The recipe for `Ratatouille'

They were all wrong. To begin with, they were walking around on two legs. And they had short tails.

"They were trying to deratify the rats," Bird said of the animators who were working on the Pixar/Disney film before he came on board. "They recognized people were squeamish about rats, but it is inherent in the premise. Rather than trying to dial that down, I was like 'Use that energy and redirect.' I lengthened their tails. And

Audiences will have the final say on rodents in a kitchen when "Ratatouille" opens Friday amid early, favorable reviews as well as questions about how much it will appeal to children. For his part, though, Bird says he's not worried.

The writer-director of the Oscar-winning Pixar/Disney animated film "The Incredibles" says it's wrong to assume "that animation is an art form just for children

The charming comedy revolves around a rat named Remy who makes his dreams of becoming a gourmet chef come true when he teams up with an orphan boy named Linguini who works at a once-famed restaurant, Gusteau's, that's fallen on bad times.

But let's face it, the fancy, gourmet meals served up in "Ratatouille" aren't exactly recipes that kids can replicate in their Easy-Bake ovens.

"In my mind, the audience is just anybody who likes movies," Bird said. "I would say a lot of people, I think, who make family entertainment, dumb it down for kids, and I am completely opposed to that. "If you present it in an engaging way

Bird inherits "Ratatouille" from Jan Pinkava, who won an Oscar for his 1997 Pixar short, "Geri's Game," and had begun developing the film in 2000.

"I was aware of the film's development and participated in a limited way as part of the story trust group that goes over all the films," Bird says. "We offer fresh eyes to each other's projects." But he didn't take the reins from Pinkava, who still has story credit on the film, until about 18 months ago. (Bird said Pixar's John Lasseter and Steve Jobs asked him to take a look at the project and "analyze why this very beautiful car was not running.")

"I committed to keeping the animation start date," Bird said, "which is like the start date of principal photography, to hold to the original [opening] date. It was like Vulcan chess when you are, like, on four or five different levels. It was scary and exhilarating."