CERTIFICATE: U
RUNNING TIME: approx 98 mins.

REVIEW: Brad Bird - the genius behind The Iron Giant and The Incredibles - has served up another treat with Ratatouille.
The Pixar production line's eighth feature continues to raise the bar for animation and, in many respects, sets a fresh high against previous ground-breaking titles such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo.
Pixar's commitment to realism in animation is legendary and examples during the Ratatouille production include one employee wearing a chef uniform and jumping into a swimming pool to ascertain which parts of the suit would stick to a body and which became translucent from water absorption. Consultations with gourmet chefs across the USA and France were staged and animators also attended cooking sessions at various culinary schools to understand the workings of a commercial kitchen.
Aside from the visual brilliance expected of Pixar, the company's main strength has always been the success of the story and the heart behind the art.
Ratatouille's basic premise is that Remy the rat - the enemy of any kitchen - desires nothing more than to become a top chef in one of France's finest restaurants.
The conflict this creates between the traditional path set out for Remy by his father and the struggle for acceptance in the world of humans offers the perfect opportunity for a strong character arc.
This particular rat's tale (or should that be tail?) puts the focus on Remy's growth and battle to pursue his dream despite a series of setbacks.
The decision to steer clear of enabling Remy to communicate verbally with his chef pal, Linguini, opens up the possibility for some wonderful physical comedy as the hapless human develops an entertaining system for success with the rat in the hat.
Although it would be harsh to consider this a failing, Ratatouille's additional characters may not prove as memorable as previous secondary faces in the Pixar world. However, it is probably fitting that Paris serves as a central figure in Ratatouille, with the animators selling the city as a romantic living, breathing entity.
A villain which the audience can boo and hiss is a strong element of any animated feature and Ratatouille presents two antagonists. Skinner is the money-motivated restaurant owner happy to sell out the image of his mentor for a quick buck, with Anton Ego a powerful food critic.
Skinner's scheming dictator is Linguini's main obstacle across the early part of the film, with Ego looming over proceedings until the closing stages.
The delicious pay-off with Ego - and a neat reveal of the feature's title as more than a mere pun - is pure brilliance and a wonderful example of how film can cover the range of human emotions in one moment.

VERDICT: The growing sense that animated titles should be considered on level terms for the Oscars' 'Best Picture' category is certainly strengthened by Ratatouille as the masterful combination of visual brilliance and heart-warming storytelling proves a winning formula.

All DVDs courtesy of Bridge Video, 149 Bridge Street, Portadown, (028) 38 334185 (opening times: Monday to Friday 4-10 o'clock, Saturday 1-10 o'clock).