Psycho's Movie Reviews #259: Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The eighth film produced by Pixar, it was written and directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005, and produced by Brad Lewis, from an original idea from Bird, Pinkava and Jim Capobianco. The title refers to the French dish ratatouille, which is served at the end of the film, and also references the species of the main character, a rat. Set in Paris, the plot follows the rat named Remy, who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy.

The film stars the voices of Patton Oswalt as Remy, an anthropomorphic rat who is interested in cooking; Lou Romano as Alfredo Linguini, a young garbage boy who befriends Remy; Ian Holm as Skinner, the head chef of Auguste Gusteau's restaurant; Janeane Garofalo as Colette Tatou, a rôtisseur at Gusteau's restaurant and the staff's only female chef; Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, a restaurant critic; Brian Dennehy as Django, Remy's father and leader of his clan; Peter Sohn as Émile, Remy's older brother; and Brad Garrett as Auguste Gusteau, a recently deceased chef.

The development of Ratatouille began in 2000 when Pinkava wrote the original concepts of the film. In 2005, following Pinkava's departure from Pixar, Bird was approached to direct the film and revise the story. Bird and some of the film's crew members also visited Paris for inspiration. To create the food animation used in the film, the crew consulted chefs from both France and the United States. Lewis interned at Thomas Keller's The French Laundry restaurant, where Keller developed the confit byaldi, a dish used in the film. Michael Giacchino composed the Paris-inspired music for the film.

Ratatouille premiered on June 22, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California, with its general release June 29, 2007, in the United States. The film grossed $623.7 million and received widespread critical acclaim for its screenplay, animation, voice performances, and Michael Giacchino's score. It also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for several more, including Best Original Screenplay. Ratatouille was later voted one of the 100 greatest motion pictures of the 21st century by a 2016 poll of international critics conducted by the BBC.

Plot

Remy, a young rat with a perfect sense of taste and smell, dreams of becoming a chef like his idol, the late Auguste Gusteau. However, the rest of his colony, including his brother Émile and his father the clan leader Django, are interested in food only for sustenance. The rats live in the attic of an elderly woman's house. One day, while scavenging the house for ingredients, Remy and Émile accidentally reveal the colony to the woman. The rats are forced to flee, and Remy is separated from the others. He goes down the drain and encouraged by an imaginary Gusteau, eventually finds himself above the kitchen of Gusteau's Restaurant in Paris.

When Remy notices the restaurant's garbage boy, Alfredo Linguini, attempting to fix a soup he ruined, he jumps in and fixes Linguini's mistakes. Linguini catches Remy in the act, but does not reveal him to Skinner, Gusteau's former sous-chef and the new owner of the restaurant. Skinner confronts Linguini for tampering with the soup, but when the soup is accidentally served and proves to be a success, Colette Tatou, the restaurant's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini so as to uphold Gusteau's motto, "Anyone Can Cook." However, Skinner demands that Linguini replicate the soup to keep his job. Skinner spots Remy trying to escape and orders Linguini to take him outside and kill him. Once they're alone, Linguini discovers that Remy can understand him, and he convinces Remy to help him cook at Gusteau's.

The two learn that Remy can guide Linguini's movements like a marionette by pulling on his hair while hiding under his toque. Together they are able to reproduce the soup and continue cooking at Gusteau's. Colette begins Linguini's training in the kitchen, begrudgingly at first, but comes to appreciate someone heeding her professional advice. Remy reunites with Émile and the clan, but while Django tries to convince Remy that it is impossible to change humans' disdainful nature towards rats, Remy affirms that "change is nature."

Skinner learns through a letter from Linguini's late mother that Linguini is Gusteau's illegitimate son and the rightful owner of the restaurant. When Remy discovers the letter in Skinner's office, Skinner chases Remy around Paris to retrieve it, but Remy gives it to Linguini, who forces Skinner out. The restaurant thrives as Remy's recipes become popular; Linguini's life improves and he develops a romantic relationship with Colette.

Meanwhile, Anton Ego, a food critic whose negative review of the restaurant indirectly led to Gusteau's death, learns of its rising success and announces he will dine at the restaurant. After Linguini takes credit for Remy's cooking, he and Remy have a falling out. Pressured by Émile and his own frustration, Remy hastily leads his clan to raid the restaurant's pantries for food. Linguini arrives mid-raid to apologize, but upon discovering the raid, furiously drives all of the rats out, Remy included.

