Movie Review: Ratatouille

Can you imagine taking a joy ride into the world of restaurants and the streets of Paris on an animated adventure? That is exactly what Pixar offers up in the new film Ratatouille. The adventure starts with Remy, a little blue rat, and aspiring chef. His delicate sense of smell prevents him from eating the garbage that the other rats feed on. Remy's amazing sense of smell leads to him being the official food sniffer for his family, and proves invaluable for sniffing out rat poison. However, his sense of smell also leads to his many forays into the kitchen for ingredients he can combine into foods that he will actually like. The old lady who lives in the house loves to watch the cooking channel, and to sleep while it is on. So, he begins to watch the shows while she sleeps and discovers a hero in Gusteau, a world-renowned chef who owns a five star restaurant and has written a book entitled Anyone Can Cook.

His heart is broken one night when he sneaks into the kitchen with his brother, and discovers via the television that Gusteau's restaurant lost it's five star rating due to a scathing review by food critic Anton Ego. The loss of the star led to the untimely death of the chef Gusteau, which resulted in the loss of yet another star! Poor Remy did not even have time to fully process the news before the old lady in the house awoke, and chased him and his brother from the house with shotgun blasts. His adventure was just beginning, as him and his entire family was chased from their house by the old lady. Remy rides the pipes of the sewers and streams to safety afloat on top of the cookbook Anyone Can Cook, and gets separated from his family along the way. When he finally comes aground he is right at Gusteau's restaurant in Paris, and takes it as a sign.

When Remy sneaks into the famed restaurant he meets the very colorful chefs and assistants employed there. The new master chef, Skinner, is a wicked man intent on destroying Gusteau's hard earned reputation by hawking frozen foods with his likeness. Remy meets a bumbling Linguini the son of one of Gusteau's friends, when he enters the restaurant and gains a job as the new garbage boy and dishwasher.

Little does Remy know at the time that Linguini is an aspiring chef, but not a very good one. When Linguini almost ruins a soup, Remy manages to fix it without him knowing. The customers love the soup, and Remy and Linguini meet as a result. The two quickly develop a plan that is workable, Linguini will appear to be the one doing the cooking, but he will secretly be controlled by hair tugs from Remy who will hide under his hat. During his transition to chef, Linguini meets and falls in love with the feisty Collette, who has been placed in charge of Linguini's cooking by the ever-watchful Skinner. Linguini and Collette fall deeper and deeper in love while they cook together. Meanwhile Remy's cooking via Linguini begins to draw real attention from their customer's. There are rave reviews from critics and customers alike.

Remy discovers his brother in the alley behind the restaurant one night, and is reunited with his family. His father, as usual, disapproves of his choice to be a chef, and is not supportive of him at all. Remy leaves his family to go back to his home, and secures his place as a disappointment to his father.

When he gets back to the restaurant he is just in time to be part of a press conference held for Linguini, who gives credit for all of his cooking skills to Collette. What follows is chaos as Anton Ego shows up and warns them he will be back to review the restaurant. After the press conference, Remy and Linguini part ways because of the remarks in the press conference when Linguini discovers Remy allowing his family to steal food, and Linguini is forced to prepare for the pending review alone when all of the other chefs walk out. Remy makes a hard decision and returns to the restaurant to help Linguini prepare the food, and his entire family comes with him to help. Collette shows back up, rats all over the kitchen take her aback, but she stays and they prepare Ratatouille for Anton Ego. As for how the review goes, well I guess you will have to watch the movie to figure that one out. But, I guarantee it is a happy ending for all.

Pixar has created a marvelous film with breathtaking graphics. It is a joy for the whole family to share, and even contains great lessons for the kids. What more could you ask for in any film? Animated or not Ratatouille stands out as one of the best movies of the summer!