Don't wait for Netflix; the stellar animation merits a trip to the big screen.
Peter and I disagreed on whether Remy, our rat-hero, is a metaphor for a young gay boy in the process of coming out. I think it's fairly obvious, while Peter (more Sontag than Kael) looks for the universal truth, seeing Remy as more symbolic of the misunderstood, "queer" individual, though not necessarily gay. I know I'm right, but I nodded as Peter postulated; that's the kind of guy I am. Patient with other's process. (wink)
Without giving away too much of the plot, I've listed those "hints" that, I believe, support my interpretation. They are:
* Remy exhibits a refined "sensitivity" (smell), which makes him different from all the other rats in his colony ;
* When Remy's stereotypical macho brother sees Remy walking on two legs, he says, "If Dad sees you walking like that he's going to lose it.";
* Remy is obsessed with the beauty and smells of gourmet food, while all the other rats are content to eat garbage;
* Remy leads a double-life, hiding from everyone the fact that he sneaks into the human's home to watch the gourmet cooking show ;
* Remy feels conflicted about being what his family expects him to be and what he knows in his hear that he is; and finally
* the transformation of our villain "Anton Ego" is clearly one of a gay male coming out of the closet later in life and the price he paid until that point. Watch the scene with his mother as he comes home from school crying because of the bullies. And then watch the last scene when he's in the restaurant. So, so gay.
And don't miss the reference to May Day's (Grace Jones) Parisian romp from "A View to A Kill." [Grace Jones!!?? - Uhm, hellooooo!]
Gay or not the film is as good as slice of a gooey, stinky Epoisses.
As a kid, I was completely obsessed with Julia Child on PBS; suffice to say, Remy has become my new hero. And it's so wonderfully subversive that the folks at Disney (who own Pixar) have made a rat the dalmation or Nemo for 2007.
I love the idea of small kids all over middle America carrying around stuffed rats.
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