The next day, Remy is captured by Skinner, but is promptly freed by Django and Émile. Linguini reconciles with Remy and reveals the truth to his staff, who all walk out, feeling deceived and betrayed. However, after being reminded of Gusteau's motto, Colette returns to help. Impressed by Remy's determination, Django and the clan offer to help, cooking under Remy's direction while Linguini waits tables. When Skinner and a health inspector attempt to interfere, they are bound and gagged. Remy creates a variation of ratatouille which reminds Ego of his mother's cooking. Astounded by the dish, Ego asks to meet the chef, but is told he must wait until the restaurant is empty. Upon being introduced to Remy, Ego is stunned. However, he writes a glowing review that states that he has come to understand Gusteau's motto, and describes Remy—without revealing that he is a rat—as "nothing less than the finest chef in France."

Eventually, Skinner and the health inspector are released, and the restaurant is shut down, stripping Ego of his job and his credibility. However, Remy, Linguini and Colette open a bistro, La Ratatouille, to continue Gusteau's legacy, which Ego invests in and frequently visits. The rat colony settles into the bistro's attic as their new home.

Production

Jan Pinkava came up with the concept in 2000, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline, but he was never formally named the director of the film. By 2004, Pixar added Bob Peterson as a co-director and he was given exclusive control of the story. Lacking confidence in the story development, Pixar management turned to The Incredibles director Brad Bird to direct the film, taking over Pinkava's role in 2005 while Peterson left the film to work on Up. Bird was attracted to the film because of the outlandishness of the concept and the conflict that drove it: that rats feared kitchens, yet a rat wanted to work in one. Bird was also delighted that the film could be made a highly physical comedy, with the character of Linguini providing endless fun for the animators. Bird rewrote the story, with a change in emphasis. He killed off Gusteau, gave larger roles to Skinner and Colette, and also changed the appearance of the rats to be less anthropomorphic.

Because Ratatouille is intended to be a romantic, lush vision of Paris, giving it an identity distinct from the studio's previous films, director Brad Bird, producer Brad Lewis and some of the crew spent a week in the city to properly understand its environment, taking a motorcycle tour and eating at five top restaurants. Ian Holm was cast as the character since Bird saw him on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There are also many water-based sequences in the film, one of which is set in the sewers and is more complex than the blue whale scene in Finding Nemo. One scene has Linguini wet after jumping into the Seine to fetch Remy. A Pixar employee (Shade/Paint department coordinator Kesten Migdal) jumped into Pixar's swimming pool wearing a chef's uniform and apron to see which parts of the suit stuck to his body and which became translucent from water absorption.

A challenge for the filmmakers was creating computer-generated images of food that would appear delicious. Gourmet chefs in both the U.S. and France were consulted, and animators attended cooking classes at San Francisco-area culinary schools to understand the workings of a commercial kitchen. Sets/Layout department manager Michael Warch, a culinary-academy-trained professional chef before working at Pixar, helped teach and consult animators as they worked. He also prepared dishes used by the Art, Shade/Paint, Effects and Sets Modeling departments. Renowned chef Thomas Keller allowed producer Brad Lewis to intern in his French Laundry kitchen. For the film's climax, Keller designed a fancy, layered version of the title dish for the rat characters to cook, which he called "confit byaldi" in honour of the original Turkish name. The same sub-surface light scattering technique that was used on the skin in The Incredibles was used on fruits and vegetables, while new programs gave an organic texture and movement to the food. Completing the illusion were music, dialogue, and abstract imagery representing the characters' mental sensations while appreciating food. The visual flavour metaphors were created by animator Michel Gagné inspired by the work of Oscar Fischinger and Norman McLaren. To create a realistic compost pile, the Art Department photographed fifteen different kinds of produce, such as apples, berries, bananas, mushrooms, oranges, broccoli, and lettuce, in the process of rotting.

The cast members strove to make their French accents authentic yet understandable. John Ratzenberger notes that he often segued into an Italian accent. According to Pixar designer Jason Deamer, "Most of the characters were designed while Jan Pinkava was still directing… He has a real eye for sculpture." According to Pinkava, the critic Anton Ego was designed to resemble a vulture. To save time, human characters were designed and animated without toes.

Rat expert Debbie Ducommun (a.k.a. the "Rat Lady") was consulted on rat habits and characteristics. Along with Ducommun's insight a vivarium containing pet rats sat in a hallway for more than a year so animators could study the movement of the animals' fur, noses, ears, paws, and tails as they ran.

Promotional material for Intel credits their platform for a 30 percent performance improvement in rendering software. They used Ratatouille in some of their marketing materials.

