Pixar Pint #8: Ratatouille

Anyone can cook. How good did this pint taste?

Welcome back to Pixar Pints, our summer-long journey through all 25 Pixar films in release order.

The abnormally long production timeline for Cars also affected the timeline for this film. Ratatouille was originally to be released in June 2006, but Cars wasn’t quite ready for its scheduled November 2005 release date, so Pixar pushed it back to June 2006 and, in turn, pushed Ratatouille back an entire year to June 2007. This seemingly minor shift undoubtedly affected the Academy Awards in all three of these years. You might remember that Cars lost the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2006. Ratatouille was a humongous critical success – way more so than Cars – so let’s assume it wins that Oscar over Happy Feet. Cars gets pushed up to 2005. Pixar didn’t originally release anything that year, so the Oscar went to DreamWorks’ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Pixar probably gets a nomination for Cars because it’s Pixar; does it win the award? (I say no.) Finally, 2007. There’s no indication that Ratatouille getting pushed back directly affected the timeline of the next Pixar film, WALL-E, which was released in 2008. Does Pixar just not release anything in 2007? Persepolis was one of the films Ratatouille beat that year; in this universe, does it actually get the accolades it deserved? What would that have meant for animation as a medium? Much to think about.

Anyway, let’s get into it.

Ratatouille quick facts

Release date: June 29, 2007 | Director: Brad Bird | Music: Michael Giacchino

Starring: Patton Oswalt (Remy), Lou Romano (Linguni), Ian Holm (Skinner), Janeane Garofalo (Colette), Peter O’Toole (Ego), Brad Garrett (Gusteau)

John Ratzenberger as: Mustafa, the head waiter

Budget: $150 million | Box office: $623.7 million

Academy Awards: Won Best Animated Feature; nominated for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Screenplay

Eli

Aesthetic: 8/10 | My primary criticism of The Incredibles was that they went overboard on the '60s aesthetic to an unnecessary degree. To see what that could have looked like done correctly, check out Ratatouille; the set pieces and overall theming are nearly perfect in giving you the sense you're in 1960s Paris without knocking you over the head with it. One problem: the film is canonically set in 2006. Ignoring that, the universe looks really pretty, the human characters are dynamically designed and mostly distinct, and the film does a great job of differentiating the ways the humans and rats interact with the built environment.

Animation: 9/10 | The rats were designed well in their rodentlike movements, and they had to render and simulate fur for a bunch of 'em, so that couldn't have been easy. The human movements in this film are completely absurd and lend to the absurdity of the movie's premise and actions; as with many cartoons, it wouldn't work nearly as well as it does if it was played completely straight.

Story: 3/10 | There's a lot of good here, clearly. It's a fitting allegory for how artists from underprivileged and underrepresented populations face an uphill battle to get the recognition they really deserve. However, because of that implied characterization of the rats as human, the movie sets itself up for a slough of racial undertones that I'm not sure were intentional. It's clear that Remy's life is in immediate danger by doing what he's doing – he comes close to death several times – and the scene where his dad shows him the storefront with rat traps and dead rats makes the power dynamic even more overt: humans hate rats and have the power to kill rats at the drop of a hat with no consequences. Remind you of anything? The story ends in a way that leaves Remy only accepted by a select few, still having to perform his craft in secret while the more privileged people take all the credit, however reluctantly. The movie wants you to think this is heartwarming, but I'm not there at all, sorry! This angle puts the film's odd, overwrought moralization against theft into perspective as well. Segue to...

Characters: 3/10 | Remy's opinion of theft seems inconsistent. At the beginning, he's against stealing anything, even trash, but he's just fine stealing spices immediately afterwards and multiple times later on, then he goes back to thinking stealing is bad when Émile wants to swipe more food again. Is it only okay if you're using the stolen product for art? Colette is written in a way that makes it clear that the writers knew it's hard for women to break into a lot of industries, but were also men who didn't know how to make that come across in dialogue; she's not fleshed out at all, her complexities require too much implication on the part of the viewer, and she falls in love with Linguini way too quickly to make sense within her character. Skinner, Ego, and Gusteau are tons of fun in their absurdity and carry the movie in my eyes.

