Ratatouille

I don't know how many of you like animation - but I love good animation and all sorts of different studios seem to be doing a great job with it, but especially Pixar. Not just the animation but the story lines -

Over the past few years, I've seen movies I loved like Ice Age and its sequel, The Polar Express (if you see it, see it in 3D, it's amazing), Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., and just this weekend - RATATOUILLE.

Okay, first of all, you have to remember that I love animation, I love Paris, I love food and I love (this is very weird, I realize) rats.

Ratatouille takes the best of all those things and puts them together in a wonderful, funny film that works on all sorts of levels.

I saw it with an adult friend and there were lots of other adults there, plus kids everywhere. Every single person (except the newborn in the front row) seemed to love it.

It's beautifully animated and I enjoyed the whole two hours, but especially the scenes of Paris and the cooking scenes. They're funny, crisp and entertaining. The characters are great and in the end (except for one villain) everyone turns out to be a nice person. I like that in animation.

Everyone learns to work together - the bumbling young man whose mother sends him to be a chef and he knows nothing about cooking, the rat whose heart's desire is to be a chef, the female sous chef who's trying to make it in a man's world, the rat's family who thinks he's lost his mind, even the mean and spiteful food critic. It's a wonderful story of friendship and adversity and even has a lovely little homage to Marcel Proust and the madeleines.

If you get a chance, make sure you see it - and see it on the big screen. You'll love it.

Kate