Soundtrack

Ratatouille is the soundtrack album to the 2007 Disney-Pixar film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. Ratatouille is the second Pixar film to be scored by Michael Giacchino after The Incredibles. It was also the second Pixar film not to be scored by Randy Newman or Thomas Newman. Giacchino had written two themes for Remy, one about him with the rat colony and the other about his hopes and dreams. He also wrote a buddy theme for both Remy and Linguini that plays when they are together. In addition to the score, Giacchino wrote the main theme song, "Le Festin", about Remy and his dream to be a chef. French artist Camille (who was 29 at the time of the film’s release) was hired to perform "Le Festin" after Giacchino listened to her music and realized she was perfect for the song; as a result, the song is sung in French in almost all versions of the film.

The music for Ratatouille gave Giacchino his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score as well as his first Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album. Giacchino returned to Pixar to score their 2009 blockbuster Up.

Release/Reception/Box Office

Ratatouille was originally going to be released on June 9, 2006; however, on December 8, 2004, the date was changed to June 29, 2007. This happened because Disney/Pixar changed the release date of Cars from November 4, 2005 to June 9, 2006, thus pushing Ratatouille to June 29, 2007.

Ratatouille's world premiere was on June 22, 2007, at Los Angeles' Kodak Theatre. The commercial release was one week later, with the short film Lifted preceding Ratatouille in theatres. Earlier in the year, it had received an Academy Award nomination. A test screening of the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theatre in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 16, 2007, at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced an upcoming theatrical re-release of the film in 3D at the Disney shareholders meeting in March 2014.

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: "Fast-paced and stunningly animated, Ratatouille adds another delightfully entertaining entry—and a rather unlikely hero—to the Pixar canon." On Metacritic, it has weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 37 reviews, the highest of any Pixar film and the twenty-first highest film rating on the site. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.

A. O. Scott of The New York Times called Ratatouille "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 of Time 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 the Chicago Reader gave the film a positive review, saying "Brad Bird's second collaboration with Pixar is more ambitious and meditative than his Oscar-winning The Incredibles." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying "Ratatouille has the Pixar technical magic without, somehow, the full Pixar flavour. It's Brad Bird's genial dessert, not so much incredible as merely sweetly edible." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "What makes Ratatouille 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 complement to a delicious meal." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three out of four stars, saying "For parents looking to spend time in a theatre with their kids or adults who want something lighter and less testosterone-oriented than the usual summer fare, Ratatouille offers a savoury main course." Christy Lemire of the Associated 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."[citation needed] Justin Chang of Variety 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 soupcon of Gallic sophistication—to produce a warm and irresistible concoction."

Michael Phillips of the Chicago 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 of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars, saying "So many computer-animated movies are brash, loud and popping with pop-culture comedy, but Ratatouille has the warm glow of a favourite book. The characters are more than the sum of their gigabyte-consuming parts – they feel handcrafted." Roger Moore of the Orlando 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 of LA Weekly gave the film a positive review, saying "Bird has taken the raw ingredients of an anthropomorphic-animal kiddie matinee and whipped them into a heady brew about nothing less than the principles of artistic creation." Colin Covert of the Star 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 of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "With Ratatouille, Bird once again delivers not just a great, witty story, but dazzling visuals as well." Bill Muller of The Arizona Republic gave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Like the burbling soup that plays a key part in Ratatouille, the movie is a delectable blend of ingredients that tickles the palette and leaves you hungry for more."

Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Ratatouille is the most straightforward and formulaic picture to date from Pixar Animation Studios, but it is also among the most enchanting and touching." Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The Pixar magic continues with Brad Bird's Ratatouille, a gorgeous, wonderfully inventive computer-animated comedy." Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Fresh family fun. Although there are those slightly noxious images of rodents scampering around a kitchen, the movie doesn't stoop to kid-pandering jokes based on backtalk and bodily gases." David Ansen of Newsweek gave the film a positive review, saying "A film as rich as a sauce béarnaise, as refreshing as a raspberry sorbet, and a lot less predictable than the damn food metaphors and adjectives all us critics will churn out to describe it. OK, one more and then I'll be done: it's yummy." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Ratatouille never overwhelms, even though it's stocked with action, romance, historical content, family drama and serious statements about the creation of art." Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "From the moment Remy enters, crashing, to the final happy fadeout, Ratatouille parades the brio and depth that set Pixar apart from and above other animation studios." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, saying "A lot of animated movies have inspired sequels, notably Shrek, but Brad Bird's Ratatouille is the first one that made me positively desire one." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Had Bird gone the safe route, he would have robbed us of a great new cartoon figure in Remy, who like the rest of the film is rendered with animation that is at once fanciful and life-like. It's also my pick for Pixar's best."

