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Ratatouille (film)
Encyclopedia
Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film
produced by Pixar Animation Studios
and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird
, who took over from Jan Pinkava
in 2005. The title refers to a French dish (Ratatouille
) which is served in the film, and is also a play on words about the species of the main character. The film stars the voices of Patton Oswalt
as Remy, a rat who is interested in cooking; Lou Romano
as Linguini, a young garbage boy who befriends Remy; Ian Holm
as Skinner, the head chef of Auguste Gusteau's restaurant; Janeane Garofalo
as Colette, a rôtisseur at Gusteau's restaurant; Peter O'Toole
as Anton Ego, a restaurant critic; Brian Dennehy
as Django, Remy's father and leader of his clan; Peter Sohn
as Emile, Remy's brother; Brad Garrett
as Auguste Gusteau, a recently deceased chef; and Will Arnett
as Horst, the sous-chef at Gusteau's restaurant.
The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy. Ratatouille was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States, to both critical acclaim and box office success, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
, among other honors.
gifted with some highly developed senses of taste and smell. Inspired by his idol, the recently deceased chef Auguste Gusteau, Remy's dream is to be a chef. However, he is tasked by his dad to sniff out rat poison for his clan. When the clan is forced to abandon its home, Remy is separated and ends up in the sewers of Paris. Remy has hallucinations of Gusteau and takes his advice before finding himself at the skylight overlooking the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant.
As Remy watches, Alfredo Linguini, a son of Gusteau's "old flame," is hired as a garbage boy by Skinner, the restaurant's current owner and Gusteau's former sous-chef. When Linguini spills a pot of soup and attempts to recreate it, Remy inadvertently falls into the kitchen and corrects the soup. He is caught by Linguini at the same time that Skinner catches Linguini near the soup. Linguini catches Remy and misdirects the chef's attention from him, whilst taking arguments from the chef. While arguing, the soup is served and found to be a success. Colette Tatou, the staff's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini, who is misattributed with the soup's creation. Linguini is told to get rid of the rat discreetly, but when he discovers Remy's comprehension and intelligence, he takes Remy home, realizing he is the "little chef" behind the soup.
Remy and Linguini find a means to overcome the inability to communicate, as Remy can control Linguini like a marionette
by pulling on his hair. Safely hidden under a toque blanche, Remy helps Linguini demonstrate his cooking skills to Skinner. At that, Skinner assigns Colette to train their new cook into the profession and the restaurant's practices. Although she is initially intimidating owing to the struggles she had with the profession's hostility to female entrants, Colette soon warms up to her protege as he respectfully learns under her.
Suspicious of Linguini's newfound talents, Skinner learns that the boy is Gusteau's son and proper heir to the restaurant; this would foil Skinner's plan to use Gusteau's name for marketing microwave dinners. Remy discovers Skinner's evidence and, after eluding Skinner, brings them to Linguini, who removes Skinner. The restaurant continues to thrive, and Linguini and Colette develop a budding romance, leaving Remy feeling left out. One night, Remy finds his brother Emile searching for food behind the restaurant, and is brought back to the pack to be reunited. Despite his father Django's objections, Remy returns to help Linguini.
Restaurant critic Anton Ego, whose previous review cost Gusteau's one of its star ratings
(and ultimately the chef's life) announces he will be re-reviewing the restaurant the following evening. After an argument between Remy and Linguini, Remy leads a raid on the restaurant's pantries. Linguini catches them and throws them out. Skinner, who is now aware of Remy's gourmet skills, captures Remy in an attempt of using him to create a new line of frozen foods for him, but Emile, witnessing this event, rushes home to get Django. Remy is freed by Django and Emile, and he returns to the restaurant only to find Linguini had experienced a real problem. Everyone was relying on him to cook the food he did before, but without Remy he could cook nothing. Linguini, spotting the rat, apologizes to him, and shows the rat to the rest of the staff. The staff then walks out because they believe Linguini is insane. Colette later returns after recalling Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook" in a local book shop.
As the restaurant fills up with anxious diners, Django arrives with the rest of the pack, offering to help after seeing his son's determination. Remy directs the rats to cook for the patrons while Linguini runs the front of the house. Unfortunately, the health inspector bursts in, ready to inspect but finds a bunch of rats. Some rats take care of him (they have him bound and gagged and thrown into the giant pantry) and the others get to work cooking. For Anton, Remy and Colette create a variation of ratatouille
which brings back to Anton memories of his mother's cooking. Skinner, after tasting the same dish, bursts into the kitchen in a fit of pique, discovers the rats' involvement in the cooking, and is summarily thrown in the pantry along with the health inspector that had arrived earlier in the evening. After dining, Anton requests to see the chef; Linguini and Colette wait until the rest of the diners have left to introduce Remy and the rats to Anton. Anton writes a self-castigating
and glowing review for the newspaper the next day, stating that Gusteau's chef is "nothing less than the finest chef in France."
