This gorgeous computer-animated film by The Incredibles writer-director Brad Bird spins a terrific yarn about a French rat named Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt) who follows his bliss and becomes a gourmet chef. One hopes film and food lovers everywhere will discover Ratatouille, though it is probably too long and involved a story on too rarefied a subject for kids younger than 10. It is a classy, fun film, from its ravishing three-dimensional renderings of Paris to its jazzy score and vivid characters.
Even so, it will not appeal to the rodent-phobic, though its rats have cute pink bulbous noses. (The humans all look vaguely like Charles de Gaulle or French film actors of yore.) When Remy nearly gets trampled on the street or in the kitchen, or when people with guns and meat cleavers chase him and his fellows, it can be intense.
A store selling rat poison has dead rats in its window. And, of course, characters drink wine. A young country rat, Remy has a supersensitive nose and a genius for combining foods to enhance their flavors.
Unlike his garbage-guzzling family, he likes subtle tastes. He also reads and walks on two legs and tries to convince them that humans aren't all bad. Remy gets separated from his family when they barely escape a lady with a shotgun.
He lands solo in the sewers of Paris with his cookbook written by a top chef. Remy finds the author's old restaurant. He bonds with gawky dishwasher Linguini (Lou Romano) and turns him into a master chef by hiding under his toque and pulling on his hair like a puppeteer to guide his hands.
This gorgeous computer-animated film by The Incredibles writer-director Brad Bird spins a terrific yarn about a French rat named Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt) who follows his bliss and becomes a gourmet chef.
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