4 stars
Delectable! "Ratatouille" should be savored by every age of movie goer.
Brad Bird, the genius behind the marvelous "The Iron Giant" and Pixar's "The Incredibles," has whipped up yet another clever wonder from big-cheese animator Pixar.
The story's star is Remy (voice of comedian Patton Oswalt), a rat with a finely tuned palette. Remy's brother and father don't have much use for Remy's talents or his descriptions of compatible flavors %u2013 that is, until Dad Rat discovers that Remy can sniff out safe garbage from the poisoned stuff.
Remy truly understands the allure of fine cuisine %u2013 in fact, he longs to be a chef, to experiment with flavors. But the very idea of a rat in a kitchen is, well, ridiculous, and Remy remains contented with watching his favorite chef, Gusteau (voice of Brad Garrett, "Music and Lyrics") on television.
When Remy pursues his dream of combining ingredients in a human's kitchen, disaster ensues, and he is separated from his family. While he scurries for safety, he comes upon a Gusteau's restaurant, and becomes fascinated by what's going on inside.
Remy meets a clean-up staff member named Linguini (Lou Romano, who also provided voices in "Cars" and "The Incredibles"). When Linguini suddenly faces the challenge of cooking, Remy tries to help him. Of course, this results in another catastrophe, until Remy (who cannot talk with humans, by the way) convinces Linguini that, if the two work together, they can create superb food.
Remy's dad thinks the whole concept is a bad idea. "Stay away from the humans. It's dangerous," he tells Remy. "Now eat your garbage."
Still, Remy comes up with a clever communication method, and does indeed help Linguini create fantastic dishes. But trouble lurks in every corner, from the chef who thinks he's smells, well, rat in Linguini's talent to the arrival of a cranky critic who could make or break the restaurant's reputation.
Every frame of this movie is layered in textures, from the street lights of Paris to the mouth-watering appearance of the food and the movements of all the characters. This is a sumptuous delight for the eyes%u2026and the ears, because the script is smart and funny. Like a great recipe, it blends comedy, drama, romance and action for a perfect serving of entertainment. And the themes about judging someone by appearance alone and the importance of pursuing one's dream add even more flavor.
"Ratatouille" is so delicious, I couldn't get enough. So I went back for more at
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/ratatouille/
where you'll find games, interviews, videos, behind-the-scenes tidbits and%u2026real recipes.
Bon apetit!
Running time: One hour and 50 minutes.
Voice stars: Patton Oswalt, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Peter O'Toole.
Rated: G, with nothing offensive for any audience.
Director and screenwriter: Brad Bird.