Ratatouille (film) - Plot

Plot

Remy is an idealistic and ambitious young rat gifted with highly developed senses of taste and smell. Inspired by his idol, the recently-deceased chef Auguste Gusteau, Remy dreams of becoming a cook himself. When his clan is forced to abandon its home, Remy is separated from them and ends up in the sewers of Paris. He hallucinates the spirit of Gusteau and takes his advice to look around outside, eventually finding himself at a skylight overlooking the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant.

As Remy watches, Alfredo Linguini is hired as a garbage boy by Skinner, the restaurant's devious current owner and Gusteau's former sous-chef. When Linguini spills a pot of soup and attempts to recreate it with disastrous results, Remy falls into the kitchen and cooks the soup to perfection rather than escaping. Linguini catches Remy and misdirects the chef's attention from him, whilst taking arguments from Skinner. While they are arguing, the soup is accidentally served and found to be a success. Colette Tatou, the staff's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini, who is misattributed with the soup's creation. After Skinner catches Remy in the act of escaping, he orders Linguini to kill him. When he can't do it, he talks to Remy. While he is doing this, he discovers Remy's intelligence and passion for food, so he keeps him.

On Linguini's first day, he and Remy find a means to overcome the inability to communicate, as Remy can control Linguini like a marionette by pulling on his hair. Hidden under a toque blanche, Remy helps Linguini demonstrate his cooking skills to Skinner. At that, Skinner assigns Colette to train their new cook into the profession and the restaurant's practices.

Suspicious of Linguini's newfound talents, Skinner learns that the boy is Gusteau's son and proper heir to the restaurant. Remy discovers the evidence and, after eluding Skinner, brings it to Linguini, who removes Skinner as owner. The restaurant continues to thrive, and Linguini and Colette develop a budding romance, leaving Remy feeling left out. Meanwhile, Remy reunites with his father, Django, and his brother, Emile, who take him back to their new lair where the entire clan are now living. Though thrilled that his family and clan is safe, he tells him that he can't stay, and in a fit of anger, Django shows Remy dead rats, poison and traps in order to guide Remy back to his clan. Remy refuses to believe this and leaves his family.

France's top restaurant critic Anton Ego, whose previous review cost Gusteau's one of its star ratings (and ultimately the heartbroken chef's life, which in return automatically cost another star) announces he will be re-reviewing the restaurant the following evening. After an argument between Remy and Linguini, Remy leads his clan in a raid on the restaurant's pantries. Linguini catches them and throws them out. Skinner, now aware of Remy's gourmet skills, captures Remy in an attempt of using him to create a new line of frozen foods for him. Remy is freed by Django and Emile, and he returns to the restaurant only to find Linguini was unable to cook without him. Linguini, spotting the rat, apologizes to him, and explains the truth to the rest of the staff. The staff then walks out, believing Linguini is insane. Colette later returns after recalling Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook," from a bookstore window.

Django arrives with the rest of the pack, offering to help after seeing his son's determination. Remy directs the rats to cook for the patrons while Linguini serves as waiter. For Anton (and Skinner who has requested the same meal as him), Remy and Colette create a variation of ratatouille which brings back to an astonished Anton memories of his mother's cooking. After dining, Anton requests to see the chef; Linguini and Colette wait until the rest of the diners have left to introduce Remy and the rats to Anton. After revealing the whole truth, Anton is astonished and leaves the restaurant, deep in thought. Although he is shocked, Anton writes a glowing review for the newspaper the next day, stating that Gusteau's chef is "nothing less than the finest chef in France."

Despite the positive review, Gusteau's is closed down due to Skinner's efforts to report a rodent infestation, and Anton loses credibility as a critic. However, Anton eagerly helps fund a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille", created and run by Remy, Linguini and Colette. The rats meanwhile settle in their new home in the bistro's roof. The whole story was narrated by Remy, to Django and some friends. Remy goes back to the kitchen to finish the main dish of the restaurant-ratoutille, to Anton. He asks for dessert, and Remy smiles and gives him a nod. The film ends with a shot of the restaurant from the outside, with the customers and rats enjoying themselves.