Ratatouille

Brad Bird, Oscar-winning director of The Incredibles, helms this latest computer-animated entry from Pixar, which follows Remy the rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt), who dreams of becoming a great chef, much to the consternation of his relatives. Rats, of course, aren't exactly welcome in restaurants, but after Remy finds a home under a famous Parisian eatery called Gusteau's, he forges a bond with Linguini the garbage boy (Lou Romano), and thereby gains entry—surreptitiously, of course—to the kitchen, secretly feeding recipes and instructions to the lad, who soon becomes the toast of the gourmet community, much to the dismay of the scheming Skinner (Ian Holm), who took over the restaurant after the death of its namesake founder and chef. Most of the laughs here are age-neutral, but there are some genuinely funny lines aimed at adult viewers, nicely delivered by a fine vocal cast that also includes Brian Dennehy, Peter O'Toole, Janeane Garafolo, and Brad Garrett. Of course, given the Pixar imprimatur, it goes without saying that the animation is state-of-the-art. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include three deleted scenes with audio commentary from director Brad Bird (15 min.), a “Fine Food & Film” conversation with Bird and chef Thomas Keller (14 min.), the 11-minute animated short “Your Friend the Rat” featuring the characters Remy and Emile, the animated short film “Lifted” (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning film.] (E. Hulse)