ratatouille

There's something about rodents that makes for exquisite family storytelling. Offscreen, they're hideous vermin -- spreaders of filth and disease responsible for entire eras of human misery. In the hands of a talented creative voice, however, they become paragons of heroism. Why? They're natural underdogs for starters, stuck in a permanent spot at the bottom of the food chain. Yet they also exhibit tremendous resourcefulness, and can thrive in places where other species fear to tread. And for all the problems they cause, they come across as a little misunderstood -- meek scavengers just trying to get by. Give those elements to the right people, and the results are magic: Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH; E.B White's tenacious Templeton; Reepicheep, Narnia's premiere dispenser of buckled swashes; and that age-old standby at the top of Pixar's sister company, emitting cheerful pluck from T-shirts and watch faces aplenty.