Ratatouille (G, 2007)

common sense media says

Cute rat tale is kid-friendly but adults may like it more!


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Disney has spared no expense to market its latest Pixar film to kids. Even preschoolers who can't pronounce the title will know about the movie with the cooking rat. Like all of Pixar's other films, this movie includes nuanced humor (about the French, haute cuisine, food critics, etc.) and references aimed directly at adults. Not surprisingly for an animated kids' movie, the main protagonist, Linguini, is an orphan -- although at least he's a young adult and not a child. There's some light peril involving the rats and weapon-wielding humans, but it's harmless and comical.

Educational value: Kids can't help but pick up a few pointers on cooking and food, but the movie's primary intent is to entertain, not educate.
Positive messages: Linguini learns to give credit to his rat pal, and Remy realizes that his family connections are more important than his human ones. On the down side, two chefs in the kitchen are very hostile to Linguini, which could make some kids uncomfortable.
Positive role models: Remy doesn't let the fact that he's an unconventional chef prevent him from following his dreams, and Linguini learns to stand up for what he believes in. They both make mistakes, but they learn from them. There are several jokes at the expense of the French ("Sorry to be rude, but we're French," etc.).
Violence & scariness: Remy is hunted by an angry, gun-toting grandma and knife-throwing chefs. One chef is rumored to be an ex-con and looks menacingly at the rest of the kitchen staff. The sewer sequence early in the movie is somewhat scary.
Sexy stuff: Linguini and Colette flirt, embrace, and kiss.
Language: A few mild insults: "stupid," "loser," etc.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: It's France, and no French meal is served without a good bottle of wine.

More on Ratatouille

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about what made kids want to see this movie -- the story or all of the advertising? Does it matter that the title is hard to spell/pronounce or that the main characters are rats?

  • Do kids know the Pixar brand name? Does that make them more likely to want to see something?

  • Families can also discuss the film's theme -- pretending to be something you're not. Linguini takes credit for Remy's cooking ideas in order to look like a chef, and Remy turns away from his rat family to be with his human friends and eat good food. How does pretending catch up to each of them?

What's the story?

What's the story?

RATATOUILLE follows the culinary adventures of Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt), a unique rat who can't stomach eating garbage. He wants the good stuff -- like truffle oil and fine artisan cheeses -- which brands him the snobby black sheep of his crew. After Remy's family is driven from their habitat by a gun-toting grandma, he emerges onto the streets of Paris, where he's visited by the ghost of renowned, recently deceased uber-chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), who was famous for the populist saying "Anyone can cook." Remy is drawn to Gusteau's now three-star restaurant (it lost a star after Gusteau died), where he feels right at home ... before getting sighted and nearly killed by flying knives. Remy, quick with the spices, saves young kitchen helper Linguini (Lou Romano) from ruining the soup of the day, and the two form an odd-couple bond. From then on, Remy becomes part Mister Miyagi, part puppeteer as he helps Linguini cook up delicious specials that put Gusteau's back on the culinary map. But as Linguini soaks in his new fame as the chef du jour, Remy grows increasingly bitter that someone else is taking credit for his recipes. The film's nemeses are Gusteau's new head chef -- an angry little dictator (Ian Holm) who wants to make millions selling a line of pre-packaged frozen foods -- and Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), a food critic who loves writing negative reviews.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

At this point, it's pretty much a given that families and young children will line up to see anything made by Pixar, which seems incapable of producing a dud. But Ratatouille, like director Brad Bird's family adventure The Incredibles, is the rare animated film that could just as easily captivate an audience full of childless adults. Granted, the world of haute French cuisine is an unlikely setting for a kid-friendly flick, but Bird makes it irresistible.

The story doesn't have the emotional depth of The Incredibles or Finding Nemo, but the animation is every bit as dazzling. Every scene of the chefs shredding, peeling, dicing, and stirring is vibrant and layered. And the moment Ego tastes the titular dish is so delicious a visual reference that it deserves to be a surprise. Kids may ultimately favor the child-centric appeal of Toy Story or the vroom-vroom adventure of Cars, but grown ups will find a reason to ask for seconds of Ratatouille.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release: June 28, 2007
DVD release: November 6, 2007
MPAA Rating: G
Watch our review

This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 
 

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What parents & educators say

6

Most useful reviews by all members

rubyred
parent of 4 year old
 
Good for adults...not for kids!
Absolutely hated, the first scene with the couple fighting and then kissing. What does a young child need to see that for? What "mood" needs to be set for the young child? Second scene. Grandma with gun! She shoots everything, she is ready to kill! Third scene, the HUGE mouth to mouth makeout kiss between the two cooks. Why do my kids need to see that? How is that furthering the story. I don't even get why romance is always thrown in to EVERY SINGLE CHILD's film! It's like we want them to start kissing each other! The one good thing I really liked about the film for kids, is when the main character gets really upset at the rat because he betrayed his trust. That was a good message. And it was a very clear message. As an adult I enjoyed the film, but for my kids, I've already thrown the DVD away.

shankiss
kid, 11 years old
 
its not sex stuff
its good

communityed
educator
 
Family violence
While I enjoyed the movie, no one has mentioned what I thought was a pretty disturbing scene near the beginning. As Remy (the rat) is scampering through the rooftops of Paris, he observes a couple in a heated argument. By heated, I mean the man is grabbing the woman's arms and she is screaming and pointing a gun at him. Remy keeps going, and then there's the sound of a gunshot. Remy returns to see that the gun has gone off, the couple is still struggling, but then the man overpowers the woman and kisses her, she struggles at first and then seems to be overcome with passion and stops resisting and becomes what one may assume is a willing participant. I was a little disturbed by the domestic and sexual violence (physical struggle, forced embrace) presented in the scene, and think that for children, this would be an important point to address, and something to know about should you/your children be survivors of family violence.