Despite the positive review, Gusteau's is closed down due to the rodent infestation, and Anton loses credit as a critic. However, Anton becomes an investor and eagerly helps fund a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille", created by Linguini, Remy and Colette, featuring a kitchen designed for Remy to work in, and dining areas for both humans and rats alike.
came up with the concept and directed the film from 2001, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline. Lacking confidence in Pinkava's story development, Pixar management replaced him with Bird in 2005. 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 previous Pixar 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. 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 Dept 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 food animations 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 Dept Manager Michael Warch, a culinary-academy trained professional chef prior to 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 honor of the original Turkish name
. The same sub-surface light scattering
technique that was used on 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 flavor metaphor
s 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, mushroom
s, oranges, broccoli
, and lettuce, in the process of rotting.
. Rat expert Debbie Ducommun (a.k.a. the "Rat Lady") was consulted on rat habit
s and characteristics. 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, paw
s, and tail
s as they ran. The cast members strove to make their French accents authentic yet understandable. John Ratzenberger
notes that he often segued into an Italian accent.
To save time, human characters were designed and animated without toes. Despite this, the movie had such high design values that the human characters were even given burn marks on their forearms, as if they had received them from the kitchen stoves.
reteamed with Michael Giacchino
on the score for Ratatouille since they got along well during the scoring of The Incredibles
. Giacchino had written two themes for Remy, one about his thief self and the other about his hopes and dreams. He also wrote a buddy theme for both Remy and Linguini that plays when they're together. In addition to the score, Giacchino wrote the main theme song, "Le Festin", about Remy and his wishes to be a chef. Camille 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 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
.
preceding Ratatouille in theaters.
A special pre-release of the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona
on June 16, 2007 at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback.
. It depicts an original scene where Remy is caught on the cheese trolley in the restaurant's dining area sampling the cheese and barely escaping the establishment, intercut with separate scenes of the rat explaining directly to the audience why he is taking such risks. Similar to most of Pixar's teaser trailers, the scene was not present in the final film release.
A second trailer was released on March 23, 2007. The Ratatouille Big Cheese Tour began on May 11, 2007, with cooking demonstrations and a film preview. Voice actor Lou Romano attended the San Francisco leg of the tour for autograph signings.
Disney and Pixar were working to bring a French-produced Ratatouille-branded wine to Costco
stores in August 2007, but abandoned plans because of complaints from the California Wine Institute, citing standards in labeling that restrict the use of cartoon characters to avoid attracting under-age drinkers.
In the United Kingdom, in place of releasing a theatrical trailer, a theatrical commercial featuring Remy and Emile was released in cinemas prior to its release to discourage obtaining pirated films. Also in the United Kingdom, the main characters were used for a theatrical commercial for the Nissan Note
, with Remy and Emile watching an original commercial for it made for the "Surprisingly Spacious" ad campaign and also parodying it respectively.
Disney/Pixar were concerned that audiences, particularly children, would not be familiar with the word "ratatouille" and its pronunciation. The title was therefore also spelt phonetically within trailers and on posters. For similar reasons, in the American release of the film, on-screen text in French was printed in English, such as the title of Gusteau's cookbook and the sign telling kitchen staff to wash their hands, though in the British English release, these are rendered in French. In Canada, the film was released theatrically with text in English, but on DVD, the majority of the text (including Gusteau's will) was in French.
and DVD in North America on November 6, 2007. One of the special features on the disc is a new animated short film featuring Remy and Emile entitled Your Friend the Rat
, in which the two rats attempt to entreat the (human) viewer to welcome rats as their friends, demonstrating the benefits and misconceptions of rats towards humanity through several historical examples. The eleven minute short uses 3D animation, 2D animation, live action and even stop motion animation, a first for Pixar.
The disc also includes a CG short entitled Lifted. This is the short that aired before the film during its theatrical run. It depicts an adolescent extraterrestrial
attempting to abduct a sleeping human. Throughout the sequence, he is graded by an adult extraterrestrial in a manner reminiscent of a driver's licensing
exam road test. The entire short contains no dialogue (which is typical of Pixar Shorts not based on existing properties). Also included among the special features deleted scenes, a featurette featuring Brad Bird discussing filmmaking and Chef Thomas Keller
discussing culinary creativity entitled "Fine Food and Film", and four easter eggs. Although the Region 1 Blu-ray edition has a French audio track, the Region 1 DVD does not, except for some copies marked as for sale only in Canada.
It was released in DVD on November 6, 2007, and earned 4,919,574 units (equivalent to $73,744,414) on its first week (Nov. 6–11, 2007) during which it topped the DVD charts. In total it sold 12,531,266 units ($189,212,532) becoming the second best-selling animated DVD of 2007, both in terms of units sold and sales revenue, behind Happy Feet
.
