A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Educational Value
very little
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.
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Positive Messages
some
Linguini learns to give credit to his rat pal, and Remy realizes that his family connections are more important than his human ones; together, they work as a team to succeed. On the downside, two chefs in the kitchen are very hostile to Linguini, which could make some kids uncomfortable. Themes include perseverance and integrity.
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Positive Role Models
some
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" and so on).
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Violence & Scariness
some
Remy is hunted by an angry, gun-toting grandma and knife-throwing chefs. A gun is fired. One chef is rumored to be an ex-con and looks menacingly at the rest of the kitchen staff. Characters crash through windows, are struck by lightning, are hit, and are trapped. The sewer sequence early in the movie is somewhat scary. Remy is put in the sealed jar and nearly thrown in a river to drown.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Linguini and Colette flirt, embrace, and kiss.
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Language
very little
A few mild insults: "stupid," "loser." One "hell."
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
It's France, and no French meal is served without a good bottle of wine.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that, like all of Pixar's other films, Ratatouille includes nuanced humor (about the French, haute cuisine, food critics, and so on) and references aimed directly at adults. Kids will miss most of these references but most likely will still enjoy the plot and animal characters. Not surprisingly for an animated kids' movie, the protagonist, Linguini, is an orphan -- although at least he's a young adult and not a child. There's some moderate peril involving the rats and weapon-wielding humans that may frighten sensitive and younger viewers; the sewer sequence is particularly tense and potentially scary, as is the gun-toting grandma. Two characters kiss, and there are a few mild insults, such as "stupid" and "loser," and one "hell." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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 -- 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 being 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 prepackaged frozen foods -- and Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), a food critic who loves writing negative reviews.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what made kids want to see Ratatouille. 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 a movie?
Families also can discuss the film's theme: pretending to be something you're not. Linguini takes credit for Remy's cooking ideas 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?
How do the characters in Ratatouille demonstrate perseverance and integrity? Why are these important character strengths?
