Ratatouille is yet another animated feature from the creative minds at Disney and Pixar destined to become a classic. It tells the tale of Remy, a rat living in France who, unlike his compadres, possesses a very discerning palette. Not content to eat garbage, Remy instead prefers to create cuisine - a very odd talent in a rat. He is inspired by the famous chef, Gusteau (Brad Garrett - Everybody Loves Raymond), who insists that "anybody can cook" as his best-selling cookbook espouses. One day, in a mad dash to escape an angry human, Remy's pack flees and he gets separated from the group, only to find himself emerging on the streets of Paris, the city of his dreams.

As fate would have it, Gusteau's restaurant looms ahead of him. Through a few twists of fate, along with the ghostly image of the recently deceased Gusteau to advise him, Remy winds up falling through the ceiling and smack dab into Gusteau's kitchen. Fortunately for Remy, he is spotted and hidden by Alfredo Linguine, a young man recently hired by the restaurant to be the garbage boy, since his mother was an old friend of dearly departed Gusteau. Remy had been watching Alfredo screw up a soup recipe by experimenting where he shouldn't have been. Unable to resist himself, Remy fixes up the soup with his own flair and when the customers try it, they love it! Alfredo is then hired as a cook because of the customer demand for the special soup and he is charged with recreating the masterpiece. Then the kitchen staff spot Remy and all hell breaks loose. Alfredo catches the rat and the manager tells him to remove it and kill it.

Alfredo doesn't quite have the heart to drown the rat and instead, pours out his troubles to the rodent in the jar. Remy nods in response and soon, they have teamed up with Remy controlling Alfredo's hands by tugging on his hair (hiding in his hat, of course). The two make a beautiful pair in the kitchen and soon, the popularity of Gusteau's once again soars, after having been bashed by food critic, Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole). Soon, Alfredo has caught the eye of fellow cook, Collette (Janeane Garofalo). In the meantime, it comes to light that Alfredo Linguine is actually Gusteau's son and rightful heir to the restaurant empire, which has steadily been driven into the ground by the manager who insists on cheapening the name by marketing frozen foods of varying types. He is determined to keep the restaurant for himself and does everything to prevent Alfredo from finding out.

When it is finally revealed that Remy, and not Alfredo, is the master chef behind the fabulous food creations, the rest of the kitchen staff abandon Alfredo, and on the very evening that Anton Ego has come back to give Gusteau's another chance! It's up to Remy, Alfredo and Remy's pack of human-hating rats to "man" the kitchen and save the day.

Ratatouille is both heartwarming and charming. There are many funny moments and it's an all-around terrific movie for both adults and kids alike. Special Features include deleted scenes, an animated short called "Your Friend the Rat" which was very humorous, and the latest short from Pixar, Lifted, a very funny short about an alien abductor-in-training. Ratatouille is a visual treat for the whole family and is definitely the recipe for an exciting movie night at home. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. Highly recommended.