A wonderful movie for the whole family. Intelligent fun for the parents, too.

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2007)

The film is a complex and skillfully executed animated movie. Editing is perfect, and of it would be impossible to cut anything - it all belongs there. The plot progression is gripping, and transitions smooth. Writing a detailed, complete review that does this little gem justice is close to impossible, since it would have to give away not one, but several, not entirely predictable, plot twists. So here is the short version.
On the surface, Ratatouille is a children's story (and kids in the audience were enjoying it, judging by their reaction) with a fairly ridiculous premise: a rat in the kitchen might be a good thing! But on closer inspection its numerous, layered themes run much deeper: it's a kid-accessible, sincere narrative about pursuing one's passion for something, about talent and its clashes with reality (credit and accolades do not always go to those who deserve it), about discovering one's own identity and having the resolve to assert it, about prejudice and how difficult it is to overcome, and, above all, about that old-fashioned virtue, honesty, even if it comes (as it often does) at a price. Ratatouille truly is a family-values film par excellance.
The tale recounts a story of Remy, a young rat, who has a passion for food and for cooking. He also has an incredibly discerning palate and nose, a talent which in his rodentian predicament, has very limited uses. Remy dreams of something more. In the great tradition of "unlikely friends - yet best friends" (Elliott and ET, Charlotte and Wilbur, Nemo and Dory) Remy's path will cross that of Linguini, an orphan boy in a desperate search for a job, and the two will have to battle adversity against all odds, sometimes with each other, and at times, despite of each other. Although it sounds like a typical stock plot, Ratatouille is not as predictable as might seem from movie's trailers available online, and (like Charlotte's Web) is by far darker than usual children's stories, which in this case is actually a good thing. Early on, for example, Remy (the rat) has to deal with death and the pain of personal loss. Linguini's life (the boy) too, has had its dark moments. Even the ending (without giving the details away) is a surprisingly reasonable, low-key compromise, rather than a straightforward "happy ending triumph" that fans of more traditional Disney solo productions may be accustomed to (think the triumphant endings of Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and even Finding Nemo; not here).
The story itself is a canvas for a surprisingly progressive (for Disney / Pixar) social commentary, and poses numerous questions which parents will find themselves hard-pressed to answer easily (but it might be a good exercise). I suspect that many of the questions are there more for the parents, than for the kids. For example, Does one owe loyalty to one's family and clan, or to one's dreams? Which one should one give up, if decision has to be made? Is it OK to have friends who are "different," despised by people in your social circle, and is it always easy? Is there a price to be paid for being faithful to oneself, one's friends, and being honest, and why one must choose to pay it. Ratatouille's numerous characters also tend to be more dimensional than in usual children's narratives. The "good guys" are charming and likable; and the villains (there are two), are cleverly drawn. For the kids, there is the more traditional stock villain (greedy, jealous and conniving), but for the amusement of grown-ups there is also the more complex, Anton Ego, a mordacious food critic, whose brief, but significant appearance contains a wonderfully humorous tribute to Proust's famous madeleine cookies scene in In Search for Lost Time.
There is a good measure of fast-paced chases, races, rescue-and-escape sequences, and rides which seem to be deliberately designed to be easily converted into interactive games and Disney theme park rides. The motorcycle-and-boat race, a clever, humorous pastiche taken right out of recent Bond movies, is a real tour de force of timing, and a dazzling display of computer animation, as is Remy's bumpy ride on turbulent waters of Paris sewers. My absolute favorite among the fast-paced sequences, is the "coincidences" kitchen scene, in which creative and clever use of kitchen tools and appliances evokes the bravura sequences from Michael Frayn's play Noises Off. Last, but not least, there are the visuals, and here too, Ratatouille delivers: the suddenly revealed, sweeping view of Paris rooftops and the Seine at dusk cannot ever be matched by mere reality; the image of a tiny rat contemplating this breathtaking view from the roof, in unison with the awed audience, adds the requisite poignancy. As far as children's films go, Ratatouille's "magic moments" are as magically wonderful as they get. This is a great movie for the whole family (for a longer version of this review, see my blog).