This film had such an impact on me I now know how to spell "Ratatouille".

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2010)

A simple rat has aspirations of becoming a gourmet chef, and moves to Paris to follow his dream, hooking up with a lowly (human) kitchen hand along the way...
There aren't too many animated comedies that you can credit with helping you discover a favourite stand-up comedian, Ratatouille did exactly that for me.
(A related digression: Find some of Patton Oswalt's stand-up stuff, it's worth it.) I knew in advance that this would be good despite the seemingly odd combination of having a rat-chef as the central theme. After all, Pixar don't make bad movies and Brad Bird especially elevates his pics to another level still.
This is one film where the story is paramount above all else, after all the lead character is hardly cuddly and the lead human is hardly witty and charming. The comedy comes from the situations and the final sequence with the cooking "team" wowing the pessimistic critic is one of the most well paced and charming endings to any film in recent years.
Kids might not be scurrying back to watch it again and again, but Ratatouille deserves to be seen repeatedly by kids and adults alike.
What you hope kids will learn: Appearances shouldn't count. Anyone can do anything they set their mind to.
What they'll take away: (Probably the least kid-friendly film on this list.) At best: rats are cool.
At worst: rats are still gross.
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