THE word "masterpiece" is overused, but in the case of the computer-animated wizardry of Pixar, no other word will suffice.

Since its dazzling 1995 debut with Toy Story, the company founded by John Lasseter has revolutionised attitudes towards animated films with dazzling stories such as Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

Huge technological advances have continued to blur the boundaries between the live action and digital worlds; Pixar's work is nothing if not visually stunning.

Yet there is equal attention to detail in the screenplays, creating loveable characters who leap off the screen and into our hearts.

With Ratatouille, director Brad Bird delivers a glorious modern day fable about a diminutive hero who dares to pursue his lifelong ambition on the rues of Paris.

The dreamer in question is Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), a rat who fantasises about becoming a top chef like his rotund hero, Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett).

"If you are what you eat, I only want to eat the good stuff," Remy declares, desperate to escape the drudgery of foraging for festering scraps.

"Food is fuel," counters his father Django (Brian Dennehy), who doesn't want his son getting ideas above his station.

By chance, Remy emerges from the sewers into the middle of the French capital and creeps into his idol's restaurant.

The plucky vermin concocts a delicious soup, only for kitchen worker Linguini (Lou Romano) to take the credit.

With chef Skinner (Ian Holm) demanding a repeat performance, Linguini joins forces with Remy to create more culinary delights, the rat controlling his human cohort's movements by tugging tufts of hair under his chef's cap.

Can Remy and Linguini achieve the impossible: earn a glowing review from notoriously sardonic food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) and win the admiration of beautiful colleague Colette (Janeane Garofalo)?

Ratatouille deserves three Michelin stars for its well-crafted script, garnished with laugh-out-loud comic interludes such as Remy's make-believe conversations with Gusteau.

Gorgeous visuals will have you salivating from the very first sizzling scallop, before a breathtaking, high-speed tour of the kitchen, seen from Remy's point of view as he darts under workstations and through the wheels of trolleys.

Vocal performances are strong, from O'Toole's oily reviewer with a penchant for caustic critique, to Oswalt's loveable fur-ball who dares to shoot for the moon "Every bird has to fly the nest," he concludes.

"You're not a bird, you're a rat," retorts his verminous father. "Rats don't leave the nest, they make it bigger."

Remy is the exception to the rule. Bird's film is truly exceptional.

The main feature is preceded by the Oscar-nominated short Lifted, in which a young alien attempts his first time abduction of a sleeping farmer.

As his instructor watches with mounting frustration and impatience, the trainee furiously pushes various levers and knobs to extricate the human subject... to no avail.

  • See it at the ABC, Empire, Odeon