Ratatouille for Christmas

I’m not shocked a bit that Ratatouille is on Amazon’s best sellers list right now. My kids absolutely loved this movie and want to see it again. I did have a friend tell me that she had to walk out of the theater with her 4 year old because the movie scared her. So, maybe this is better suited for older ones, but it would definitely make a great Christmas gift.

Here’s a Ratatouille trailer:

Movie description and reviews below the cut.

Here’s a movie description from Amazon as well as some reviews:

One key point: if you can get over the natural gag reflex of seeing hundreds of rodents swarming over a restaurant kitchen, you will be free to enjoy the glory of Ratatouille, a delectable Pixar hit. Our hero is Remy, a French rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt) with a cultivated palate, who rises from his humble beginnings to become head chef at a Paris restaurant. How this happens is the stuff of Pixar magic, that ineffable blend of headlong comedy, seamless technology, and wonder (in the latter department, this movie’s views of nighttime Paris are on a par with French cinema at its most lyrical). Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) doesn’t quite keep all his spinning plates in the air, but the gags are great and the animation amazingly expressive–Remy’s shrugs and nods are nimbler than many flesh-and-blood actors can manage. Refreshingly, the movie’s characters aren’t celebrity-reliant, with the most recognizable voice coming from Peter O’Toole’s snide food critic. (This fellow provides the film’s sole sour note–an oddly pointed slap at critics, those craven souls who have done nothing but rave about Pixar’s movies over the years.) Brad Bird’s style is more quick-hit and less resonant than the approach of Pixar honcho John Lasseter, but it’s hard to complain about a movie that cooks up such bountiful pleasure. –Robert Horton

Customer reviews:

“I liked everything about this gem of a movie. The smooth animation, the beautiful, sometimes breathtaking backgrounds, the wonderful music score, the story and pacing…everything.

One of the best aspects of RATATOUILLE for me is, out of all of the Disney/Pixar collaborations, this is the one that seems most classically DISNEY…The characters look more Disney-like, the villians are vintage Disney.”

“Another cute family movie that had a couple of good laughs in there for the whole family. Some unexpecting twists at the end that left a little surprise (disappointment), but over all this was a good movie for the family and one that we will keep for our daughter to watch as she gets older.”

“I went to see this movie with my daughter and was immediatlely engrossed. I loved the French setting, I immediately needed a glass of wine. Then I needed fine cheese and strawberry. I now own this movie, whenever I am alone with my daughter we put it in, I get out a nice red, Pinot Noir or a nice Merlot, strawberry and warm brie and apple juice for her.

The storyline, I refer to every-now-and-again when I need her to know that she is capable of doing whatever she wants, she just needs to have the desire, and also never do what is the norm, step-out-of-the-box every now and again.

Peter O’Toole’s words at the end are indeed words, among others of course, to live by.

Entertaining, motivational, the life to live (romance,romantic)“