Ratatouille (2007)

Pixar director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) earned serious chutzpah points with Ratatouille, the tale of a culinarily gifted rat who channels his artistry via an inept Parisian cook. Kids couldn't pronounce the title; the rodent and gourmet elements precluded fast-food tie-ins; and, as if to bait his biggest supporters, Bird made one of the villains a restaurant reviewer. (As I told my 7-year-old daughter at a screening: ''That nasty man is a ‘critic.'... Yes, sweetie, that is what Daddy does for a living.'') It became a $200 million-grossing critical smash anyway. What's not to savor? Vermin's-eye-view action sequences let us feel how awesome it might be to, you know, scurry. On the slower, headier side, few films so eloquently describe, as these man and animal chefs do, the elation of creation. It's a full meal. EXTRAS The tastiest treat is ''Your Friend the Rat,'' a new 'toon that brilliantly encapsulates the history of rodent-human relations in 11 minutes. It even covers the Black Plague, truly proving that comedy is tragedy plus time. A