The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
site categories
‘ratatouille’: film review.
Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios are proving to be an unbeatable combination.
By Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
- Share on Facebook
- Share to Flipboard
- Send an Email
- Show additional share options
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Pinterest
- Share on Reddit
- Share on Tumblr
- Share on Whats App
- Print the Article
- Post a Comment
Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios are proving to be an unbeatable combination. Bird, the cartoon writer-director with delightfully off-kilter sensibilities, and Pixar, the cutting-edge computer-animation company that places so very much emphasis on character, have their second hit together in Ratatouille , a follow-up to the universally popular The Incredibles . Who would think a rat in a restaurant’s kitchen would induce anything other than comic slapstick involving knives and cleavers flying in all directions? Yet Bird builds a comic world in which a rat can become a chef and food can take on an almost unbearable sensuality.
Yes, there’s something in the kitchen for everyone in Ratatouille , so the Mouse House should clear a wing in its hall of fame for Cousin Rat. Ratatouille might not reach the international boxoffice heights of The Incredibles — then again, maybe it will — but the film does rep another huge leap in CGI technique and imagination by the Pixar folks.
Related Stories
Fernando valenzuela, mexican-born pitcher whose feats for dodgers fueled "fernandomania," dies at 63, martha stewart reveals if she would go on 'the golden bachelorette'.
Heroes with impossible dreams are the stuff movies are made of. But Ratatouille gives us two seemingly hapless protagonists battling impossible odds. The first is Remy (voiced by comic Patton Oswalt), an uncommon French rat who refuses to nibble on garbage. Mais non, he prefers haute cuisine delicacies out of human kitchens. Indeed, his hero is Paris’ culinary superstar Auguste Gusteau, whose motto — and best-selling book — is Anybody Can Cook . But did Gusteau have Remy in mind?
The second hard case is Linguini (Lou Romano), a garbage boy at Gusteau’s eponymous restaurant. In a way, his is the more desperate case because he loves the world of food but can’t cook worth a lick. When Remy, momentarily stranded in Gusteau’s, sees the mess Linguini has made of a soup when no one was watching, he quickly hurls ingredients in from all over the kitchen, turning the soup into the best thing that kitchen has produced in ages.
It seems old Gusteau has passed on to that kitchen in the sky. His sous chef, Skinner (Ian Holm), drawn to look like an evil and miniaturized Cantinflas, is content to coast on the restaurant’s name while crassly expanding into frozen food. When Linguini receives credit for Remy’s artistry, Skinner is forced to hire him as a cook. But Skinner challenges him to repeat his “accidental” soup recipe. When Linguini comes to the startling realization that a rat actually created the soup, he knows his goose, you should excuse the expression, is cooked.
But wait! Linguini and Remy develop a means to communicate. Through trial and much error (meaning much slapstick), Remy learns that by perching on the top of Linguini’s head under his chef’s hat and pulling tuffs of thick hair to manipulate limbs, he can pilot Linguini through his food-prep station. Soon, Linguini/Remy have the old magic back in Gusteau’s kitchen, light a romantic fire underneath its sole female cook, Colette (Janeane Garofalo), has Skinner doing a slow burn and attracted the unwanted attention of the town’s haughtiest critic, Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole at his most imperial and majestic self).
Cartoon food certainly has come a long way from the spaghetti-by-candlelight scene in Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp . In Bird’s kitchen, sauces steam and bubble over brilliant flames, red wine shimmers in crystal glasses, vegetables slice, grate and chop in a frenzy of tiny flying objects, and the camera and cooks are in constant motion in a choreographed ballet with swift, tuxedoed waiters. Everything is so realistic in its textures, colors and smells — yes, you’ll swear you can smell the food — that the next time you switch on the Food Channel will bring disappointment: It doesn’t look like Gusteau’s!
The movement of all the characters from the rats, right down to their hairs and tail, to the humans flying this way and that has an authentic precision that adds to the comic action immeasurably. But trumping even the photorealism of this Parisian fantasia is the utter charm of it all.