Pixar opening since A Bug's Life
. However, in France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film. In the UK, the film debuted at No.1 with sales over £4million. The film has grossed $206,445,654 in the United States and Canada and a total of $623,722,818 worldwide, making it the fifth highest grossing Disney
·Pixar
film now, just behind Toy Story 3
, Finding Nemo
, Up
and The Incredibles
.
aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
, Ratatouille has a 96% rating from a sample of 205 reviews, while it has a Metacritic
score of 96 based on 37 reviews indicating "universal acclaim", which in June 2009 was the seventh-highest of all scores on the website.
Ratatouille was nominated for five Oscars
including Best Animated Feature Film
, which it won. At the time, the film held the record for the greatest number of Oscar nominations for a computer animated feature film, breaking the previous record held by Monsters, Inc.
, Finding Nemo
and The Incredibles
at four nominations, but tied with Aladdin for any animated film. In 2008, WALL-E
surpassed that record with 6 nominations. Now, Ratatouille is tied with Up
for animated film with the second greatest number of Oscar nominations. Beauty and the Beast
still holds the record for most Oscar nominations (also 6) for a traditional hand-drawn animated film.
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. Richard Roeper gave the film a very positive review saying it's "a very interesting film, it's working on a very different level." Both Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
(giving the movie a perfect four stars) and Jeffrey Lyons
from NBC
's Reel Talk
said in their reviews that they loved the film so much, they are hoping for a sequel. Reaction to the film in France was also extremely positive. Thomas Sotinel, film critic at the daily newspaper Le Monde
, hailed Ratatouille as "one of the greatest gastronomic films in the history of cinema". Several reviews noted that Anton Ego's critique at the end of the movie could be taken, and at least in one case was taken, such as Roger Moore, who gave the film 3/5 stars, as "a slap on the wrist" for professional critics.
, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Film
, which it lost to Atonement
, The Bourne Ultimatum
and Juno
, respectively, winning only the last one. Furthermore Ratatouille was nominated for 13 Annie Awards including twice in the Best Animated Effects, where it lost to Surf's Up
, and three times in the Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, and Patton Oswalt, where Ian Holm won the nomination. It won the Best Animated Feature Award from multiple associations including the Chicago Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the Annie Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics
, the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA)
, and the Golden Globes.
described Ratatoing
, a 2007 Brazil
ian computer graphics cartoon by company Vídeo Brinquedo
, as a "ripoff
" of Ratatouille. Marco Aurélio Canônico of Folha de S. Paulo
described Ratatoing as a derivative of Ratatouille. Canônico discussed whether lawsuits from Pixar would appear. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture
posted Marco Aurélio Canônico's article on its website. In the end, Pixar reportedly did not seek legal action.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
produced by Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
, who took over from Jan Pinkava
Jan Pinkava
Dr. Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Ph.D. is the director and writer of the Pixar Oscar-winning 1997 short film Geri's Game and the originator and co-director of Pixar's Oscar-winning 2007 film Ratatouille....
in 2005. The title refers to a French dish (Ratatouille
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.- Origin :...
) which is served in the film, and is also a play on words about the species of the main character. The film stars the voices of Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
as Remy, a rat who is interested in cooking; Lou Romano
Lou Romano
Lou Romano is an animation production artist and voice actor. He did design work on Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles, and he provided the voices of Bernie Kropp in The Incredibles, Snotrod in Cars and Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille.Romano had an interest in drawing and painting at an early age...
as Linguini, a young garbage boy who befriends Remy; Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as Skinner, the head chef of Auguste Gusteau's restaurant; Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
as Colette, a rôtisseur at Gusteau's restaurant; Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
as Anton Ego, a restaurant critic; Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
as Django, Remy's father and leader of his clan; Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn is an American animator, voice actor and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios.,Sohn started his career with Pixar in the art and story departments for Finding Nemo. He also worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E. Sohn also performed the voice of Emile in Ratatouille...
as Emile, Remy's brother; Brad Garrett
Brad Garrett
Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
as Auguste Gusteau, a recently deceased chef; and Will Arnett
Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
as Horst, the sous-chef at Gusteau's restaurant.
The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy. Ratatouille was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States, to both critical acclaim and box office success, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, among other honors.
Plot
Remy is a teenaged ratBrown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
gifted with some highly developed senses of taste and smell. Inspired by his idol, the recently deceased chef Auguste Gusteau, Remy's dream is to be a chef. However, he is tasked by his dad to sniff out rat poison for his clan. When the clan is forced to abandon its home, Remy is separated and ends up in the sewers of Paris. Remy has hallucinations of Gusteau and takes his advice before finding himself at the skylight overlooking the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant.
