Ratatouille (Movie Review)

*Updated December 2025

If someone asked me to watch a movie about rats in a kitchen, I’d tell you, who wants to see a movie about that? Well, now I am paying to see Ratatouille again.

Ratatouille, which means peasant food, is the new film from Disney/Pixar and is written and directed by the respected animation master, Oscar winner Brad Bird, known for his last film, The Incredibles.

The idea of making a film with rats around food is not one that inspires pleasure. I can still imagine the reaction of the Disney executives when they heard the proposal, “Gentlemen, how about giving us 100 million dollars to make a story based on a rat in a restaurant kitchen?” Incredible. That shows me that any story can be made if the person directing it is named Brad Bird.

The film centers on a rat in Paris named Remy whose dream is to be a chef. His powerful sense of smell is the envy of his family and friends. Through his imaginary friend Gusteau, Remy arrives at a restaurant where he meets Linguini, a clumsy and downcast cook who is about to lose his job. With Remy’s help, Linguini saves his job and becomes a star in the culinary world. But not everything is rosy for the new star chef and his “little secret weapon.”

The other characters in this entertaining film are unforgettable. Each of the cooks has so much individual character that you almost forget they are only computer drawings. And, as every great movie needs a strong opposite to its protagonist, the dry and dark food critic Anton Ego, voiced by the great English actor Peter O’Toole, exceeds expectations.

Apart from the fascinating characters, the animation must be praised. The job of these superb animators is to give the audience their vision of a world that exists outside our own. Paris is their playground and we become its residents, observing closely the details of the city’s architecture, the cobblestones of the streets, the smell of freshly baked bread and the noise of the alleys. On the canvas of these artists, the muse was unquestionably Paris and Remy its relief.

Overall, Ratatouille celebrates the artistry of cooking, the beauty of food and what can be done with those ingredients in the hands of a skilled chef. This is the reason we go to the movies. I have no doubt that this is one of the best films of the year and the best that Brad Bird and Pixar have made. You will experience what it means to see a work of art outside a museum. The film will be at the next Academy Awards winning the prize for Best Animated Feature and possibly nominated for Best Picture. With that said, I think tonight I will take out my recipe book and make myself a good pot of ratatouille.

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