Acting: 8/10 | I think it's good but I can't quite tell because I'm not familiar enough with French to know whether these accents are good or bad, haha. What I can say, aside from that hearing Ratzenberger put on a French accent is hilarious, is that every performance fits the tone of their character to a T. Lou Romano is really good at playing bumbling idiot, so he's great as Linguini. Ian Holm, Peter O'Toole, and Brad Garrett make Skinner, Ego, and Gusteau a joy to watch. And I don't think I can imagine Remy as anyone other than Patton Oswalt.

Music: 4/10 | Michael Giacchino scored this like he was trying to score another superhero movie. It's either way too melodramatic or it's a non-entity. The end credits song was fun, though.

Final score: 6/10 | I didn't think I'd end up putting this in the same tier as A Bug's Life, but here we are.

Leah

Aesthetic: 8/10 | Human character design has improved! The exaggeration makes each character distinct. I especially loved Ego's design. They made him look so over-the-top evil. Linguini was perfectly designed as a dorky young adult. The rat designs were cute, and I loved all the Paris imagery.

Animation: 9/10 | I loved the way Remy moved differently from the other rats. And they were all so wonderfully furry! The exaggerated movements, like Linguini being puppeted and Skinner chasing Remy, made the movie fun.

Story: 5/10 | This story was a mixed bag for me. It was delightfully absurd, and I liked Remy's arc of finding himself. However, a few points of the story were frustrating. The constant moralizing about stealing was annoying. The movie barely explained why stealing was harmful, just “stealing bad” (never mind systemic issues that lead to stealing in the first place). I felt like they were trying to have their cake and eat it with anthropomorphizing the rats. Animals don't conform to human moral standards; a rat "stealing" food to survive is just nature. The inconsistency in how animalistic these rats were just didn't work for me. The whole plot with Linguini and Colette was just weird. Their kiss came out of nowhere. I also didn't get the ending. People just accepted a restaurant called La Ratatouille (with a rat logo) started by the people that got shut down for rats in the kitchen? Remy still had to hide, right?

Characters: 6/10 | Colette was a missed opportunity; in a movie about prejudice and difficulty finding acceptance, they could have done so much more with a woman trying to break into the culinary world! I liked Remy as a protagonist; he was likeable and cute. Ego was fun to watch for how over the top he was.

Acting: 8/10 | Pretty good!

Music: 7/10 | Fun with a French vibe. It wasn't as gorgeous as Finding Nemo or as fun and iconic as Cars, but I thought it worked.

Final score: 7/10 | Fun movie but with some weird implications. Anthropomorphizing the rats could have been done better and the stealing moral lacked nuance.

Maddy

The best. ❤️

Aesthetic: 10/10 | The rat designs are great. The overall look of the movie and its Paris vibes are spot on. Not the best looking Pixar movie so far but it’s a visual gem.

Animation: 10/10 | It’s good. The human animation is the standout here.

Characters: 9/10 | Some actions the characters take are not really in line with their arcs and morals but that’s all I got in terms of criticisms or noteworthy notes.

Story: 10/10 | An honest story review would be "flawed around the edges but good". Yet, as an artist, this movie’s themes and ideals strike a different chord in me. Even as a kid, it resonated with me that no matter who you are, where you are, however you are, you can create something powerful and impactful and have that impact be felt on so many people. It’s why I wanna create. It’s why I love the medium of film so much: having the chance to create something that means something to people, even to the most hardened critics. I could go on and on about how much this movie has impacted the way I look at how I want to create media, but I would recommend this hourlong video by Schaffrillas Productions that better explains my thoughts.

Acting: 10/10 | Everyone does a good job, yes.

Music: 10/10 | Michael Giacchino is a godsent talent! Like, god damn, this man is incredible (and this isn’t even his best work).

Final score: 59/60 or 10/10 | This is still my favorite Pixar movie of all time, and unless the upcoming Lightyear is somehow better, it isn’t changing anytime soon. I do recognize a lot of my enjoyment for this movie comes from being a creator/artist myself as mentioned in the Story section. It, to me, shows how different people can react to the same movie, how it impacts them in different ways and how they interpret stories. It’s good for conversation! I’m going on a tangent. I love this movie a lot, lol.

Fun Maddy note: Anyone can cook.

Fun Maddy note 2: Brad Bird directed my top movies. Hmmmmm.

