RATATOUILLE ***

Over the years Pixar studios has given us two Toy Stories, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and now Ratatouille.

Like the main character in Perfume, Remy the rat has a nose unlike those in his group. He is able to smell all the subtle odors and combinations of odors that make food delicious. His father notices this after Remy stops him from eating a poisoned apple and starts using him to make sure the family's food supply is safe. When the group is split up due the shotgun blasts of a cantankerous home owner, Remy finds himself in Paris, in the kitchen of a well known restaurant. He gets caught creating a soup and eventually becomes the "little chef," making a human employee appear to be a master chef by manipulating his movements.

The animation in this film is nothing short of spectacular. In rather short order you cease to think of it as being animated and begin to accept it as a drama that just happens to occasionally contain a large number of rats. However, if you think animated films should be continuously funny, you won't find that to be the case. The story is interesting and at times amusing, but I found myself only mildly entertained and I don't ever remember laughing out loud. I question whether this is a film for smaller children, also. For one thing it is at times scary and on one occasion, downright gruesome (a storefront window full of dead rats hanging from traps). And, since these rats are portrayed rather realistically (if you overlook the fact they can talk) I'm wondering how many small children are going to become engaged in the story of a pack of scampering rats. Still, school aged children and adults will find this to be acceptable fare. There's nothing in this film that won't work just as well in a DVD performance in case you want to wait.