Ratatouille (2007)
Yey back to great Pixar!
Ratatouille is not my fav Pixar but its a very joyful and fantastic movie, with lots of humour and zany action to keep you entertained. Its attention to detail and perfect tone are what make it special.
There’s something extremely satisfying about every aspect of this movie, from the score to the animation, to quirky-looking, lovable characters - it’s like a big cuddle of a movie that you can just snuggle into. especially when it comes to the food. A good example of this is the sequence where Remy can’t help but transform the soup that Linguini has ruined. He throws vegetables and herbs into the soup in a sort of food ballet and it feels like you can almost smell it! You’re laughing because it’s funny, excited for Remy as this is a big character moment (his first chance to do some real cooking), marvelling at the beautiful animation, nodding along to that brilliant music. And of course you’re hungry. Damn that movie makes me hungry!
Remy is probably a more likeable hero than the usual Pixar protagonist. He is a rat so I guess he’s an unlikely hero in that respect, but he’s more like traditional idealistic Disney hero with hopes and dreams than other Pixar heroes. He almost needs an ‘I Want’ song. Through Remy we explore what it means to be an artist in a gentle, good-humoured way. Remy doesn’t just want to be a cook, he has to be a cook, and we watch him struggle between following his art and meeting his family’s expectations, before finally being able to find acceptance for who he is. Not only that, but we also get an insight into the frustrations of being a great artist, as there’s so few people around who are able to appreciate him.
In fact all the characters in Ratatouille are wonderfully fleshed out. Remy and Linguini are of course very well realised, and compliment each other beautifully, but many of the side characters are given complexity too. Skinner could have been a bit of a forgettable villain if he wasn’t voiced by Ian Holm or animated so brilliantly. I love the way everything he does is so overly dramatic. There’s a brilliant moment where he eats Remy’s ratatouille for the first time and he obviously wants to hate it, but it’s so wonderful that he has to clutch the table cloth and lets out a little moan. Details like that make this movie the work of art that it is.
One of the characters I love most is Colette. We learned in one of the little Disney Life documentaries that Brad Bird had only female animators work on Colette’s animation, which is really nice. I love to see the conflict between her determination to remain ‘the toughest cook in the kitchen’ versus her feelings for Linguini. There’s also some moments of real frailty, like when she comes into the kitchen the morning after Linguini has been called into the Chef’s office because his dish went down well. You can see on her face that she’s determined not to resent him for his success, because he’s her friend, but she’s also completely vulnerable. The attention to detail in every aspect of this film is spectacular!
The score is fantastic - I love the way Michael Giacchino’s scores are so witty and full of flavour. He picks one or two brilliant themes and then plays about with them for the whole movie, meaning that you always feel very grounded in the place and tone of the movie. Is it too stereotypically French? Who cares! It’s beautiful and fun and is the musical equivalent of a big glass of red wine.
Again, I’m not going to go into every aspect of the Ratatouille because it’s too yummy to cover everything. One last thing I’ll say, however, is that this is an example of how to do pacing correctly - take heed Meet the Robinsons! The movie is fast-paced and action-packed, but never confusing. It’s a perfect three-act structure, with key plot points driven by decisions that Remy makes, and not just by things happening to him.
Ratatouille is pretty well represented in the Disney parks, but of course best at DLP. The Ratatouille area is altogether too beautiful for Disney Studios, as it puts all the other areas to shame. The Ratatouille ride is also really nice, as it keeps the humour and madcap action of the movie and then opens out into Bistro Chez Remy, which is also gorgeous. One of the few places in DLP you can get a decent meal!
Cheers guys, see you next time!