Kids in London – Ratatouille

KimT's London for Kids Blog

How could anyone ignore the publicity blast on the release of this movie? You end up feeling as if you are a neglectful parent if you don’t get your kids along so off me and my nine year old went on a beautifully sunny afternoon to watch a movie about rats that cook.

There were some big laughs and this started with the short animated film about aliens – also by Pixar - before the main event. I hadn’t really enjoyed the recent “Flushed Away” movie which was about mice living in the sewers – although the singing slugs and frogs were memorable. This was a slightly better movie although it seemed rather long – programme time started 530pm and we were finally free of the cinema at 745pm.

OK. So it's set in Paris. The rat that wants to be different – he doesn’t want to just eat any old rubbish like all his relatives. He sniffs and savours each ingredient and gets really excited about the different combinations of ingredients. Oh - and he doesn't steal food. Is this the start of a movement to make rats socially acceptable? Then I began to wonder whether Jamie Oliver had a hand in the production of the film – getting kids to relate to good food and all that.

Anyway. Misunderstood rat Rene gets “flushed away” down sewers and arrives at the most famous Parisien restaurant - with many stars - where the late chef/owner Gausteau had written a book called “Anyone can cook”. As it happens Gausteau also keeps appearing to Rene the Rat as his heavily overweight guardian angel cook. Sadly, and pretty central to the plot of the film, young Linguine (why the hero is named after pasta in a film about French food had me stumped – but my nine year old took it in her stride) can’t cook and Rene the Rat is there to offer help. By pulling his hair! You'd think that such a clever rat would have mastered the art of speech wouldn't you?

So. There are a couple of baddies – the main cook and the food critique (soundly suspiciously English!). Great line “If you love food so much how come you are so thin?” and the answer “I love food so much that I will only swallow food that I really love”. There are some nice “don’t turn your back on your family” moments – from the rat fraternity. There is also a female love interest along the way (for the young cook Linguine – sadly not for Rene the Rat). Interesting that the film also makes a point abot the lack of female chefs in the world at large - I adore political correctness in my leisure time! And we all get to see the health and safety inspector get his just desserts – although he does manage to shut down a restaurant that has its kitchen run by hundreds of rats.

So. My daughter enjoyed the movie. We left the cinema with smiles on our faces. She has given me permission to cook her ratatouille so she can try it (obviously she didn’t pay attention in the film or she would know that it is a vegetable dish – and she reacts to these as if they are radiation!). Was the CGi any more fantastic than we have learned to expect – Non! Would I recommend the movie to adults – Non! But would I recommend it as a way to spend a couple of happy hours with kids – Ah, Oui. Bien Sur!

Posted Date
Oct 14, 2007 in KimT's London for Kids Blog by KimT