is a new one, and for that alone you should see the movie.

Remy’s talents for sniffing and identifying various foods is sorely unappreciated by his rat family, who attempt to use his talents to detect rat poison. So Remy runs away, and finds himself at what was the premiere restaurant of Chef Auguste Gusteau, who passed away recently. And after forming an unlikely partnership with the new garbage boy, Linguini, Remy sets out to cook with a relative freedom he’s never enjoyed before, at least until the restaurant’s new success is threatened by Anton Ego, the same acid-tongued food critic who caused the death of Gusteau. Then everyone, including Remy’s reluctant rat pals, the eclectic restaurant staff and Linguini’s love interest Colette, have to band together to find the quintessential dish to serve to Ego, thus the title of the movie: Ratatouille.

Another triumph for Pixar, Ratatouille is about really loving what you do and standing by your dreams no matter who says you can’t do that.