One of the things I did get around to on my vacation was seeing Disney- Pixar's latest flick, Ratatouille. The name is derived from a French recipe for vegetable stew. (look it up on Wikipedia if you must!) This is an important plot point! At any rate, I was moved, yes, I said "moved," by this story. Actually, it is on its way to becoming one of my favorite "Christmas" movies. Oh, it has nothing to do with Christmas per se, but it did have as a theme, what is a person to do with her/her cynicism about life.
If you do watch it, pay attention to the villainous (though misunderstood) food critic Anton Ego. He's not just some mean-spirited cynic, but someone with a damaged heart that needs help (maybe even a good helping of Ratatouille!). Remy, the rat who longs to cook, is a great hero. Though his father wants to relegate him with his wonderful gift of smell to poison-detector for the clan, Remy's dreams refuse to die and he ends up in a famous Parisian restaurant that is languishing, needing a new spark.
The message is simple. Don't settle for mediocrity; don't let your passions die. It reminded me of how easy it is to go through life, or the Christmas season, without passion. We, like the rats (except Remy), too easily settle for garbage (like a life of sameness with no growth) when God has provided a feast of opportunities every day to grow and to impact others for good. Before I ramble on and on (and it is Sunday morning and time to get ready for church!), let me point you to Christianity Today's review of the film....a much better one than mine!
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2007/ratatouille.html
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