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave the film a positive review, saying "The characters are irresistible, the animation is astonishing and the film, a fantasy version of a foodie rhapsody, sustains a level of joyous invention that hasn't been seen in family entertainment since The Incredibles." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Brad Bird's Ratatouille is so audacious you have to fall in love with its unlikely hero." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Ratatouille is delicious fun sure to be savoured by audiences of all ages for its sumptuous visuals, clever wit and irresistibly inspiring tale." Miriam Di Nunzio of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Ratatouille will make you wonder why animation needs to hide behind the mantle of 'it's for children, but grownups will like it, too.' This one's for Mom and Dad, and yep, the kids will like it, too." Michael Booth of The Denver Post gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Writer and director Brad Bird keeps Ratatouille moving without resorting to the cute animal jokes or pop-culture wisecracking that ruined so many other recent animated films." Tom Long of The Detroit News gave the film an A, saying "Ratatouille has the technical genius, emotional core and storytelling audacity to lift it into the ranks of the best Pixar films, the crème de la crème of modern animation." Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "No sketchy backgrounds here—Ratatouille's scenes feel like deep-focus camera shots. The textures, from the gleam of copper pans to the cobblestone streets, are almost palpable." Desson Thomson of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review, saying "Ratatouille doesn't centre on the over-familiar surfaces of contemporary life. It harks back to Disney's older era when cartoons seemed part of a more elegant world with less edgy characters."

In its opening weekend in North America, Ratatouille opened in 3,940 theatres and debuted at number one with $47 million, the lowest Pixar opening since A Bug's Life. In France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film and dethroned Titanic for the most consecutive weeks at the top of the box office. In the United Kingdom, the film debuted at number one with sales over £4 million. The film has grossed $206.4 million in the United States and Canada and a total of $623.7 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing Pixar film.

Budget $150 million

Box office $623.7 million

My Review

This film is exactly what Pixar needed to steal the thunder from Dreamworks' latest release, Shrek 3. In many ways, this is very ironic, as one of Pixar's best films, Monsters Inc, was overwhelmed when it was released due to the first Shrek's success. I honestly think if Shrek hadn't been such a wonderful movie, people would have noticed that Monsters Inc. was an exceptional film. Now, Pixar gets some payback with one of their best, Ratatouille.

Actually, Ratatouille is probably Pixar's best film, though I did enjoy Toy Story 2 and The Incredibles. The reason I was so overwhelmed by this story was that it was so highly original and creative--I simply cannot compare the plot to any other film (something you can do with The Incredibles and Toy Story 2). Plus, after years of making CG movies, the look is taken to a whole new level in this film--it just looks breath-taking.

Now I need to point out that Ratatouille is not as much a kid's movie as its predecessors. Sure, it can be enjoyed by the kids, but the story line is a tad darker and covers an adult concept (illegitimate birth) and includes a swear word (though not one the really "bad" ones, you can be sure). Also, while the rats are kind of cute (and a marketer's dream), most of the rest of the story isn't and there are no catchy kid's tunes. No, instead this film is aimed more at teens and adults in its sensibilities--something that really helped make Shrek a financial gold mine and cursed Monsters Inc, to be seen (incorrectly) as "just a kid's movie".

Amazing animation, excellent writing and, the rarest of rare, a completely original and captivating plot make this a winner and film that will be long remembered. I really loved Ratatouille, it was original, sweet and lots of fun. While not as laugh-out-loud funny as the two Toy Story films, it is definitely one of the better Pixars, and a complete delight from start to finish. Honestly, the whole family will find it just as delightful as I did, and the film has a great message "a great cook can come from anywhere", summed up perfectly by Anton Ego. The story was highly original, if a little slow at the beginning, and deliciously engaging up to the last minute, and the animation was just spellbinding. The script, while not as irreverent as Toy Story, was very entertaining and touching, and I loved the characters- everyone was likable and unique, but what made Remy stand out for me was because he was so adorable, and his voice actor did a delightful job voicing him. The voice cast were very talented, and all did a superb job, especially Peter O'Toole in a marvellous turn as the "nasty" food critic Anton Ego. All in all, a brilliant film, that fully succeeded in what it promised to do, to make us want to cook. 8.7/10

{I love how this French song has become a meme}