Ratatouille
Ratatouille
Directed by
Jan Pinkava(Co-Director)Produced by
Written by
Jim Capobianco(Story)
Brad Bird(Story and Screenplay)Starring
Music by
Cinematography by
Robert Anderson(Camera)Editor(s)
Stan Webb(Second Film Editor)Distributor
Released
Running time
Language
FrenchBudget
Gross revenue
IMDb page
- “He's dying to become a chef.”
- ―Tagline
Ratatouille is a2007 American computer-animated comedy film presented byWalt Disney Pictures, produced byPixar Animation Studios, and distributed by the last original film with theBuena Vista Pictures, whichCars was the last film for the Pixar1991-2005 Vista era. It tells the story ofRemy (voiced byPatton Oswalt), a rat living inParis who wants to be a chef. The film was the eighth movie produced by Pixar, and was written and directed byBrad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005, and it was released onJune 29,2007 in theUnited States and onOctober 12, 2007, in theUnited Kingdom, to both widespread critical acclaim and box office success.
Plot[]
Remy is a rat who lives in the attic of aFrench country home with his friends and family, including his brotherEmile and his father,Django. Gifted with a strong sense of taste and smell, Remy aspires to be a gourmet chef, inspired by France's recently deceased top chef,Auguste Gusteau. Instead, however, his talent is put to work in sniffing for rat poison. When the rat pack is discovered by the home's occupant, they flee into the sewers; Remy becomes separated from the others and ends up marooned underneath Gusteau's restaurant in Paris, conversing with a hallucination of the famous chef.
Urged on by Gusteau, Remy makes his way up to the restaurant's kitchen skylight to watch the staff in action. There, he observesAlfredo Linguini being hired as a janitor bySkinner, the restaurant's current owner, and Gusteau's former sous-chef. When Linguini knocks over a large pot full of soup and attempts to recreate it using random ingredients. Remy is horrified, and accidentally falls into the kitchen. He tries to escape, but as he passes the pot of soup, he manages to fix it. Remy is caught by Linguini just as Linguini is caught by Skinner, but before anyone can stop the serving staff, the soup is served and Skinner notices a woman tasting the soup. She seems surprised and then calls the waiter back and when Skinner sees this, he fires Linguini, but the woman asks to see Skinner. She turns out to be a food critic and that she likes the soup.Colette, the staff's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini, believing him to be the success behind the soup. Linguini takes Remy home instead of killing him, as Remy was the "little chef" who made the soup. Since the soup is so successful, it becomes a hit.
After a lot of training, Remy and Linguini overcome their language barrier, with Remy pulling Linguini's hair under his toque Blanche to control his limbs like a marionette. The pair successfully meets the challenges devised by Skinner and is able to serve his first ever dish. Skinner, suspicious of Linguini's talents, discovers that Linguini is actually Gusteau's son and, by Gusteau's will, is the rightful owner of the restaurant; this revelation would ruin Skinner's plans to use Gusteau's name to market a line of microwaveable meals and fire him in the process. Gusteau had made his will saying that unless an heir is found within two years of the chef's death the sous chef inherits the restaurant, with two weeks left until two years have passed. One morning, Remy discovers the documents and takes them to Linguini, who subsequently fires Skinner and takes control of the restaurant also beginning a better relationship with Colette. One night, Remy finds Emile in the restaurant's trash, and Remy is reunited with the pack. Django warns Remy that humans and rats will never get along, but Remy does not believe him. Meanwhile, Remy begrudgingly feeds Emile and his friends by stealing from the kitchen's pantry as the nights pass.
Anton Ego, one of the toughest food critics whose past review cost Gusteau's one of its star ratings and the chef's death, announces he will review the restaurant again based on its rising success. Under the pressure of Ego's pending arrival, Linguini has a falling out with Remy, causing Remy to retaliate by leading a raid on the kitchen's food stocks that night. Linguini arrives to apologize but catches the rats in the act and, in rage, chases them all out, including Remy, feeling betrayed. Unfortunately without Remy, Linguini begins to crack under pressure as without the rat, he's unable to make and prepare all the dishes that everyone in the restaurant expects him to do. Remy, dejected, is captured by Skinner. In his cage, Remy has one final conversation with his imaginary Gusteau, who tells him that the rat never needed his guidance, and at that moment, he is freed by Django and Emile. Remy returns to the kitchen, where a frantic Linguini apologizes to him and asks him back to help. Linguini then reveals the truth about Remy to the staff, who walk out feeling deceived and betrayed; Colette later returns and soon reconciles with Linguini after recalling Gusteau's motto: "Anyone can cook."
