This Friday, we took Darius to see the latest edition in the string of Pixar hits, Ratatouille. It's the story of a rat, Remy, who has dreams of being a chef. Remy isn't your typical rat. He has a stunning sense of smell and want to savor fine food - not eat out of the trash can like the rest of his rat family. Remy pairs with Luigini - a "trash boy" who works at a restaurant that was once the talk of the town in Paris but after a bad review from the villian, the infamous food critic, has become a less-than-fine dining establishment. The story unfolds as Linguini (with Remy doing all the cooking) becomes the talk of the town as the hottest new Chef in Paris. I won't give away the ending - but as with all children's movies, everyone lives happily ever after.
I have to say that the animation is spectacular. But for me, that is where the movie stops. The theme of the movie, masked behind bad French accents, went well above my child's head. The poor kid tossed and turned in his seat for most of the movie. And when I looked around, all of the kids under 6 in the theater where doing the same. The animation was great but the plot wasn't engaging enough for its youngest audience.
Bottom line: Ratatouille is good - not great. If you have kids age 5 and under, take them to see Surf's Up while your older kids see this flick.
