MOVIE TITLE: Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-eee)

GENRE: Animated comedy

RATING: ★★★★ (A+ entertainment)

RUNNING TIME: 111 mins

BONUS FEATURES: Deleted scenes, an all-new animated short film, Lifted: Your Friend the Rat, featuring Remy and Emile, and Fine Food and Film.

WHO'S IN IT: Voices of Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter O'Toole and Brad Garrett.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Ratatouille is a funny tale of an unlikely pair. It is the classic 'fish-out-of-the-water' tale, but this time, the 'fish' is a rat who literally crawls out of the sewer. The rat, Remy, dreams of becoming a chef and with the death of his mentor and hero, renowned French chef August Gusteau, Remy gets an opportunity to live his dream.

However, he is and always will be a rat in a kitchen, which spells trouble for everyone involved. Remy is determined, against the laws of nature and the wishes of his father, to become the best chef he can be, and finds help from the bungling boy pal, Linguini, who is thrust into a situation he cannot handle. Remy and Languini will need each other in order to make it out of the mess they both get themselves in. Languini is the boy pretending to be a chef, while Remy the rat acts as his puppet master.

There are a few caricatures, which make the comedy interesting, such as Anton Ego, the brutal food critic, whose review led to Gusteau's death and would certainly have led to the restaurant's demise were it not for Remy and the clumsy Linguini. Ratatouille, named after a delicious French peasant dish, is a feast the whole family can enjoy.

LONG STORY SHORT: It is a lesson in achieving one's dreams against all odds, no matter who or what you are and how humble your beginnings may have been.

THE REEL LOWDOWN: If you liked Cars, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, you'll like this.

- Alicia Roache

DVD courtesy of CariHome.

Animated

Comedy

Ratings:

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