Thanks to this new miracle in animation from Pixar, the next time you see a rat scurry across a restaurant floor you’ll end up smiling appreciatively instead of screaming for the Board of Health. I’m only half kidding. Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt) is a French rat with a dream to become a master chef. And by the time Remy follows his dream to Paris, captured by the animators with a swoony loveliness that makes you want to dive into the screen, you’ll be rooting for Remy. Look, Mickey did OK for a mouse. Why not screen immortality for a rat? The folks at Disney who are releasing this unique and unmissable film would like you to pronounce the title the more rodent-centric rat-a-too-ee instead of the traditional ra-ta-touille, which is merely a peasant stew of eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers and squash. Ratatouille the movie is a dish fit for a king.
Let’s start the kudos with director-screenwriter Brad Bird, who earned his wizard stripes with The Incredibles and The Iron Giant. There’s something scrappy and challenging about Bird that sets his films above the juvenile herd. He has the enviable knack of serving up sophisticated wit that entices adult audiences without turning off the tykes. Like a great chef, he knows every detail counts. Take the food. Bird didn’t just paint pretty pictures. He brought in Chef Thomas Keller, of California’s French Laundry and Manhattan’s Per Se, to prepare dishes that could be animated with a verisimilitude that makes your mouth water. Foodies will think they’re in culinary heaven.

An accident separates Remy from his family of country rats and drives him into the sewers —a thrilling action sequence. He finally arrives in Paris at the restaurant of the chef he admires most, Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett), whose motto is: “anyone can cook.” In the kitchen, run by the scheming head chef Skinner (Ian Holm) since the death of Gusteau, Remy scurries around unseen, adding ingredients to a soup that delights patrons. But when Skinner spots him, he orders the gangly kitchen garbage boy Linguini (Lou Romano) to sneak Remy out of the restaurant and kill him.

Instead, Linguini and Remy become a team. Hiding in Linguini’s chef’s hat, Remy uses an intricate system of hair yanking to create a menu that puts the restaurant back on the map after being flambed in a review by the terrifying, cadaverous Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole is a hoot, loading every word with comic venom). Remy even plays Cyrano, instructing Linguini how to win the heart of Colette (Janeane Garofalo), a cook who has grow a thick skin to deal with a kitchen full of men.

It’s no fair spoiling the film’s many surprises since what makes Ratatouille such a hilarious and heartfelt wonder is the way Bird contrives to let it sneak up on you. And get a load of that score from Michael Giacchino, a perfect compliment to a delicious meal. The film sags a bit in the final stretch, but recovers for a souffle of an ending. Skinner’s most dastardly plan is to reduce Gusteau’s recipes to something frozen and microwavable. Remy has no choice but to fight back. Neither does Bird, who works his special magic in a Hollywood that would like to reduce everything to product. His resistance, like his movie, is something to cheer.