The parallel rat world is rendered in equally imaginative details so that Remy becomes an outsider in his own community by his insistence that food is art. The symbiotic friendship between Remy and Linguini carries genuine sympathy and caring. An engaging chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett) appears to Remy frequently as “a figment of your imagination” to offer advice and support to Remy. And the ratatouille dish that breaks the great critic’s heart is a reminder that all great food takes you back to mama’s kitchen.
Bon appetit!
RATATOUILLE
Buena Vista Pictures Walt Disney Pictures presents a Pixar Animation Studios film Credits: Director: Brad Bird Screenwriters: Jan Pinkava, Brad Bird Producer: Brad Lewis Executive producers: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton Supervising technical director: Michael Fong Production designer: Harley Jessup Director of photography/lighting: Sharon Calahan Music: Michael Giacchino Story supervisor: Mark Andrews Editor: Darren Holmes Cast: Remy: Patton Oswalt Skinner: Ian Holm Linguini: Lou Romano Django: Brian Dennehy Emile: Peter Sohn Anton Ego: Peter O’Toole Auguste Gusteau: Brad Garrett Colette: Janeane Garofalo Horst: Will Arnett Running time — 111 minutes MPAA rating: G
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
More from The Hollywood Reporter
‘grand theft hamlet,’ ‘witches’ feature on longlist for bifas raindance maverick award, stanley tucci says he “couldn’t get a job” after ‘the devil wears prada’, kevin hart and robin roberts production companies sign on to produce new orleans doc ‘a king like me’, tribeca films sets streaming deals with kanopy and kinema, oscar predictions via feinberg forecast: updated standings as ‘gladiator ii’ and ‘wicked’ join race, ‘john wick’ at 10: co-creator chad stahelski on the past, present and future of keanu reeves’ beloved assassin.
Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes
Trouble logging in?
By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.
Email not verified
Let's keep in touch.
Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:
- Upcoming Movies and TV shows
- Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
- Media News + More
By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.
OK, got it!
- About Rotten Tomatoes®
- Login/signup
Movies in theaters
- Opening This Week
- Top Box Office
- Coming Soon to Theaters
- Certified Fresh Movies
Movies at Home
- Fandango at Home
- Prime Video
- Most Popular Streaming Movies
- What to Watch New
Certified fresh picks
- 86% Smile 2 Link to Smile 2
- 99% Anora Link to Anora
- 79% We Live in Time Link to We Live in Time
New TV Tonight
- 86% What We Do in the Shadows: Season 6
- 80% Poppa's House: Season 1
- -- Territory: Season 1
- -- Before: Season 1
- -- Hellbound: Season 2
- -- The Equalizer: Season 5
- -- Breath of Fire: Season 1
- -- Beauty in Black: Season 1
- -- Like a Dragon: Yakuza: Season 1
Most Popular TV on RT
- 94% The Penguin: Season 1
- 82% Agatha All Along: Season 1
- 78% Disclaimer: Season 1
- 91% Rivals: Season 1
- 78% Hysteria!: Season 1
- 100% The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 3
- 79% Teacup: Season 1
- 100% From: Season 3
- 85% Sweetpea: Season 1
- Best TV Shows
- Most Popular TV
Certified fresh pick
- 96% Shrinking: Season 2 Link to Shrinking: Season 2
- All-Time Lists
- Binge Guide
- Comics on TV
- Five Favorite Films
- Video Interviews
- Weekend Box Office
- Weekly Ketchup
- What to Watch
Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now
50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024
What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming
Awards Tour
The Most Anticipated Movies of 2025
One Last Visit to What We Do In The Shadows
- Trending on RT
- Verified Hot Movies
- TV Premiere Dates
- Gladiator II First Reactions
- Halloween Programming Guide
Ratatouille Reviews
Ratatouille puts the "anyone can cook" motto to the test and while it's an absurd premise, this film is absolutely beautiful in every way.
Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 29, 2022
It doesn’t have a flaw; it’s perfect storytelling and its emotional payoff is a landmark.
