We have all likely done the same thing. After watching a television infomercial about how easy it might be to complete a certain task thanks to a miracle invention, many of us perhaps call the toll free number, hand over our credit card information and are then on are way to dicing and slicing with the newest and sharpest steak knives out there. There is just something about those mysterious salesmen on television that we simply cannot get enough of and as a society we become lemmings to the messages for the products they sell.



When Remy overheard one such advertisement for a book named Anyone Can Cook written by famed French chef Gusteau (voice by Brad Garrett), Remy decided that it was time for him to make a life for himself and follow the footsteps of his television mentor, Gusteau. Remy already had a flawless appreciation of both the tastes and smells of good food and it would be a natural progression for such a food critic and aficionado to move into the kitchen. There was just one thing holding Remy back: he is a rat.



In Ratatouille , a story of an amazing rat that seeks not the human scraps and waste that so many other rats crave but instead wants to find the sharpest of cheese and the finest of fruits. Remy (voice by Patton Oswalt) is not your typical, everyday rat that wants to hang out in the sewers, rather, he wants to hang out in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant.



Remy befriends a young and awkward man by the name of Linguini (voice by Lou Romano). When Gusteau's restaurant is being run by Skinner (voice by Ian Holme) after the passing away of restaurant great Gusteau, Linguini who is merely a dishwasher and floor sweeper at the restaurant out of pre-death wish of Gusteau, magically concocts a soup dish that the entire dining room simply goes crazy for. Of course, Linguini can thank much of his success to a "little chef" that helps him out along the way.



The success that Linguini has stumbled upon thanks to the help of the "little chef" then sets off a battle between he and Skinner and in fact due to some legal issues, as well, the battle becomes further complicated. Though Skinner perhaps has visions of grandeur for the Gusteau brand and wishes to enter the microwave burrito market (amongst other things) it is in fact Linguini that restores the fame that the Gusteau name carried for so long.



Written by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkman, Ratatouille is an amazingly well done animated film and there are certainly times that as an adult you almost forget that you are watching a children's movie. The story line of the film is creative and fun and there was never a time throughout the film that the viewer could become bored with what is going on.



Ratatouille was nominated and ended up winning the 2008 Oscar for Best Animated Feature of the Year and it is no surprise as to why this is the case. The movie is an amazingly well done animated work that is both fun to watch and impressive to view in terms of the effort paid to detail that is evidenced by this film.



This film would be the ideal family movie night film as it certainly would appeal to all members of the family, young and old. As with most Disney-Pixar films, the film seemed to be flawless in terms of production and the animation itself was nothing but top notch.



Even if you are scared of rats, Ratatouille provides the viewer with a great film that shows perhaps a more likable and lovable side of rats that we perhaps have never experienced before. And from now on if I ever see an actual rat having a piece of gruyere matched nicely with a cabernet sauvignon , it will be hard not to think about the amazing things that this creature might be able to concoct in the kitchen if he is only given the chance.