As Remy watches, Alfredo Linguini, a son of Gusteau's "old flame," is hired as a garbage boy by Skinner, the restaurant's current owner and Gusteau's former sous-chef. When Linguini spills a pot of soup and attempts to recreate it, Remy inadvertently falls into the kitchen and corrects the soup. He is caught by Linguini at the same time that Skinner catches Linguini near the soup. Linguini catches Remy and misdirects the chef's attention from him, whilst taking arguments from the chef. While arguing, the soup is served and found to be a success. Colette Tatou, the staff's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini, who is misattributed with the soup's creation. Linguini is told to get rid of the rat discreetly, but when he discovers Remy's comprehension and intelligence, he takes Remy home, realizing he is the "little chef" behind the soup.
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
by pulling on his hair. Safely hidden under a toque blanche, Remy helps Linguini demonstrate his cooking skills to Skinner. At that, Skinner assigns Colette to train their new cook into the profession and the restaurant's practices. Although she is initially intimidating owing to the struggles she had with the profession's hostility to female entrants, Colette soon warms up to her protege as he respectfully learns under her.
Suspicious of Linguini's newfound talents, Skinner learns that the boy is Gusteau's son and proper heir to the restaurant; this would foil Skinner's plan to use Gusteau's name for marketing microwave dinners. Remy discovers Skinner's evidence and, after eluding Skinner, brings them to Linguini, who removes Skinner. The restaurant continues to thrive, and Linguini and Colette develop a budding romance, leaving Remy feeling left out. One night, Remy finds his brother Emile searching for food behind the restaurant, and is brought back to the pack to be reunited. Despite his father Django's objections, Remy returns to help Linguini.
Restaurant critic Anton Ego, whose previous review cost Gusteau's one of its star ratings
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
(and ultimately the chef's life) announces he will be re-reviewing the restaurant the following evening. After an argument between Remy and Linguini, Remy leads a raid on the restaurant's pantries. Linguini catches them and throws them out. Skinner, who is now aware of Remy's gourmet skills, captures Remy in an attempt of using him to create a new line of frozen foods for him, but Emile, witnessing this event, rushes home to get Django. Remy is freed by Django and Emile, and he returns to the restaurant only to find Linguini had experienced a real problem. Everyone was relying on him to cook the food he did before, but without Remy he could cook nothing. Linguini, spotting the rat, apologizes to him, and shows the rat to the rest of the staff. The staff then walks out because they believe Linguini is insane. Colette later returns after recalling Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook" in a local book shop.
As the restaurant fills up with anxious diners, Django arrives with the rest of the pack, offering to help after seeing his son's determination. Remy directs the rats to cook for the patrons while Linguini runs the front of the house. Unfortunately, the health inspector bursts in, ready to inspect but finds a bunch of rats. Some rats take care of him (they have him bound and gagged and thrown into the giant pantry) and the others get to work cooking. For Anton, Remy and Colette create a variation of ratatouille
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.- Origin :...
which brings back to Anton memories of his mother's cooking. Skinner, after tasting the same dish, bursts into the kitchen in a fit of pique, discovers the rats' involvement in the cooking, and is summarily thrown in the pantry along with the health inspector that had arrived earlier in the evening. After dining, Anton requests to see the chef; Linguini and Colette wait until the rest of the diners have left to introduce Remy and the rats to Anton. Anton writes a self-castigating
Castigation
Castigation , chastisement , or chiding is the infliction of severe punishment. One who administers a castigation is a castigator or chastiser....
and glowing review for the newspaper the next day, stating that Gusteau's chef is "nothing less than the finest chef in France."
Despite the positive review, Gusteau's is closed down due to the rodent infestation, and Anton loses credit as a critic. However, Anton becomes an investor and eagerly helps fund a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille", created by Linguini, Remy and Colette, featuring a kitchen designed for Remy to work in, and dining areas for both humans and rats alike.
Main characters
- Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
as Remy, a rat. He strives to serve a grander purpose in life. Director Brad Bird chose Oswalt to voice after hearing his food-related comedy routine. Remy was named after director Brad Bird's dog, an American Hairless TerrierAmerican Hairless TerrierThe American Hairless Terrier is a breed of dog that was formerly considered a variant of Rat Terrier. As of January 1, 2004, the United Kennel Club deemed the AHT a separate terrier breed...
. - Lou RomanoLou RomanoLou Romano is an animation production artist and voice actor. He did design work on Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles, and he provided the voices of Bernie Kropp in The Incredibles, Snotrod in Cars and Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille.Romano had an interest in drawing and painting at an early age...
as Alfredo Linguini, the son of Auguste Gusteau. He is hired as the restaurant's kitchen cleaner, but befriends Remy in the process. - Janeane GarofaloJaneane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
as Colette Tatou, Gusteau's rôtisseur. She is assigned to tutor Linguini in cooking. - Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as Skinner, a diminutive chef and owner of Auguste Gusteau's restaurant. He plans to use Gusteau's name to market a line of microwaveable meals. Skinner's behaviour, diminutive size, and body languageBody languageBody language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....
are loosely based on Louis de FunèsLouis de FunèsLouis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was a very popular French actor who is one of the giants of French comedy alongside André Bourvil and Fernandel...
. - Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
as Anton Ego, a restaurant critic. He openly dislikes Auguste Gusteau's methods and opinions. Ego's appearance was modeled after Louis JouvetLouis JouvetLouis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
. - Brad GarrettBrad GarrettBradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
as Auguste Gusteau (whose first name and last name are anagramAnagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
s of each other). The once greatest chef in France until his death by heartbreak caused by Anton Ego's negative review of his restaurant. Many reviewers believe that Gusteau is inspired by real-life chef Bernard LoiseauBernard LoiseauBernard Loiseau was a French chef. He committed suicide by firearm in 2003 when newspaper reports hinted that his restaurant might lose its 3-star status.-Early life:...
, who committed suicide after media speculation that his flagship restaurant, La Côte d'Or, was going to be downgraded from three Michelin starsMichelin GuideThe Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
to two. La Côte d'Or was one of the restaurants visited by Brad Bird and others in France. - Brian DennehyBrian DennehyBrian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
as Django, the father of Remy and Emile. His name is never mentioned in the film. Dennehy, during the 1980s, had previously worked with Disney on films Never Cry WolfNever Cry Wolf (film)Never Cry Wolf is a 1983 American drama film directed by Carroll Ballard. The film is an adaption of Farley Mowat's 1963 autobiography of the same name and stars Charles Martin Smith as a government biologist sent into the wilderness to study the caribou population, whose decline is believed to be...
and The Man from Snowy River II. - Peter SohnPeter SohnPeter Sohn is an American animator, voice actor and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios.,Sohn started his career with Pixar in the art and story departments for Finding Nemo. He also worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E. Sohn also performed the voice of Emile in Ratatouille...
as Emile, Remy's older brother, who does not share his brother's passion for cooking and eats whatever he could find out of the garbage.
Other characters
- Will ArnettWill ArnettWilliam Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
as Horst, Skinner's German sous chef. - Julius Callahan as Lalo, Gusteau's saucierSaucierA Saucier is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen, which is still used in large commercial kitchens such as some restaurants. It can be translated into English as sauce cook. This position prepares sauces, stews and hot hors d'œuvres and sautés food to order...
and poissonnier. Callahan also voices François, Skinner's advertising executive. - James RemarJames RemarJames Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...
as Larousse, Gusteau's garde mangerGarde mangerGarde manger , meaning "keep to eat" refers to a cool, well-ventilated area where cold dishes are prepared and other foods are stored under refrigeration...
. - John RatzenbergerJohn RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
as Mustafa, Gusteau's head waiter. - Teddy NewtonTeddy NewtonTeddy Newton is an artist at Pixar Animation Studios. He has worked as a storyboard artist for 2 Stupid Dogs, The Iron Giant, and Dexter's Laboratory....
as Talon Labarthe, Skinner's lawyer. Labarthe bears resemblance to French actor Jean RenoJean RenoJean Reno is a French actor. Working in French, English, Spanish and Italian, he has appeared not only in numerous successful Hollywood productions such as The Pink Panther, Godzilla, The Da Vinci Code, Mission: Impossible, Ronin and Couples Retreat, but also in European productions such as the...
. - Tony Fucile as Pompidou, Gusteau's patissier. Fucile also voices the health inspector.
- Jake SteinfeldJake SteinfeldJake Steinfeld is an American actor and fitness personality. He has a line of fitness equipment called "Body by Jake" and also once hosted a Body by Jake TV show. He also starred on a sitcom on the Family Channel called Big Brother Jake. In 1985, he played a small role in the Jeff Goldblum comedy...
as Git, a former lab rat and member of Django's colony. - Brad BirdBrad BirdPhillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
as Ambrister Minion, Anton Ego's butler. - Stéphane RouxStéphane RouxStéphane Roux is a French voice actor and animator for Disney. He has provided the voice of the narrator in Ratatouille among other voice talents.-Filmography:...
as the narrator of the cooking channel. - Thomas KellerThomas KellerThomas Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997...
as male dining patron. - Jen Herrmann as female dining patron.
Production
Jan PinkavaJan Pinkava
Dr. Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Ph.D. is the director and writer of the Pixar Oscar-winning 1997 short film Geri's Game and the originator and co-director of Pixar's Oscar-winning 2007 film Ratatouille....
came up with the concept and directed the film from 2001, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline. Lacking confidence in Pinkava's story development, Pixar management replaced him with Bird in 2005. 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
Physical comedy
Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.Physical comedy, whether conveyed by a pratfall , a silly face, or the action of walking into walls, is a common and rarely subtle form of 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 previous Pixar 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. 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
Blue Whale
The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At in length and or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed....
scene in Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
. One scene has Linguini wet after jumping into the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
to fetch Remy. A Pixar employee (Shade/Paint Dept 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.
