Review

Ratatouille

Common Sense Media says

Cute rat tale is kid-friendly but adults may like it more!
Age
5
Quality
 

  • Kids can't help but pick up a few pointers on cooking and food, but the movie's primary intent is to entertain, not educate.
  • Linguini learns to give credit to his rat pal, and Remy realizes that his family connections are more important than his human ones. On the down side, two chefs in the kitchen are very hostile to Linguini, which could make some kids uncomfortable.
  • Remy doesn't let the fact that he's an unconventional chef prevent him from following his dreams, and Linguini learns to stand up for what he believes in. They both make mistakes, but they learn from them. There are several jokes at the expense of the French ("Sorry to be rude, but we're French," etc.).
  • Remy is hunted by an angry, gun-toting grandma and knife-throwing chefs. One chef is rumored to be an ex-con and looks menacingly at the rest of the kitchen staff. The sewer sequence early in the movie is somewhat scary.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Disney has spared no expense to market its latest Pixar film to kids. Even preschoolers who can't pronounce the title will know about the movie with the cooking rat. Like all of Pixar's other films, this movie includes nuanced humor (about the French, haute cuisine, food critics, etc.) and references aimed directly at adults. Not surprisingly for an animated kids' movie, the main protagonist, Linguini, is an orphan -- although at least he's a young adult and not a child. There's some light peril involving the rats and weapon-wielding humans, but it's harmless and comical.


This review of Ratatouille was written by
Age
7

Most useful reviews by all members

Educator
July 16, 2009
 
Family violence
While I enjoyed the movie, no one has mentioned what I thought was a pretty disturbing scene near the beginning. As Remy (the rat) is scampering through the rooftops of Paris, he observes a couple in a heated argument. By heated, I mean the man is grabbing the woman's arms and she is screaming and pointing a gun at him. Remy keeps going, and then there's the sound of a gunshot. Remy returns to see that the gun has gone off, the couple is still struggling, but then the man overpowers the woman and kisses her, she struggles at first and then seems to be overcome with passion and stops resisting and becomes what one may assume is a willing participant. I was a little disturbed by the domestic and sexual violence (physical struggle, forced embrace) presented in the scene, and think that for children, this would be an important point to address, and something to know about should you/your children be survivors of family violence.

Teen, 13 years old
March 13, 2011
 
OK
It was okay. There is some violence and drinking.

Adult
April 9, 2008
 
funny
great movie

Parent of 2 year old
August 29, 2009
 
Good for adults...not for kids!
Absolutely hated, the first scene with the couple fighting and then kissing. What does a young child need to see that for? What "mood" needs to be set for the young child? Second scene. Grandma with gun! She shoots everything, she is ready to kill! Third scene, the HUGE mouth to mouth makeout kiss between the two cooks. Why do my kids need to see that? How is that furthering the story. I don't even get why romance is always thrown in to EVERY SINGLE CHILD's film! It's like we want them to start kissing each other! The one good thing I really liked about the film for kids, is when the main character gets really upset at the rat because he betrayed his trust. That was a good message. And it was a very clear message. As an adult I enjoyed the film, but for my kids, I've already thrown the DVD away.

Adult
April 9, 2008
 

Teen, 13 years old
January 2, 2011
 
awesome role models, moderate scariness
Wow! This is a wonderful, family friendly movie, but some scenes can be quite scary. In one of the beginning scenes, and old lady is trying to kill Remy with her gun, although she does not succeed. As a result of her shooting all over her house to get Remy, all the rats have to escape. Then later, Remy's dad takes him to a place where lots of dead rats are shown, and this could be quite disturbing to younger viewers. People in the dining place seem to be drinking wine. But you will learn many positive messages in this movie, and both Remy and Linguini are great role models. Get this movie!

Kid, 12 years old
April 9, 2008
 
PIxar movie cooks up visual feast for all ages!
The last Pixar movie I saw was Finding Nemo, and then I decided I had grown out of Disney movies. Then my sister dragged me to this, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm 12, and I still thought this was fantastic. But parents, be warned; lots of violence (including guns and kitchen violence)and some drug reference (wine.) Other than that, bring your kids to this and enjoy!

Parent of 1 and 4 year old
April 9, 2008
 
Too Deep and Dark for Small Kids
While the animation was amazing in this film, overall I felt much of the content was too deep and/or dark for a G rating. There were several incidents involving gun usage (Remy see a domestic dispute involving a gun) and other forms of aggression (Collette pins Linguine down with knives). The characters don't speak to each other very nicely. Most disturbing of all was when Remy's dad takes Remy to a shop whose window is filled with dead rats hanging in traps. It was upsetting to my 4 year old. I also think that many of the complexities of the message regarding stealing and giving credit where credit is due are too nuanced for small children to understand.

Kid, 7 years old
April 9, 2008
 
its not sex stuff
its good

Teen, 13 years old
April 19, 2011
 
like it
good movie

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