Full Review | Jun 15, 2022
Despite the unexplained language barriers or farfetched plot, this delightfully delicious foray into the unimaginable never becomes preachy or immature.
Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 27, 2020
This is a film about a rat who becomes a chef in Paris. But it's so much more than that. It's about what a great artist can be, where a great artist can come from, it's about food and how to savour it.
Full Review | May 18, 2020
A love letter to Paris, a valentine to the fine art of cooking, and a gift to film fans of all ages.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 20, 2019
A delectable treat that represents the finest qualities in animation and American cinema.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 6, 2019
Has great vocal performances throughout and is about a character figuring out where they belong and finally being accepted there. I love it!
Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Apr 26, 2019
That is the (...) imperative message of Ratatouille. Everyone is not an artist, but anyone could be an artist. Because, as living creatures, it is simply what we do.
Full Review | Jan 14, 2019
The studio's latest effort offers beautiful and strikingly realistic animation, but the flawed concept should have been scrapped...
Full Review | Aug 8, 2018
I won't spoil the broth, but suffice to say Ratatouille is a bursting with bright flavors, some spice, and deep warmth that settles in your belly and satisfies body and soul.
Full Review | Aug 23, 2017
There is so much to enjoy and celebrate here, Ratatouille deserves more than a review: it could (and probably will) inspire books about creativity and good taste.
Full Review | Original Score: A | Dec 8, 2015
Ratatouille was written and directed by Brad Bird, the guy behind The Incredibles, and while his new movie isn't as brainy as that one, it has lots of lovely touches to appeal to parents as well as kids.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 3, 2015
Ratatouille is a triumph that not only pays tribute to the spirit of discovery, but revels in the fun of making a few of its own.
Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Aug 3, 2015
And there's Remy himself, voiced by irreverent comic Patton Oswalt. Yes, he's a rat, and a pantless one at that, but he's a charming rat.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 3, 2015
The latest from Pixar and Oscar winning writer-director Brad Bird is a fabulously enjoyable parable about the pursuit of excellence and rising above the preconceptions of others.
It's not just the best animated film this year, it's the best animated film to come out of the U.S. since Bird's last effort, The Incredibles.
Full Review | Aug 3, 2015
Like the snooty restaurant critic Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole), we enter Ratatouille thinking we've tasted it all, and we leave hoping for seconds.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 3, 2015
It's a great programme for all the family.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 29, 2015
It's not my favourite Pixar film.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 29, 2015
No restaurant has ever benefited from placing rats in a recipe, but the digital wizards in Pixar's kitchen have cooked up a winning peasant dish in Ratatouille.
Full Review | Aug 24, 2014
- Cast & crew
User reviews
Ratatouille
- Oct 17, 2020
- Jun 16, 2007
- cinephile-27690
- Nov 8, 2018
- Jun 10, 2007
- fyapar-27303
- Jun 27, 2019
- Jul 14, 2007
- Aug 9, 2007
- baileycrawly
- Nov 27, 2020
- Oct 10, 2007
- planktonrules
- Jul 8, 2007
- Jun 15, 2007
- PoisonKeyblade
- Oct 28, 2007
- steverino171
- Jul 2, 2007
- May 3, 2019
- FiendishDramaturgy
- Sep 26, 2007
- movielover_gator
- Jun 17, 2007
- Jul 16, 2007
- Jul 7, 2007
More from this title
More to explore, recently viewed.
Film Review: Ratatouille
"Ratatouille" is delicious. In this satisfying, souffle-light tale of a plucky French rodent with a passion for cooking, the master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients to produce a warm and irresistible concoction that's sure to appeal to everyone's inner Julia Child.