Food design
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
culinary schools to understand the workings of a commercial kitchen. Sets/Layout Dept Manager Michael Warch, a culinary-academy trained professional chef prior to 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
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997...
allowed producer Brad Lewis to intern in his French Laundry
French Laundry
The French Laundry is a French restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. The chef and owner of the French Laundry is Thomas Keller....
kitchen. For the film's climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
, Keller designed a fancy, layered version of the title dish for the rat characters to cook, which he called "confit byaldi
Confit byaldi
Confit byaldi is a variation on the traditional French dish ratatouille by French chef Michel Guérard.-History:The name is a play on the Turkish dish "İmam bayıldı", which is more of a stuffed eggplant. The dish has appeared sporadically on menus in France and the United States ever since.The...
" in honor of the original Turkish name
Imam bayildi
Imam bayildi one of the most notable Turkish zeytinyağlı dishes, is braised eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes...
. The same sub-surface light scattering
Subsurface scattering
Subsurface scattering is a mechanism of light transport in which light penetrates the surface of a translucent object, is scattered by interacting with the material, and exits the surface at a different point...
technique that was used on skin in The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
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 flavor metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s were created by animator Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné is a Canadian cartoonist.-Film:Gagné studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College and worked for Sullivan Bluth Studios for six years, working on such films as An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Rock-A-Doodle, and A Troll in Central Park...
inspired by the work of Oscar Fischinger and Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...
.
To create a realistic compost pile, the Art Department photographed fifteen different kinds of produce, such as apples, berries, bananas, mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, oranges, broccoli
Broccoli
Broccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is used as a vegetable.-General:The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of , refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage"....
, and lettuce, in the process of rotting.
Character design
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." For example, according to Pinkava, the critic Anton Ego was designed to resemble a vultureVulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
. Rat expert Debbie Ducommun (a.k.a. the "Rat Lady") was consulted on rat habit
Habit (biology)
Habit, when used in the context of biology, refers to the instinctive actions of animals and the natural tendencies of plants.In zoology, this term most often refers to specific behavioral characteristics, even when directly related to physiology...
s and characteristics. A vivarium
Vivarium
A vivarium is a usually enclosed area for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research...
containing pet rats sat in a hallway for more than a year so animators could study the movement of the animals' fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
, noses, ears, paw
Paw
A paw is the soft foot of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails. A hard foot is called a hoof. Paws are used to pad feet for walking and increase friction.- Common characteristics :...
s, and tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...
s as they ran. The cast members strove to make their French accents authentic yet understandable. John Ratzenberger
John Ratzenberger
John Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
notes that he often segued into an Italian accent.
To save time, human characters were designed and animated without toes. Despite this, the movie had such high design values that the human characters were even given burn marks on their forearms, as if they had received them from the kitchen stoves.
Music
Brad BirdBrad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
reteamed with Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
on the score for Ratatouille since they got along well during the scoring of The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
. Giacchino had written two themes for Remy, one about his thief self and the other about his hopes and dreams. He also wrote a buddy theme for both Remy and Linguini that plays when they're together. In addition to the score, Giacchino wrote the main theme song, "Le Festin", about Remy and his wishes to be a chef. Camille 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 all versions of the film.
The music for Ratatouille gave Giacchino his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
as well as his first Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Score Soundtrack Album
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
. Giacchino returned to Pixar to score their 2009 blockbuster Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
.
Release
Ratatouilles world premiere was on June 22, 2007 at Los Angeles' Kodak Theater. The commercial release was one week later, with the Academy Award nominated short film LiftedLifted (film)
Lifted is a 2006 Pixar computer-animated short film directed by Gary Rydstrom. This is the first film directed by Rydstrom, a seven-time Academy Award winning sound editor and mixer....
preceding Ratatouille in theaters.
A special pre-release of the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
on June 16, 2007 at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback.
Marketing
The trailer for Ratatouille debuted with the release of its immediate predecessor, CarsCars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
. It depicts an original scene where Remy is caught on the cheese trolley in the restaurant's dining area sampling the cheese and barely escaping the establishment, intercut with separate scenes of the rat explaining directly to the audience why he is taking such risks. Similar to most of Pixar's teaser trailers, the scene was not present in the final film release.
A second trailer was released on March 23, 2007. The Ratatouille Big Cheese Tour began on May 11, 2007, with cooking demonstrations and a film preview. Voice actor Lou Romano attended the San Francisco leg of the tour for autograph signings.
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
stores in August 2007, but abandoned plans because of complaints from the California Wine Institute, citing standards in labeling that restrict the use of cartoon characters to avoid attracting under-age drinkers.
