Ratatouille
Year: 2007
Rating: G
Length: 111 minutes / 1.85 hours
There are few films that hit home quite like Ratatouille (2007) does. Not only is it a gorgeously animated representation of French cooking (and cooking in general), but its message about pursuing your creative dreams despite the obvious challenges is an important one. I think this film and La La Land (2016) both speak volumes about what it means to work in creative spaces. True talent will rise to the top, but only if they have the grit to keep with it.
I have a soft spot for Brad Bird’s films, and Ratatouille is no exception. The theme of exceptional outsiders strings through from The Iron Giant (1999) to The Incredibles (2004) and really lands here in Ratatouille. While there are so many movies out there that tell you to “follow your dreams,” Ratatouille does so with such a juxtaposition that you figure it would never happen. Rats are dirty, so how could one become a famed chef? And yet, we root for Remy (Patton Oswalt) because it feels impossible and if he can achieve his goals, then maybe we can as well.
Visually, Ratatouille hits right at that peak of the rise of Pixar. Picture-perfect food was the flex they brought to the big screen just like they did with fur effects in Monsters Inc. (2001) or water effects in Finding Nemo (2003). Anchoring this movie to a real place also meant they needed it to look believable to those who have actually been to Paris—something that hadn’t happened in a Pixar movie before. There’s just so much about this movie to recommend it that if you haven’t tried it, I suggest you give it a taste.
A powerful message wrapped in beautiful, food-filled visuals, I give Ratatouille 5.0 stars out of 5.
This film appears in the following posts:
Cinema Connections #108. Hidden Culinary Talent
Cinema Connections #109. Paris, France