By Justin Chang
Justin Chang
- Film Review: ‘A Hologram for the King’ 9 years ago
- Cannes: A Look at the Official Selection, by the Numbers 9 years ago
- Film Review: ‘Captain America: Civil War’ 9 years ago
“ Ratatouille ” is delicious. In this satisfying, souffle-light tale of a plucky French rodent with a passion for cooking, the master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients — abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication — to produce a warm and irresistible concoction that’s sure to appeal to everyone’s inner Julia Child. Though the latest crowd-pleaser from “ The Incredibles ” writer-director Brad Bird arguably reps a harder sell than earlier Disney/Pixar toon outings, the combo of critical excitement, energetic word of mouth and shrewd marketing should make this family-friendly feast a gastronomical success worldwide.
After the less than universally admired “Cars,” Pixar’s eighth feature sees the Disney-owned toon studio in very fine form, and confirms Bird’s reputation as one of the medium’s most engaging storytellers. Compared to his woefully underseen “The Iron Giant” and Oscar-winning “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille” may be smaller in scope, but in telling the story of a very smart rat striving to enter the very human world of French haute cuisine , it shares with its predecessors an affinity for gifted outsiders seeking personal fulfillment.
Related Stories
Latest Music Licensing Deals Underscore Social Media Giants’ Frenemy Status
Grammy Nominations Predictions: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift Will Vie in Top Categories
Popular on variety.
Pic also extends two of the great themes of “The Incredibles”: the pursuit of excellence over mediocrity (a standard that has long distinguished Pixar from rivals and imitators) and the importance — or rather, the unavoidability — of family ties. Remy, a thin blue rat who lives with his unruly rodent clan in the French countryside, finds himself torn between these two commitments as the film opens.
Blessed with unusually sharp senses, Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt) is educated, cultured and mad about creating his own culinary master-pieces — the complete opposite of his tubby, good-natured brother Emile (Peter Sohn) and gruff dad Django (Brian Dennehy), who are content to wallow in trash and disapprove of Remy’s all-too-human higher ambitions.
After an unfortunate cooking mishap, the rats are evicted from their rural nest and forced to escape through the sewers — where, in the first of many nim-bly orchestrated action sequences, Remy is separated from his family. He winds up in Paris, near a restaurant once presided over by the legendary chef Auguste Gusteau, whose populist motto (“Anyone can cook!”) rings in Remy’s ears as he spies longingly on the bustling kitchen activity.
One busy evening, Remy can’t resist sneaking in and spicing up a vat of soup; credit for the delicious dish goes to the poor garbage boy, Linguini (Lou Romano), a clumsy, stammering type with no talent for cooking, who is immediately ordered by conniving head chef Skinner (Ian Holm) to reproduce his success.
While man and mouse experience difficulty communicating at first, they ultimately agree to team up, a la “Cyrano de Bergerac”: Linguini can keep his job, and Remy can slice and dice to his heart’s content. The result is a classic odd-couple comedy in which Linguini and his “little chef” must learn to work together, avoid discovery and, inevitably, deal with the internal and external pressures that threaten their unlikely partnership.
Among those threats are the kitchen’s lone female, Colette (a tough-talking but tender Janeane Garofalo), whom Linguini inevitably falls for; the up-to-no-good Skinner, who’s both suspicious and jealous of Linguini’s success; and an uber-acerbic restaurant critic, aptly named Anton Ego (a sneering Peter O’Toole), who once ruined Gusteau’s reputation.
Premise was originally conceived by Jan Pinkava (who left Pixar before the project’s completion but is credited here as a co-director) before Bird took over the reins — a transition that may explain why some of the secondary characters and subplots feel a tad rote, particular in the more manic later stretches, though the overall execution is never less than involving.
But “Ratatouille” is at its finest in the kitchen, as Remy learns to whip up sauces and sweetbreads while directing Linguini’s movements from beneath the latter’s cap. The joy of artistic creation is both palpable and infectious, and Bird and his supremely inventive team of animators and designers respond in kind — giving viewers a glimpse of mouth-wateringly realistic cuisine one moment, dazzling them with some delightfully Keaton-esque slapstick the next.