Impressed by his son's determination, Django organizes the rest of the pack to help out in the kitchen. They throw Skinner and a health inspector, bound and gagged, into the freezer when they try to interfere. Linguini uses roller skates to wait on all the tables by himself, while the rats (under Remy's direction) work together to prepare a variation onratatouille for Ego. Ego is amazed by the dish, which evokes childhood memories of his mother's cooking, and asks to see the chef. Linguini and Colette wait until all the other customers have left before introducing Remy to Ego. Although initially disbelieving, Ego is brought into the kitchen to watch Remy recreate the dish; he leaves without any further comment. To everyone's surprise, Ego writes a glowing review of the meal the next day, declaring Remy to be "nothing less than the finest chef in France."
Unfortunately, Gusteau's is closed down by the health inspector, and Ego loses his job and his credibility as a food critic for praising a restaurant filled with rats. However, he eagerly funds a new restaurant run by Linguini and Colette, featuring dining areas for both humans and rats and a kitchen designed for Remy to continue cooking. The final scene shows a long queue outside and a sign displaying a rat wearing a toque and holding a spoon, above it, the name "La Ratatouille" as the rat colony settles into their new home in the bistro's attic.
Cast[]
- Patton Oswalt asRemy
- Ian Holm asChef Skinner
- Lou Romano asAlfredo Linguini
- Brian Dennehy asDjango
- Peter Sohn asEmile
- Peter O'Toole asAnton Ego
- Brad Garrett asAuguste Gusteau
- Janeane Garofalo asColette Tatou
- Will Arnett asHorst
- Julius Callahan asLalo and Francois
- James Remar asLarousse
- John Ratzenberger asMustafa
- Teddy Newton asTalon Labarthe
- Tony Fucile asPompidou andHealth Inspector
- Jamie Oliver as Health Inspector (UK version)
- Jake Steinfield asGit the Lab Rat
- Brad Bird asAmbrister Minion
- Stéphane Roux as TV Narrator
Additional voices[]
- Jack Bird as Teen Rat
- Andrea Boerries as Street Woman
- Marco Boerries as Food Snob #3
- Lindsey Collins as Abusive Girlfriend
- Thomas Keller as Food Snob #1
- Brad Lewis as Abusive Boyfriend
- Lori Richardson as Food Snob #2
Paris Loop Group[]
- Jean Marie Ancher
- Eric Aubrahn
- Patrick Béthune
- Anne Dolan
- Jodi Forrest
- Steve Gadler
- David Gasman
- Matthew Géczy
- Randall Holden
- Tercelin Kirtley
- Mark Lesser
- Sharon Mann
- Marie-Eugénie Maréchal
- Pascal Massix
- Kentaro Matsuo
- Marc Pérez
- Doug Rand
- Stéphane Roux
- Estelle Simon
- Sybille Tureau
- Allan Wenger
List of Cameos[]
- ThePizza Planet truck appears on the bridge over the Seine River in the scene where Skinner chases Remy.
- During a street scene,Bomb Voyage can be seen in the background as a mime.
- The model of the boy watching Bomb Voyage is also used for young Anton Ego (from Anton's flashback).
- Bomb Voyage is also featured on the front page of the newspaper in which Colette reads Solene LeClaire's review.
- A shadow ofDug from the later Pixar featureUp can be seen as Remy runs through an apartment.
- When Linguini is trying to find a place for Remy to hide, it is revealed his boxers haveThe Incredibles logo on them.
- SeveralChinese food boxes matching the one thatManny andGypsy used to perform their act inA Bug's Life can be seen inside Linguini's fridge.
