Ratatouille (2007) - Movie Review for Parents

MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Comedy/Adventure/Family/CG Animated
Age range: Ages 3 and up
Runtime: Approx. 116 minutes
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Will Arnett, Julius Callahan, James Remar, John Ratzenberger, Teddy Newton, Tony Fucile, Jake Steinfeld, Brad Bird, Laurent Spelvogel (narrator)
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar

Ratatouille - Guide Review

Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) may be a rat, but he has extraordinary culinary talent. Tired of the traditional rat way - always taking from the world - Remy desires to give something to others. He desires to create wonderful dishes and open to his fellow rats the delectibly exciting world of good food.

One day, Remy shares his true desire with his brother Emile (voiced by Peter Sohn). The two sneak into the kitchen of the home that the rats have infested. When Remy and Emile are discovered, their seasoning-seeking escapade places the whole colony in danger. As the rats make their escape, Remy is left behind, carrying only a cookbook by his favorite chef, the late Gusteau.

The lonely Remy wanders for only a short time, though, when it is Gusteau who inspires him. Remy is guided to the magical city of Paris, where he finds himself looking into the window of the very restaurant that Gusteau had founded. As Remy takes in the invigorating sights and sounds of the bustling restaurant kitchen, he notices a poorly treated employee named Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano), who is committing a most unpardonable sin. He is ruining the soup!

Unable to control himself, Remy finds his way into the restaurant and begins to fix the soup. Remy runs about tossing in flavorful ingredients until the soup is taken away to be served to the customers. Linguini, who had seen the whole amazing scene, is astonished to hear the customers raving about the soup and demanding more.

Together, Linguini and Remy devise a plan whereby Remy can direct Linguini in the kitchen and make him the greatest chef since Gusteau himself. However, the plan is not without its problems. Chef Skinner (Ian Holm) is out to get Linguini from the start, and restaurant critic Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole) is determined to find something wrong with Linguini's cooking. Even worse, if Remy were discovered, a visit from the health inspector would shut the whole restaurant down. Their deceit allows both Remy and Linguini to get what they want, but they can only live a lie for so long.

The intricate and beautiful animation makes the movie Ratatouille a culinary masterpiece in itself. Transporting the audience into Remy's charming world, the film appeals to the senses with visual and auditory descriptions of his fine French cuisine. Remy's zeal regarding spices and flavor brings the art of cooking to life, even though it is hard to get over the thought of a rat in the kitchen.

While kids will love the characters and animation as much as adults, young children may get a little restless sitting through the movie. Remy's story is a good one, but not as exciting for kids as a fish looking for his father or a toy trying to get back home. With a runtime that approaches two hours, little children may need a little extra popcorn to make it all the way through.

Ratatouille - Note to Parents

Many scenes of slapstick violence occur in Ratatouille as rats are chased by people with a number of weapons including knives and a shotgun. Some scenes of peril involving the rats may be slightly frightening to very young children. A scene in which a rat sees other dead rats and rat poison may be unsettling to children.

Alcohol is present more often in this movie than in most G-rated films. As the movie is about food in France, wine is often shown. In addition, one scene involves a man encouraging another to drink more and more wine as he tries to get information out of him.

Ratatouille - Content Overview

The following lists a few of the most prominent examples of possibly offensive content in the movie (may contain spoilers):

Violence (Moderate)
- A woman chases rats with a shotgun. She shoots up several objects in her house in the process.
- In several scenes, knives or other objects are thrown at Remy and people try to hit him with various objects.
- Two men are bound and gagged for a period of time, but both are unharmed.

Sex/Nudity (Mild)
- A man and women are briefly shown kissing in a passionate embrace.
- Two characters are accidentally thrown together and they kiss.
- A boy is discovered to be the son of a man and a woman from a past relationship.

Profanity (Mild)
- The word "hell" is used.

Alcohol/Drugs (Moderate)
- Wine is shown several times throughout the movie.
- A man tries to get another man drunk in order to extract information from him.

Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (Moderate)
- A man finds out the truth but tries to cover it up and serve his own interests.
- A women stabs knives into a man's sleeve, pinning him to a countertop.
- A rat allows his friends to take food from a restaurant, even though he knows it is stealing. He then tells them they can do it again, seemingly out of spite for the restaurant owner.
- One chef is described as having a sordid past, and some of the things he is rumored to have done (including murder) are briefly described.

Scary Scenes (Moderate)
- scenes listed under "violence" may be scary for young children.
- Remy's father takes him to a storefront where dead rats are hanging and rat poison/traps are being sold.
- Remy is kidnapped and put in a cage (but he ends up getting rescued).

Sad/Unsettling Scenes (Mild)
- Remy and his father disagree about what he should be doing with his life.
- Remy and Linguini part ways and each feels betrayed by the other.

Ratatouille - Topics to Talk About

• What capacity do animals have to act, talk, and think as humans do?
• Sometimes things that are different or abnormal can be scary to people, but why is it important to keep an open mind?