 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Ratatouille
- Review Date: November 4, 2007
- G
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2007
Common Sense Media says
Cute rat tale is kid-friendly but adults may like it more!
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
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.
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?
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.
What families can talk about
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?
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AGE
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.
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AGE
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!
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AGE
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.
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AGE
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.
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Kid, 11 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
its not sex stuff
its good
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AGE
OK
It was okay. There is some violence and drinking.
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AGE
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!
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| Topics: | misfits and underdogs |
| Studio: | Pixar Animation Studios |
| Director: | Brad Bird |
| Cast: | Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 110 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | June 28, 2007 |
| DVD release date: | November 6, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | G |
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