 In the hilarious new animated-adventure, Ratatouille, a rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the city of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unwanted visitor in the kitchen at one of Paris' most exclusive restaurants, Remy forms an unlikely partnership with Linguini, the garbage boy, who inadvertently discovers Remy's amazing talents. They strike a deal, ultimately setting into motion a hilarious and exciting chain of extraordinary events that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down. Storyline: A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down. Written by Orange Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Brandon A. DuHamel on November 14, 2007 -- From Disney-Pixar comes Ratatouille, the touching tale of Remy (Patton Oswalt), a lonely and misunderstood rat. When Remy reads the book (yes, he can read!) "Anyone Can Cook," by the famous French chef, Gusteau, he discovers his one true love in the art of haute cuisine. Remy is misunderstood by his fellow rats because he aspires to be more than just a scrounger. Remy wants to live, create and to be set free from his humdrum existence as a bottom dweller. When an error in judgement causes Remy to expose his entire family to a shotgun weilding farm- owner, he and his brood are forced to flee into the rain-soaked night. As Remy struggles to keep up with the group, he is separated from his father and brother and winds up in Paris at the restaurant of his idol, Chef Gusteau. Drawn to the restaurant by the wonderful aromas coming from inside, Remy rushes in to the busy kitchen and finds himself "fixing" a disgusting soup made by a hapless garbage boy named Linguini (Lou Romano). After the soup is mistakenly served and the patron praises the dish, Linguini is hired as the kitchen's new Soup Chef. Realizing he has no talent for cooking, Linguini enlists Remy to create his new dishes. It is from then that Remy gets to live his dream, if only vicariously, as a chef. Of course, all is not well, as the restaurant's current chef, Skinner (Ian Holm), tries to sabotage Linguini at every turn while the jaded, almost evil food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), who originally wrote the restaurant off, is out to prove he wasn't wrong. The voice acting in Ratatouille is probably the weakest part of the film, as there isn't a single authentic French accent among the cast. Other than this minor quibble, Ratatouille is a touching story. One might never believe that a rat could stir up such tender feelings, but I was truly moved by Remy's situation in life. Pixar did accomplish something very special with this story. I do have to issue a slight warning, however. Ratatouille is much more of a cerebral film than one might normally expect from an animated feature. Don't be surprised if younger children have a hard time warming up to it in the same way they may have with Cars or Finding Nemo. With that said, older children and adults will find a lot to love about Ratatouille, just as I did. This is an amazing story with breathtaking animation. Disney-Pixar continue to amaze and prove why, when it comes to animation, there are no two names that are more synonymous with quality, class, and distinction. Ratatouille is a heartfelt tale of a loveable rat that wants to be more than just what society tells him he should or can be. That's something many, if not all of us, can relate to. Older children and adults should find this film quite enjoyable. This high definition Blu-ray Disc release, with its flawless picture and sound, is an excellent way to experience it. The two high definition Pixar animated shorts on this disc in addition to the slew of other extras only make this disc more of a value. Run to the store and buy it - - what are you waiting for? Remy finds himself torn between following his dreams or returning forever to his previous existence as a rat. He learns the truth about friendship, family and having no choice but to be who he really is, a rat who wants to be a chef. Cast Notes: Patton Oswalt (Remy [voice]), Ian Holm (Skinner [voice]), Lou Romano (Linguini [voice]), Brian Dennehy (Django [voice]), Peter Sohn (Emile [voice]), Peter O'Toole (Anton Ego [voice]), Brad Garrett (Gusteau [voice]), Janeane Garofalo (Colette [voice]), Will Arnett (Horst [voice]), Julius Callahan (Lalo/Francois [voice]), James Remar (Larousse [voice]), John Ratzenberger (Mustafa [voice]), Teddy Newton (Lawyer [Talon Labarthe] [voice]), Tony Fucile (Pompidou/Health Inspector [voice]), Jake Steinfeld (Git [Lab Rat] [voice]). IMDb Rating (07/25/14): 8.0/10 from 350,063 users IMDb Rating (08/30/08): 8.2/10 from 84,171 users Top 250: #138 IMDb Rating (10/15/07): 8.3/10 from 31,440 users Top 250: #77
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