RATATOUILLE (Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, 2007) ***

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2009)

Surprising exploring rodents in the kitchen is every restaurateur's (or housewife's) nightmare but the makers of this amiable animated movie turn that situation nicely on its head by making their protagonist a first-class gourmet that conveniently guides his artless master to fame and fortune in the culinary arts. Despite being the secret son of a famous (but subsequently) disgraced chef, he is engaged as a caretaker in his late father's bistro and mistreated by just everybody, especially the ambitious Head Chef who has his own designs on the place. However, his biggest nemesis is the fearsome food critic (splendidly voiced by Peter O'Toole) whose scathing review had sent his own father to an early grave and is intent on finding out just what the fuss of the revamped restaurant is all about. Aiding him in ditching his persecutors (including the belated appearance of a sanitary official) are a tough but conventional female cook, the friendly and constantly inventive mouse and, at the climax  just when everything seems lost after his employees quit him en masse upon discovering who the true gastronomical genius really is  the rat's entire family who find themselves engaged as impromptu cooks! RATATOUILLE won the Best Animated Feature Oscar and received a handful of other nominations including Best Screenplay and Best Music Score.