Clever but Tiresome

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2007)

This is a clever movie, with lots of entertaining gags that fly by too fast to take them all in, but why must so many of these animated movies have the "roots v. dreams" theme. We saw it in Pinnochio and The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and too many others to count; a protagonist who dreams of transcending his (or her, occasionally) place in the world, but has so many tiresome conflicted moments along the way.
Also, would it have been so hard to have had a few more female characters? Let's see, we had the batty old lady with the shotgun and the tough but hot chef, and a brief glimpse of a female food critic. Why couldn't there have been some female rats, at least? Couldn't Remy have had a sister and mother instead of a father and brother? I think we need a Title IX for animated feature films!