/Lays out rat poison

Rating: 3/10 (11 October 2007)

Disney did a great job capturing the feel of Paris, the animation is beautiful, and I loved the music. That being said...
Disney has been beating us over the head with "self realization/being true to oneself" movies for years. The formula for this one is no different. The difference is many of Ratatouille's predecessor's have actually been entertaining. This wasn't.
The protagonist in this movie is a rat named Remy. He's a gifted cook who grapples over following his cooking aspirations and being true to his little rat roots. He's likable enough, but neither interesting nor humorous. The human protagonist of the movie is named Linguini. He is, in a word, a moron. I disliked him in the beginning of the movie. I disliked him at the end of the movie. The physical comedy they try to pull-off in the kitchen sequences (when Remy first tries to control Linguini's movements), pay a nod to a physical comedy genius: Goofy. Unfortunately, Goofy is lovable. Linguini is not. The comedy fell flat.
Before the middle of the movie I'm completely bored (and so are my kids). There's legality and DNA conversation, too much Linguini, not enough characters who are interesting.
The middle of the movie is choppy and it's hard to follow the action. I lost all sense of time, with more than one time-passing sequence occurring. It seems the first 45 minutes of the movie is just filler, building up to something happening. -And believe me, after 45 minutes you're ready for something (ANYTHING) to happen.
***There is one transcendent moment in this movie; the reason for the three stars I gave it. It's a wonderful scene that is poignant and full of truth: the scene where Ego (who is the most interesting character in this movie) first tastes the ratatouille. I laughed out loud, as did most of the adults in the audience. The irony was that none of the children in the audience got it...because they are children! They are currently IN CHILDHOOD! Odd that the only moment of humor in this dismal little movie was directed at the adults.***
In conclusion, the major themes of this movie are be true to yourself, even an incompetent loser can still succeed if he rides the coattails of those around him, and don't steal. Deception, using those you love for your own purposes, kidnapping, taking credit for others work...these things are OK; but DON'T STEAL.
Disney needs to get it's marketing and creative department in order and on the same page. It is unclear what audience this movie was intended for: children or adults. It was way too uninteresting for children and way too childish for adults.