David

Aesthetic: It's gorgeous. Where other movies have missed the mark by overblowing the tone-setting or underdone it where it doesn't really set the scene right, Ratatouille's nailed it, to the point where it may be the film's biggest strength. You are in Paris (hon hon hon), and from the kitchen to the streets to the country home in Ego's memory - every aspect of it is perfectly suited.

Animation: They really nail the human movement here - by making it a little exaggerated and wonky with the designs, you can lend a great deal of whimsy that helps set the tone for the film so brilliantly.

Story: Anyone can cook, man. I think that's a dope message, undercut somewhat by the ending being "well, anyone can cook, but if you're from a certain disenfranchised group then you'll only be able to cook in the shadows while other people receive your glory" - but, that aside, it's so good. Delightful, heartwarming, and a wonderful reminder that there's no reason to restrict your own creativity on the basis that it doesn't fit into the stereotypical definition of what people like you can do.

Characters: Ego carries so hard here. No one's bad, but I find myself wishing that Linguine + Remy felt less like two halves of a whole entity and more like distinct beings through more of the film - aside from when they're going at it, it sort of feels like they just kind of blend into one misshapen hybrid. That might have been the point, to an extent, but I still find myself wanting a little more.

Acting: I'm not really sure why I set this category out anymore. It's Pixar, man.

Music: I adore Michael Giacchino, but I think he missed the mark a little here. I can't really remember any notable musical cues, and that's highly unusual for a Pixar film. Not bad, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's an unfortunate slip for a movie where I think a strong score could have taken this to another level entirely.

Final score: It's a high 8/10, edging out Toy Story. I think that this is a cusp 9, but for me, there are just small pieces that sort of roll together and accumulate to a point where I can't really ignore them. It's still a great watch, and one I come back to more often than a lot of the other films we've reviewed so far; I think, as we move further along in my own life, we're getting to a point where my reviews are less colored by childhood and more resonant with my own life experiences at the time.

Nik

Aesthetic: Pixar took a chance for this film. They took the chance of an aesthetic that was unlike any movie yet. Where its predecessors had used mostly bright and colorful settings, Ratatouille is dull and bland. Not to say that makes it bad, though. The dullness of the world the characters are in just helps the viewer understand better the effect a delicious meal can have on a person. It really exemplifies how important good cuisine is in the setting.

Animation: I think the key human characters are given more distinct movement styles to make them stand out from the background characters. I could really feel the clumsiness of Linguini and the way that Ego slinks. The rat animation feels real as well. I love the scenes where the viewer is immersed in the scary journey across a kitchen from a rat’s point of view.

Story: This movie had a message that really hit me as a kid. This of course was the fact that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can achieve anything if you push hard enough. It may seem like a big stretch to not just see it as a rat using a human as a puppet, but for me, it is Remy’s personality that hits hard. His dreams don’t feel cheesy. He just keeps pushing until it pays off.

Characters: I remember growing up not really liking Linguini as a character, which is odd, because I can’t particularly remember disliking any other Pixar character. On rewatch, my dislike lessened, but I still am not a huge fan. He is useless and then treats Remy badly and gets the girl? His arc is still weird to me. Remy, on the other hand, is a fantastic example of not giving up just because a dream is unlikely. He makes the movie.

Acting: Patton Oswalt does a phenomenal job as Remy. There are other notable voices but I think what Pixar shows in this movie, and in many others, is that having a star studded voice list does not make a movie. There will always be iconic voices, but the performances of the cast will never make or break the film.

Music: This is another Pixar movie where the score was just kind of there. It was well done, but not as vital to the movie as some other Pixar movies.

Final score: 8/10 | This movie lacks in some areas, notably in interesting characters, but it makes up for it with Remy being one of my favorite Pixar characters ever. The difference in aesthetic was refreshing as well. With a long-lasting impact on me, this is a solid Pixar film.

Final notes

Nothing polarizes quite like a Brad Bird movie, eh?

Oh! Question for you: how old did you think Linguini was supposed to be? The film never gives any clear indication. My initial guess was 20 because he looks and acts younger than me, a 24-year-old, and Leah also thought early 20s, but some sources online claim he’s supposed to be in his late 20s, which…what? Would like more opinions on this.

Numbers next to each film are each reviewer’s overall rating out of 10.

Next up: WALL-E