In the United Kingdom, in place of releasing a theatrical trailer, a theatrical commercial featuring Remy and Emile was released in cinemas prior to its release to discourage obtaining pirated films. Also in the United Kingdom, the main characters were used for a theatrical commercial for the Nissan Note
Nissan Note
The Nissan Note is a mini MPV produced by Nissan. The Japanese version has been on sale since 2004, although the European model went to sale during 2006. The United Kingdom was the first market to have the Note launch there, on 1 March...
, with Remy and Emile watching an original commercial for it made for the "Surprisingly Spacious" ad campaign and also parodying it respectively.
Disney/Pixar were concerned that audiences, particularly children, would not be familiar with the word "ratatouille" and its pronunciation. The title was therefore also spelt phonetically within trailers and on posters. For similar reasons, in the American release of the film, on-screen text in French was printed in English, such as the title of Gusteau's cookbook and the sign telling kitchen staff to wash their hands, though in the British English release, these are rendered in French. In Canada, the film was released theatrically with text in English, but on DVD, the majority of the text (including Gusteau's will) was in French.
Home media
Ratatouille was released on high-definition Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and DVD in North America on November 6, 2007. One of the special features on the disc is a new animated short film featuring Remy and Emile entitled Your Friend the Rat
Your Friend the Rat
Your Friend the Rat is Pixar's first short film to feature traditional animation. At 11 minutes, it is also the longest Pixar short to date. Along with 2D animation, the short also includes stop-motion animation, computer generated imagery and live action, much like the children's television...
, in which the two rats attempt to entreat the (human) viewer to welcome rats as their friends, demonstrating the benefits and misconceptions of rats towards humanity through several historical examples. The eleven minute short uses 3D animation, 2D animation, live action and even stop motion animation, a first for Pixar.
The disc also includes a CG short entitled Lifted. This is the short that aired before the film during its theatrical run. It depicts an adolescent extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
attempting to abduct a sleeping human. Throughout the sequence, he is graded by an adult extraterrestrial in a manner reminiscent of a driver's licensing
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
exam road test. The entire short contains no dialogue (which is typical of Pixar Shorts not based on existing properties). Also included among the special features deleted scenes, a featurette featuring Brad Bird discussing filmmaking and Chef Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997...
discussing culinary creativity entitled "Fine Food and Film", and four easter eggs. Although the Region 1 Blu-ray edition has a French audio track, the Region 1 DVD does not, except for some copies marked as for sale only in Canada.
It was released in DVD on November 6, 2007, and earned 4,919,574 units (equivalent to $73,744,414) on its first week (Nov. 6–11, 2007) during which it topped the DVD charts. In total it sold 12,531,266 units ($189,212,532) becoming the second best-selling animated DVD of 2007, both in terms of units sold and sales revenue, behind Happy Feet
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend in North America, Ratatouille opened in 3,940 theaters and debuted at No.1 with $47 million, the lowestPixar opening since A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
. However, in France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film. In the UK, the film debuted at No.1 with sales over £4million. The film has grossed $206,445,654 in the United States and Canada and a total of $623,722,818 worldwide, making it the fifth highest grossing Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
·Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
film now, just behind Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
, Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
, Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
and The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
.
Critical reaction
Ratatouille received universal critical acclaim. On film reviewFilm criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, Ratatouille has a 96% rating from a sample of 205 reviews, while it has a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 96 based on 37 reviews indicating "universal acclaim", which in June 2009 was the seventh-highest of all scores on the website.
Ratatouille was nominated for five Oscars
80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
including Best Animated Feature Film
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, which it won. At the time, the film held the record for the greatest number of Oscar nominations for a computer animated feature film, breaking the previous record held by Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
and The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
at four nominations, but tied with Aladdin for any animated film. In 2008, WALL-E
WALL-E
WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
surpassed that record with 6 nominations. Now, Ratatouille is tied with Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
for animated film with the second greatest number of Oscar nominations. Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
still holds the record for most Oscar nominations (also 6) for a traditional hand-drawn animated film.
A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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. Richard Roeper gave the film a very positive review saying it's "a very interesting film, it's working on a very different level." Both Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
(giving the movie a perfect four stars) and Jeffrey Lyons
Jeffrey Lyons (television critic)
Jeffrey Lyons is an American television and film critic.-Life and career:Lyons was born in New York City, one of the four sons of Sylvia and Leonard Lyons...
from NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Reel Talk
Reel Talk
Reel Talk is a syndicated weekend movie review series hosted by film critics Jeffrey Lyons and Alison Bailes. It was produced by, and originally ran exclusively on, WNBC, a New York City NBC affiliate.-Airtimes:...
said in their reviews that they loved the film so much, they are hoping for a sequel. Reaction to the film in France was also extremely positive. Thomas Sotinel, film critic at the daily newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, hailed Ratatouille as "one of the greatest gastronomic films in the history of cinema". Several reviews noted that Anton Ego's critique at the end of the movie could be taken, and at least in one case was taken, such as Roger Moore, who gave the film 3/5 stars, as "a slap on the wrist" for professional critics.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.- 1st — Michael SragowMichael SragowMichael Sragow is a film critic and columnist who has written for The Baltimore Sun, The New Times, The New Yorker , The Atlantic and salon.com...