- A poster withMr. Incredible's super suit is briefly seen during the scene where Skinner chases Remy.
- When Remy feels the taste of the strawberry, a few notes from the song "Bella Notte" fromLady and the Tramp can be heard playing.
- Some caviar seen in Gusteau's pantry is branded "Nemo", the name ofMarlin'sson inFinding Nemo.
- When Linguini was going to fit his bike on the back of the TV, he did not switch on the lights.
- Linguini has a soccer ball on his shelf, which is the same soccer ball from the robotic kid at the beginning ofMonsters, Inc.
- A113, which is a popular running gag for most Pixar features, appears on a tag on thetough rat's ear.
- The quote from Skinner "YOU'RE FIRED!" to Linguini is a reference to Harry Tasker's line to the terrorist Aziz in True Lies before the antagonist is literally fired from a fighter jet, vaporizing him along with a helicopter filled with his accomplices.
Critical reception[]
Ratatouille received critical acclaim from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8.50/10 based on 251 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Pixar succeeds again withRatatouille, a stunningly animated film with fast pacing, memorable characters, and overall good humor." Another review aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 96 out of 100 based on 37 reviews.
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times calledRatatouille "a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film"; echoing the character Anton Ego in the film, he ended his review with a simple "thank you" to the creators of the film. Wally Hammond ofTime Out gave the film five out of five stars, saying "A test for tiny tots, a mite nostalgic and as male-dominated as a modern kitchen it may be, but these are mere quibbles about this delightful addition to the Pixar pantheon." Andrea Gronvall of theChicago Reader gave the film a positive review, saying "Brad Bird's second collaboration with Pixar is more ambitious and meditative than his Oscar-winningThe Incredibles." Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying "Ratatouille has the Pixar technical magic without, somehow, the full Pixar flavor. It's Brad Bird's genial dessert, not so much incredible as merely sweetly edible." Peter Travers ofRolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "What makesRatatouille such a hilarious and heartfelt wonder is the way Bird contrives to let it sneak up on you. And get a load of that score from Michael Giacchino, a perfect compliment to a delicious meal." James Berardinelli ofReelViews gave the film three out of four stars, saying "For parents looking to spend time in a theater with their kids or adults who want something lighter and less testosterone-oriented than the usual summer fare,Ratatouille offers a savory main course." Christy Lemire of theAssociated Press gave the film a positive review, saying "Ratatouille is free of the kind of gratuitous pop-culture references that plague so many movies of the genre; it tells a story, it's very much of our world but it never goes for the cheap, easy gag." Justin Chang ofVariety gave the film a positive review, saying "The master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients ― abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupçon of Gallic sophistication ― to produce a warm and irresistible concoction."
Michael Phillips of theChicago Tribune gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The film may be animated, and largely taken up with rats, but its pulse is gratifyingly human. And you have never seen a computer-animated feature with this sort of visual panache and detail." Rafer Guzman ofNewsday gave the film three out of four stars, saying "So many computer-animated movies are brash, loud and popping with pop-culture comedy, butRatatouille has the warm glow of a favorite book. The characters are more than the sum of their gigabyte-consuming parts ― they feel handcrafted." Roger Moore of theOrlando Sentinel gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Has Pixar lost its magic recipe?Ratatouille is filled with fairly generic animated imagery, a few modest chases, a couple of good gags, not a lot of laughs." Scott Foundas ofLA Weekly gave the film a positive review, saying "Bird has taken the raw ingredients of an anthropomorphic-animal kiddie matinée and whipped them into a heady brew about nothing less than the principles of artistic creation." Colin Covert of theStar Tribune gave the film four out of four stars, saying "It's not just the computer animation that is vibrantly three-dimensional. It's also the well-rounded characters... I defy you to name another animated film so overflowing with superfluous beauty." Steven Rea ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "WithRatatouille, Bird once again delivers not just a great, witty story, but dazzling visuals as well." Bill Muller ofThe Arizona Republic gave the film four and a half stars out of five, saying "Like the burbling soup that plays a key part inRatatouille, the movie is a delectable blend of ingredients that tickles the palette and leaves you hungry for more."
