by Bob Welbaum

Created on: February 13, 2009   Last Updated: April 04, 2009

Do you have big dreams? The theme of Pixar Animation Studio's 2007 feature "Ratatouille" is just that. Set in France, it is an improbable story about a rat who wants to be a gourmet chef. This rat, named Remy, has a special gift an advanced sense of smell. An important, though underappreciated, part of a large countryside rat clan headed by his father, Remy becomes separated from everyone else during an emergency, a seeming disaster that works to his advantage when he finds himself in Paris at the restaurant of the great - and recently deceased - Chef Auguste Gusteau. This is a double blessing since Gusteau's book "Anyone Can Cook" has been Remy's inspiration, to the point where Gusteau's spirit guides Remy at critical points in the story.

By the way, for those (like me) who are unfamiliar with cooking, ratatouille is actually a French recipe. Literally translated, it is a simple chunky stew that's stirred. As such, it can take on many forms and interpretations, which makes it perfect for this storyline.

Another disaster - Remy is caught in the restaurant's kitchen - also turns to Remy's advantage when it pairs him with the human partner he needs to make his dream a reality. This partner, a young man named Linguini who is given a job as the restaurant's garbage boy, is everything Remy isn't: a desperate untalented klutz who is just trying to find his way in the world. These two need each other and their abilities complement perfectly... after they figure out a way to communicate.

When Linguini is revealed as the son of Chef Gusteau, and therefore heir to the restaurant, all the pieces are in place for Remy's happy ending. But nothing is quite that simple.

The key driver of Ratatouille's plot is conflict. While conflict is an essential ingredient (pun intended) in every story, here the conflict is both layered and pervasive. Remy must deal with a father who not only doesn't share his dreams, but who thinks such dreams are actually dangerous. The restaurant's present proprietor, the tyrannical Gusteau wannabe Chef Skinner, is in conflict with the legacy and ideals of the master, although that doesn't prevent him from cashing in on that legacy in any way he can. When he loses the restaurant to Linguini, well, let's just say he does not go away quietly. There is both professional and romantic tension between Linguini and fellow chef/love interest/ultimate partner Collette. The food critic Anton Ego ("The Grim Eater") abhors Gusteau's premise that "anyone can cook";

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