Honestly I will never understand the complaint about how this doesn't fit in France when over in Norway we have Trolls and horned viking helmets (not a real thing by the way) representing Norway. Though it certainly advocates Norwegian culture, the entire first part of that ride falls right into that territory that if it were built today, fall under these same criticisms because it's a fanciful and perhaps stereotypical look at a country rather than something that I suppose should be strictly educational or falling into some sacred No-characters-allowed territory which was obviously broken as soon as these trolls were introduced, movie tie-in or not.
But perhaps my view on EPCOT is different from most. I think the overall goal of world showcase should be to encourage in interest in the world abroad rather than home, to learn about them, and to get a taste of that culture. A ratatouille ride can easily spark this interest for young minds and is not offensive or (as far as I know) some cruel stereotype. It's a potential way to introduce someone to the culture, and in this day and age with all the media we have at our fingertips, doing so is incredibly easy (which at the same time makes it that much more difficult to educate AND entertain, as anyone can pull up a video or pictures about France these days, even children). In this way, the ride would serve both as education (if not directly) and entertainment, part of what I think is the end goal.
And I can relate to this on a personal level. Before visiting the Norwegian pavilion in EPCOT, I had no idea what a viking or troll was, or anything about Norway itself. I rode Maelstrom, and it set a fire in my brain that has yet to go out. It started with researching vikings, to their culture, to the history of Norway, then to Europe and it's history, and it just grew from there. But it started with those unrealistic viking helmets and those fake trolls, because I was a kid and thought they looked freaky and cool. Ratatouille the movie and the ride can do the same thing for others, and a large part of me feels because the movie was made first is the only reason this gets so much ire. Would we react the same way if a ride about us being shrunk down through a Parisian kitchen through the perspective of a mouse was made when EPCOT was and was later made into a movie? I think some of the same people here wanting to burn the idea down would be claiming it as innovative genius.
