Justin Chang of Variety called the film "delicious," rhapsodizing that, "with this satisfying, souffle-light tale of a plucky French rodent with a passion for cooking, the master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients - abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication - to produce a warm and irresistible concoction that's sure to appeal to everyone's inner Julia Child."

Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times thought, "'Ratatouille' is as audacious as they come. It takes risks and goes places other films wouldn't dare, and it ends up putting rival imaginations in the shade." And Lou Leminick says, "If there is a genius working in Hollywood today, it's animation director Brad Bird, who tops the delightful 'The Incredibles' with arguably the finest 'toon in the Pixar canon, 'Ratatouille'."

David Edelstein of New York also credits the director. "Bird clearly knows the great silent clowns: The slapstick he devises is balletic." For A.O. Scott of The New York Times, "this is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised."

And Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal thought, "the characters are irresistible. Why would anyone want to resist a hero who so gallantly transcends his rattiness? The animation is astonishing and the film, a fantasy version of a foodie rhapsody, sustains a level of joyous invention that hasn't been seen in family entertainment since 'The Incredibles'."