"Ratatouille" as the story of a homosexual coming out? I think I get it, sort of. I know the subtext of "The Wizard of Oz," and like Dorothy, Remy -- the cuisinier-protagonist of "Ratatouille" -- is a misunderstood adolescent who embarks on a journey of self-discovery....

Laure Murat of the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies takes the exploration of this topic much further in her lecture Thursday, in which she delves into Remy's embodiment of "the lonely gay, both refined and the object of disgust, excluded and successful" and the animated movie as "the story of the Oedipus conflict, mixed with issues of race and species.... If 'anyone can cook,' any queer guy has a role to play in this world -- at least in Paris."

"Queering Ratatouille: A Rat Reclaiming French Cuisine" at Royce Hall, Room 236, UCLA campus, Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Pixar/Disney