, The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.... - 1st — Best Animation, Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- 1st — Best Film, users at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- 1st — Gene Seymour, NewsdayNewsdayNewsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
- 1st — Mike McStay, Socius.or.kr
- 2nd — A.O. Scott, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- 2nd — Carina Chocano, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- 2nd — Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
- 3rd — Jack Mathews, New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
- 3rd — Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte ObserverThe Charlotte ObserverThe Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte, North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper, in terms of circulation, in North Carolina and South Carolina...
- 3rd — Noel Murray, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 3rd — Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
- 4th — EmpireEmpire (magazine)Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
- 4th — Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 4th — Liam Lacey and Rick Groen, The Globe and MailThe Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
- 4th — Michael Phillips, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- 5th — Ella Taylor, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- 5th — Lou Lumenick, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
- 5th — Nathan Rabin, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 5th — Scott Foundas, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- 6th — Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader (tied with 11 other films)
- 6th — Kyle SmithKyle SmithKyle Smith is an American critic, novelist and essayist. He is a staff film critic for the New York Post. His film reviewing style has been called "an exercise in hilarious hostility" by Entertainment Weekly....
, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions... - 6th — Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 6th — Shawn Levy, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 6th — Stephanie Zacharek, SalonSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- 6th — Ty Burr, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
- 8th — Glenn Kenny, PremierePremiere (magazine)Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
- 9th — Dana Stevens, SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
- 9th — David Edelstein, New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine (tied with PersepolisPersepolis (film)Persepolis is a 2007 French animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The story...
) - 10th — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- 10th — Wesley Morris, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
Accolades
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Film
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, which it lost to Atonement
Atonement (film)
Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
, The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (film)
The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
and Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
, respectively, winning only the last one. Furthermore Ratatouille was nominated for 13 Annie Awards including twice in the Best Animated Effects, where it lost to Surf's Up
Surf's Up (film)
Surf's Up is a 2007 American computer-animated mockumentary family comedy film directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. It stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel and Jon Heder among others....
, and three times in the Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, and Patton Oswalt, where Ian Holm won the nomination. It won the Best Animated Feature Award from multiple associations including the Chicago Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the Annie Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics
Broadcast Film Critics Association
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....
, the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA)
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
, and the Golden Globes.
Similar films
If magazineIf (magazine)
If was an American science fiction magazine launched in March 1952 by Quinn Publications, owned by James L. Quinn. Quinn hired Paul W. Fairman to be the first editor, but early circulation figures were disappointing, and Quinn fired Fairman after only three issues. Quinn then took over the...
described Ratatoing
Ratatoing
Ratatoing is a Brazilian computer graphics cartoon film from Vídeo Brinquedo and distributed in North America by Branscome International. The film is similar to the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille.-Plot:...
, a 2007 Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian computer graphics cartoon by company Vídeo Brinquedo
Vídeo Brinquedo
Vídeo Brinquedo is a Brazilian company that produces direct-to-video animated Z movies. The company has been accused of distributing films with concepts blatantly plagiarized from films by Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks and other major studios in other countries.-History:In 1994, Vídeo Brinquedo was...
, as a "ripoff
Ripoff
A ripoff is a bad financial transaction. Usually it refers to an incident in which a person overpays for something. A ripoff is distinguished from a scam in that a scam involves wrongdoing such as fraud; whether or not something is a ripoff, on the other hand, is a matter of opinion.In a related...
" of Ratatouille. Marco Aurélio Canônico of Folha de S. Paulo
Folha de S. Paulo
Folha de S. Paulo, known simply as Folha , is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in São Paulo since 19 February 1921. Owned by the Frias de Oliveira family since 1962, it has Brazil's largest circulation since 1986. Alongside O Globo and O Estado de S...
described Ratatoing as a derivative of Ratatouille. Canônico discussed whether lawsuits from Pixar would appear. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture (Brazil)
The Ministry of Culture of Brazil was created in 1985.-External links:*...
posted Marco Aurélio Canônico's article on its website. In the end, Pixar reportedly did not seek legal action.
External links
- The Art of Making Pixar's Ratatouille (rat•a•too•ee) Interviews with Harley Jessup, Sharon Calahan and Brad Bird accompany an article on the making of the film.
- Oscar-Nominee Ratatouille: When the Cascade Doesn't Quite Take Effect