arudek805
parent of 4 and 7 year old
 
Too Deep and Dark for Small Kids
While the animation was amazing in this film, overall I felt much of the content was too deep and/or dark for a G rating. There were several incidents involving gun usage (Remy see a domestic dispute involving a gun) and other forms of aggression (Collette pins Linguine down with knives). The characters don't speak to each other very nicely. Most disturbing of all was when Remy's dad takes Remy to a shop whose window is filled with dead rats hanging in traps. It was upsetting to my 4 year old. I also think that many of the complexities of the message regarding stealing and giving credit where credit is due are too nuanced for small children to understand.

tyman5125
teen, 13 years old
 
like it
good movie

 
Violence NOT comical, language too much for under 8s
I took my 3 and 5 year olds to see this movie. I would not have taken them had I seen it first. There is a LOT of violence and implied violence, including gunshots, knives, and abduction (two bound and gagged characters whose later release is not shown nor made clear enough for young viewers). The language (stupid, idiot, loser, shut up) was a problem, too. Parents of kids under 8 should preview this film. I don't allow my children to play with "toy" weapons, threaten others, or use impolite language. There is one mild "love" scene with kissing, but nothing that kids haven't already seen Mom and Dad do in the kitchen. The main problem is the violence. Think twice about taking preschoolers or young grade schoolers.

leftbehindcrazed8
teen, 14 years old
 
awesome role models, moderate scariness
Wow! This is a wonderful, family friendly movie, but some scenes can be quite scary. In one of the beginning scenes, and old lady is trying to kill Remy with her gun, although she does not succeed. As a result of her shooting all over her house to get Remy, all the rats have to escape. Then later, Remy's dad takes him to a place where lots of dead rats are shown, and this could be quite disturbing to younger viewers. People in the dining place seem to be drinking wine. But you will learn many positive messages in this movie, and both Remy and Linguini are great role models. Get this movie!

jemmama
adult
 
Disappointing for Pixar/Disney
Interesting idea, but missed the mark of creativity achieved by The Incredibles, Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. I am concerned that the phrase "welcome to hell" is used in a G-rated movie. I am concerned that the main character is an illegitimate child, born out of wedlock, only discovered when his famous father died. G-rated movies, rated thus for safe family viewing, need to reinforce strong family values.

rebma97
teen, 14 years old
 
OK
It was okay. There is some violence and drinking.

Ckmj824
adult
 
Some kids will love it, others won't. Kids may get bored, because it is mostly about cooking. There is a lot of name calling, but using words like "fancy pants" shouldn't be a huge concern for parents. There is one part where the boss says to a man "Welcome to Hell" Depends on what your child is interested in.

Stanley
teen, 16 years old
 
PIxar movie cooks up visual feast for all ages!
The last Pixar movie I saw was Finding Nemo, and then I decided I had grown out of Disney movies. Then my sister dragged me to this, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm 12, and I still thought this was fantastic. But parents, be warned; lots of violence (including guns and kitchen violence)and some drug reference (wine.) Other than that, bring your kids to this and enjoy!

 
Rats are still vermon
The storyline that rats come out of the sewers save the day is just disgusting. In the early part of the movie, a huge colony of rats are living in an elderly lady's attic, get discovered, and scurry all over the house. I had the feeling throughout that someone at Pixar has a pet rat and is bothered by others being repulsed. So s/he makes this movie, personifies the rat colonies, and now kids ask their parents for a rat pet. Forget all that about the plague, fleas, rabies, wharf rats, etc. The other thought I had was that Pixar wanted to see how far they could go and still have critics and crowds gushing praise. Maybe the next Pixar movie will be about German Shephards in a Nazi camp.

nb_fall
adult
 
Mostly good
There are a couple of scenes that could have been left out (the dead rats in mousetraps hanging, stomachs to the window, in a dark storefront window at nighttime in the rain - scared my kids) and the overly long gun scene at the beginning. The animation is awesome, and the story/message is great. I also personally didn't like hearing the father rat say "Shut up" to his son. All in all though, it is nice to see a Disney movie that has a G rating that is appropriate for little kids. The movie is one we enjoyed enough to buy the DVD.

hansen
parent of and 2 , 8 , 11 year old
 

filmfan
parent of 8 year old
 
Over younger children's heads, great fun for adults.
This was my 4-year-old son's first real movie-theatre movie. It was a mixed bag from his point of view, not interesting enough to hold his attention for the whole time (he announced he wanted to leave about 3/4 of the way through). He has watched "Cars" over and over again, but this one seemed to leave him cold. [SPOILER FOLLOWS] I was surprised that the "social behavior" category in the CSM review didn't mention the very central plot point that Linguini is Gusteau's son with his, ahem, very close friend, Madame Linguini. "Madame" means that she was a married woman, and her last name means that it wasn't to Gusteau. Very French, but not very kid-friendly, although if your kids are old enough to notice it, they might ask and give you a chance to talk to them about what it means to be faithful to your spouse (and not). Tricky territory, and not exactly suited for discussion with young ones. Skinner plying Linguini with wine could be a questionable scene for no-alcohol households, but possibly also a good opportunity for discussion afterwards. Speaking of Skinner, my son found him very scary for some reason. Maybe it was all those close-ups of his big teeth and pencil-thin moustache. ;)

dalek123456
kid, 12 years old
 
Very Good
I thought this movie was very good. Although there was a lot of drinking, and there was one use of the world hell, it is still very good.

madison bogdan
teen, 14 years old
 
Great for older kids
It was a great movie, more for older kids.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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