It’s about a rat who aspires to be a great chef, in Paris. Despite my underwhelming enthusiasm as to the film’s potential, what I found when I actually saw it was a heartwarming story of relationships, personal achievement, and art. (and rats too)

It also helped that the animation is second to none, the humor is clean, and and the casting is great! The visual presentation is simply stunning.

The creativity and humor in the film really caught me off-guard. I belly-laughed my way through several sequences, especially when Remy (the rat protagonist) is “controlling” Linguine (the human protagonist).

Fear the the “Critic”

Linguine just got a job as a chef (sort of) but can’t cook. He has to rely on Remy who is an excellent cook, yet can’t be seen by anyone in the kitchen. Remy controls Linguine to make him a 5-star chef by pulling on his hair (from inside Linguine’s chef hat). As silly as this gag is, it proves to be fantastically funny. (A certain scene has Linguine rummaging crazily through the kitchen looking for ingredients to “fix” a recipe. He takes an ingredient from from a fellow chef saying, “apparently, I need this” as his body quickly begins moving away)

While the message and controversies are in small supply, the simple tale of virtues, persistence, and art is still beautiful and enjoyable. It’s the kind of simple story you might find in a classic children’s book, yet filled with between-the-lines messages that you might only find in a sophisticated art journal.

At any rate, this is definitely a film I can heartily recommend to just about any audience… and that’s saying a lot these days.