After the superhero spoof of “The Incredibles” and the auto anthropomorphism of “Cars,” the idea of yet another talking-critter toon might strike some auds as overly quaint and familiar. But the last thing “Ratatouille” wants to serve up is yet another shrill, jabbering, pop-culture-referencing menagerie. Under Bird’s careful direction, Remy, with his persuasively rat-like movements and meek nods and shrugs, delivers one of the more endearing and soulful animal “performances” in recent memory. Oswalt’s dialogue delivery, though consistent with the generally superb voicework, never dominates the charac-ter’s expressive range.
As ever with Pixar, there’s the sense that a complex world has been beautifully and minutely imagined from the inside out, one where it’s clear the film-makers have done their homework (what other family movie would bother to explain the meaning of a demie chef de partie ?). The entire produc-tion is a captivating visual delight, as the fluid shifts between human and rodent perspective, and the camera’s sensitivity to different gradations of light and color, are nothing short of stunning. As an impossibly romantic valentine to the City of Lights, pic could give both the recent “Paris, je t’aime” and the forthcoming “2 Days in Paris” a run for their money.
Wide-ranging score by Michael Giacchino (“The Incredibles”) stays perfectly in sync with the action, encompassing string- and accordion-based Gallic overtones as well as a light percussion that suggests the scampering of rat paws.
Pic is preceded by an amusing Gary Rydstrom-directed short, “Lifted,” which cheekily imagines a driver’s ed lesson aboard a UFO.
- Production: A Buena Vista release of a Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film. Produced by Brad Lewis. Executive producers, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton. Directed, written by Brad Bird. Co-director, Jan Pinkava.
- Crew: Camera (Technicolor, widescreen), Sharon Calahan, Robert Anderson; editor, Darren Holmes; music, Michael Giacchino; story supervisor, Mark Andrews; supervising technical director, Michael Fong; production designer, Harley Jessup; art director, Dominique Louis; sets art director, Robert Kondo; shading art director, Belinda van Valkenburg; character designers, Jason Deamer, Greg Dykstra, Carter Goodrich, Dan Lee; supervising animators, Dylan Brown, Mark Walsh; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS Digital/SDDS), Randy Thom; supervising sound editor, Michael Silvers; re-recording mixers, Thom, Michael Semanick; casting, Kevin Reher, Natalie Lyon. Reviewed at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, June 15, 2007. MPAA Rating: G. Running time: 110 MIN. Voices:
- With: Remy - Patton Oswalt Skinner - Ian Holm Linguini - Lou Romano Django - Brian Dennehy Emile - Peter Sohn Anton Ego - Peter O'Toole Gusteau - Brad Garrett Colette - Janeane Garofalo Horst - Will Arnett Lalo & Francois - Julius Callahan Larousse - James Remar Mustafa - John Ratzenberger Lawyer (Talon Labarthe) - Teddy Newton Pompidou & Health Inspector - Tony Fucile Git (Lab Rat) - Jake Steinfeld Ambrister Minion - Brad Bird Narrator - Stephane Roux
More from Variety
Ryan Murphy Explains Shocking ‘Grotesquerie’ Twist and Teases Travis Kelce Sex Scene: ‘I Don’t Want to Say Anything to Piss Off the Swifties’
The Time Bomb Ticking Beneath the CTV Advertising Boom
Ryan Murphy and John Landgraf on the Future of ‘American Horror Story’: ‘It’s Time We Get the Band Back Together’
‘Monsters’ Stars Break Down Erik Menendez’s ‘Powerful,’ 33-Minute Single Take in Episode 5: ‘You Couldn’t Look Away’
Why the Video Game Industry Can’t Shake Its Struggles
Travis Kelce Worked With an Acting Coach for Months Before ‘Grotesquerie’ Shoot and ‘Knew Everybody’s Lines,’ Says Ryan Murphy
More from our brands, stevie wonder joins #speakyourvote campaign ahead of election.
Movin’ Out: Billy Joel’s Waterfront Long Island Estate Is Back on the Market for $50 Million
Ohtani 50/50 Ball Sells for Record $4.4 Million
The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists
CBS’ Sherlock-Free Watson Scores Post-AFC Championship Premiere — Watch a Sneak Peek
IMAGES
VIDEO