Disney planned to produce a wine to market the release ofRatatouille. The California Wine Institute warned them not to advertise alcohol with cartoon characters, and the plan was scrapped.
Release[]
Home media[]
- Main article:Ratatouille (video)
Ratatouille was released on DVD andBlu-ray onNovember 6,2007, and was one of the highest selling DVDs of 2007.
OnMay 29,2015, EliToons will return the fivePixar films, likeRatatouille (May 29),WALL-E (May 30),Cars (May 31),The Incredibles (June 5), andFinding Nemo (June 6) plus two DreamWorks likeOver the Hedge (June 7) andMadagascar (June 13) on a weekend block called "Movie Weekend".
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- This isBrad Bird's secondPixar film, therefore making this his third afterWarner Bros.'The Iron Giant in1999 andThe Incredibles in2004.
- The film was originally set to be released in2006. However, onDecember 7, 2004, the date was changed to2007. This happened because Disney/Pixar changed the release date ofCars fromNovember 4,2005, toJune 9, 2006, thus pushing the film to 2007.
- Originally, Pixar wanted to make a line of chardonnay wines that would've featured Remy on the label, but they abandoned those plans after receiving complaints that it might support underage drinking.
- Out of fear that American audiences wouldn't be able to pronounce the film's title correctly, Pixar decided to spell it phonetically on promotional material such as posters and trailers so people would know how it's pronounced.
- In one scene, it is revealed that only the animals can hear each other talking, a case of "audience filter". Ironically,Remy talks toGusteau, a figment of Remy's imagination, and he is able to understand Remy.
- Ratatoing, a 2007Brazilian computer graphics straight-to-video cartoon byVídeo Brinquedo, is regarded by several outlets as a "ripoff" ofRatatouille.
- This was the last Pixar film to use the1995 Pixar exclusiveWalt Disney Pictures logo custom-made for the studio on a regular basis sinceToy Story; starting with Pixar's later filmWALL-E in2008, any Pixar films that followed used the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo.
- This was the lastRead-Along version of the film to be narrated byRoy Dotrice.
- This is Pixar's first original film sinceA Bug's Life in1998 and the first post-Disney purchase Pixar film to be released in the summer.
- This is Pixar's first film to be a new independently produced motion picture with newer animation after Pixar was bought by Disney.
- Remy, who is named "Little Chef", and the dish featured in the movie is also featured in the video gameKingdom Hearts III.
- In2020, a TikTok user created a song in tribute to Remy, the film's main character. Eventually, other TikTok users started remixing the song, as well as choreography, set design, and new songs to create a full musical.Ratatouille the Musical was streamed onJanuary 1,2021.
- The star rating depicted in the film is a bit of artistic license. InFrance, restaurants are graded by theMichelin Guide, which uses a three-star ranking. However, the American producers apparently decided that explaining that system would be counterproductive for the story, and so used the more familiar five-star ranking best associated internationally with the quality grading of hotels. So, in reality, Gusteau's three-star ranking would have meant it was at the top tier of eating establishments.
- This is the first and only Pixar film that uses the previous Disney logo until the new logo was introduced.
- With a runtime at 111 minutesRatatouille is the 4th longest Pixar animated film afterIncredibles 2 at 118 minutes,Cars at 117 minutes, andThe Incredibles at 115 minutes.
- This is the only PixarBlu-ray to use a LPCM audio track.
- The film was referenced in the critically acclaimed TV seriesBreaking Bad, in the episode called "Fifty-One". The main character,Walter White, mentions that his in-laws are watchingRatatouille, which also shares minor parallels toBreaking Bad.
- Ironically, Gusteau's and Linguini's respective voice actors, Brad Garrett and Lou Romano, were both born in the different Years of the Rat (1960 and1972, respectively).
- This is the first Pixar film where John Ratzenberger has a vocally unrecognizable role, with that being Mustafa (who justifiably speaks with a French accent). Ironically, this came out a year after the firstCars film, where during that other film's epilogue, it parodies Ratzenberger's long-time involvement for the studio's numerous films.
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