Dein Freund, die Ratte

Cute little short assembled partially from all the research that had been done about rats for film Ratatouille. Features Remy and Emil from Ratatouille in there full computer animated form presenting documentary style evidence of their reasons that mankind and rats should get along better. The documentary portions utilize a number of hand drawn animation styles including the Walt Disney Educational films of the 60's and 70's.

The various styles of animation are very evocative and add to the story and the humor.

Ends with a humorous disclaimer (by the producers) about some of the ideas espoused by Remy and Emil, much to their chagrin..

This is a Pixar short to Ratatouille.

It is a broadcast on behalf of the Rat Preservation Society.

Although as you learn that as rats can survive a nuclear explosion, they do not need much aid in preservation.

Remy and his brother Emile tell the audience why rats and humans should be friends as they go through the history of rats and how they have populated the globe.

Funny, informative and nice animation.

I like Pixar very much, and I very much enjoyed Your Friend the Rat. I do prefer the movie Ratatouille, but this short film does compliment it quite well. It mayn't be one of Pixar's very best, I think there are Pixar short films with a little more heart(ie. Geri's Game and Presto), though Your Friend the Rat is not devoid of that quality, and I can see where people are coming from when they say it's a tad stuffy. However, it is one of Pixar's most interesting, mainly for the structure of the story and how much it teaches and the wonderful animation and the techniques used. Your Friend the Rat also has moments where it is funny, the black plague sequence is for me the highlight of the short, the characters are delightful and the voice work is solid. All in all, I personally put other Pixar short films over this one, but it is still very interesting, and not one to be ignored. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Or is it year of the Rat? No pun intended - but you will get schooled here (the no pun intended covers this one too, if you were wondering). It has been a minute (way more than that of course), since I watched Ratatouille. But I think this works as standalone too. If you are aware of the bigger picture (again no pun intended).

This is also fairly long for a short movie. And then there is the voice cast - not sure what contracts they have, but I am just glad when they can have the stars do the voices again. You can tell they are having fun too. This takes us on a ride and tells us who is looking at whom and why ... well I won't get too much into it. But of course this is not real life - this is about a fictional world. That may expand parents issues with their kids wanting to have a mouse (or rat) as a pet ... this is the downside when something is so good and/or cute ...

This is an extra from the DVD release of RATATOUILLE. It is a documentary about rats that some might find stuffy--like some sort of public service lecture or an episode of BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY. However, since I am a history teacher, I liked it--particularly the segment on the Black Death. Plus, while the text of the film is indeed dull, the graphics and laughs are excellent (I particularly liked the obscure reference to Francois Truffaut). Interestingly, while the movie RATATOUILLE is pure CG, this features what looks like traditional hand-drawn animation--and very high quality animation it is. So even if you don't like the topic or dialog, you can't help but respect the animation.

Who says learning can't be fun?