Ratatouille (2007)

With dreams of becoming a chef, a culinary genius in the form of a rat, makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famed restaurant.

Directors:

Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava

Writers:

Brad Bird (screenwriter), Jan Pinkava (original story),

Stars:

Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano

Top 250 #226 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 46 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patton Oswalt	...	Remy (voice)
Ian Holm	...	Skinner (voice)
Lou Romano	...	Linguini (voice)
Brian Dennehy	...	Django (voice)
Peter Sohn	...	Emile (voice)
Peter O'Toole	...	Anton Ego (voice)
Brad Garrett	...	Gusteau (voice)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Colette (voice)
Will Arnett	...	Horst (voice)
Julius Callahan	...	Lalo / Francois (voice)
James Remar	...	Larousse (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	Mustafa (voice)
Teddy Newton	...	Lawyer (Talon Labarthe) (voice)
Tony Fucile	...	Pompidou / Health Inspector (voice)
Jake Steinfeld	...	Git (Lab Rat) (voice)

Storyline

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

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Plot Keywords:

rat | chef | restaurant | cooking | french | 

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Taglines:

A comedy with great taste.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [us] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Delicious Ratatouille 3D

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,444,384 (UK) (12 October 2007)

Gross:

£24,549,458 (UK) (7 December 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Worried that the general public wouldn't know how to pronounce the title, Disney/ Pixar had it spelt phonetically on all the posters and trailers.

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Goofs

When Remy reunites with his brother outside the restaurant, he offers to steal some food from inside the business. However, Remy already was given a supply of food just a few minutes ago such as grapes and a large chunk of cheese to eat which he had barely started on himself. Why didn't Remy just have Emile help himself to that?

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [on television] Although each of the world's countries would like to dispute this fact, we French know the truth: the best food in the world is made in France. The best food in France is made in Paris. And the best food in Paris, some say, is made by Chef Auguste Gusteau. Gusteau's restuarant is the toast of Paris, booked five months in advance. And his dazzling ascent to the top of fine French cuisine has made his competitors envious. He is the youngest chef ever to achieve a ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Continuing a Pixar tradition, Production Babies are listed.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.23 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Le Festin"
Written and Produced by Michael Giacchino
Performed by Camille
Recorded by Paul Silveira and Dan Wallin
Mixed by Dan Wallin
French Translation by Boualem Lamhene
Camille Appears Courtesy of EMI Music France/Virgin Music Division

User Reviews

Incredible

Remember how everyone was talking about Toy Story when it first came out? The incredible visuals, unique style, vividly imagined world? The next time people were talking that way with such enthusiasm about a computer animated movie was Finding Nemo. I'm excited to say that Ratatouille will be the next one to redefine the visual creativity and technical detail of computer animated movies. Honest to goodness, I was awestruck by the animation, and that never happens to me. It is a visual masterpiece of a movie if ever the term applies.

The next thing to talk about is the "genre" of the movie. As Pixar enthusiasts will tell you, Brad Bird, the director of Ratatouille, also directed The Incredibles, which has the most inspired and creative action sequences from any of the Pixar movies. Ratatouille, while not so straightforward with its action, has almost as much as The Incredibles did, in unique ways. Most memorable is the shotgun scene near the beginning. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it). Other than that, this is the expected comedy-with-heart movie from Pixar that so many have grown to love.

The voice acting? Spot on. Every voice is distinctive, and it never feels like a celebrity's voice tacked on to a character (Shrek, I'm looking at you), it feels like the characters themselves speaking. You can't ask for more from voice acting.

And finally, the script and the story. The entire irony of the story -- a street rat with a passion for fine food -- is beautiful, and a tight, smart, wonderful script flows from this. The pacing of the story is odd and choppy at places, but this is a very forgivable grievance. The only other minor fault is that a few of the dramatic one-liners feel a bit forced. Other than that, this is the most layered, complex, and satisfying script from Pixar since The Incredibles.

Overall, I recommend that everyone see this movie when it hits theaters (I was lucky enough to see a pre-release screening). Though not perfect, it is an animated masterpiece in true Pixar form with breathtaking animation and visual design.

10/10