A Rat in the Kitchen

Once in a while, you stumble into a film that touches a soft spot in your heart no matter how simple the plot may be. Like Ratatouille, a story of two very different protagonists, both confronting difficult situations.

Remy is no ordinary rodent. He hates garbage and won’t eat them. Instead, he prefers to good stuff, food prepared in the kitchen. Because of his love and appreciation of good food, Remy has a well-developed, very exceptional sense of smell. Unfortunately, this unusual characteristic also makes Remy an outcast from his own kind since rats marvel in slops, food waste, and everything else dirty, not in classy, well-prepared meals.

Our other major character is Linguini, is the new garbage boy at Gusteau's Restaurant (now being run by Gusteau's former sous chef Skinner). Although he has the opportunity to work in the kitchen, his situation is worse than Remy's. He may love food, but cooking or preparing a descent meal is not among his skills. He possesses no other talents than being miserable and feeling sorry for himself.

The paths of our two heroes cross when Linguini accidentally messes the soup on the stove. Hoping to save it, he randomly drops ingredients and spices and in the process making a bigger disaster. Seeing all this, Remy makes a move, salvaging the soup and creating the first best thing that the restaurant has ever prepared after the famous French chef's death. So, here begins a partnership and friendship of two outcasts trying to find a niche in this fault-finding world.

Putting all technical aspects aside (because this film did it excellently), Ratatouille stresses the importance of friendship, appreciation, family, talent, the uniqueness of each individual, dreaming big and making a go to achieve it. Watching it made me realize what a friend had told me once--that food is more delicious if you prepare it with your heart; like what Remy did when he chose to make his own version of a humble French dish (ratatouille) to be served to food critic Anton Ego. Remy's dedication to his craft/art brought tears to Ego's eyes and brought him back to his childhood and to the memory of his mother's cooking.

Ratatouille is a treat for the eyes and palate as it takes to magnificent Paris and gives you a peek how sumptuous food are prepared in a restaurant’s kitchen. It’s a film worth watching.

The film features the voices of Patton Oswalt (Remy), Ian Holm (Skinner), Lou Romano (Linguini), Peter Sohn (Emile), Brian Dennely (Django), Janeane Garofalo (Colette), Brad Garrett (Gusteau), and Peter O’Toole (Anton Ego). It is directed by Brad Bird; written by Brad Bird based on a story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco and Brad Bird; music by Michael Giacchino; lighting director Sharon Calahan; director of photography/camera Robert Anderson; supervising animators Dylan Brown and Mark Walsh. Produced by Brad Lewis and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios.