This is no surprising statement: everybody loves food. Depending on one's appetite, anybody can resort to a palate of such flavor and pizazz that is accustomed to one's enjoyment. There are certain foods that I would love to eat everyday but I cannot because it will result as severe consequences. (Yeah, pizza is great but I don't want to eat it every day where it is at the point that I will get massive and lackadaisical.) But, there is nothing wrong to eating to healthy and great foods on such a consistent basis. It is basically all about adapting to that routine. Whereas to my point, we do not have many movies about the passion of food or cooking as it persuade ourselves to cook something for ourselves and for somebody else.
Reading the production, it was quite interesting as the creators came up with the concept way before its release. Yes, the main storyline was about a character loving food and love cooking food. But, a rat loved being in a kitchen and cooking food? Huh, interesting. Rats fear kitchens because they will likely get killed but they love food. To be honest, I did not buy a rat as a main character that I would want to follow throughout the movie. But, it sort of reminded me of the set-up of An American Tail where Fievel was separated from his family. Both of these movies were important plot points that led to the main storyline and its main setting. With this movie, Remy, the rat, never realized he was in Paris. Truly, this wonderful movie is criminally underrated and not talked about as much, but it packs as much flavor into the Pixar pantheon right now as it did ever before.
Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is an ambitious rat, gifted with his highly developed senses of smell and taste. Django, his father (voiced by Brian Dennehy), thinks Remy's gift has helped a noble cause by maintaining a great environment for the rat clan. Remy and Django have different points of view in which Remy think that it is useless to steal garbage even when clean food is near them whereas Django thinks all kinds of food is fuel and that humans are dangerous. Remy is inspired by his idol, Chef Auguste Gusteau (voiced by Brad Garrett), who died after the disheartening food critic, Anton Ego (voiced by the late, great Peter O'Toole), gave Gusteau's a bad review, to cook and try out new flavors.
Because of a run-in with an elderly woman, the mishap causes the rat clan to flee and escape in the sewers. Unfortunately, Remy gets separated from the clan as he ends up in the sewers of Paris and eventually finds himself at a skylight overlooking Gusteau's restaurant. Meanwhile, as Remy is observing the kitchen staff at work, a young man named Alfredo Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano), gets offered a job as a garbage boy by Skinner (voiced by Ian Holm), the restaurant's current owner. Linguini starts to cook the soup after accidentally spilling it. He messes it up so bad that Remy starts to gag and miraculously repairs Linguini's mistakes and makes so much better that a food critic praises his cooking.
Linguini takes advantage of Remy's talent after discovering his intelligence as the kitchen staff assumed that Linguini was the genius of cooking the soup. On Linguini's first day as a chef, he and Remy find a way to communicate as Remy controls the guy like a marionette by pulling two strands of hair underneath his toque. Skinner assigns the only female chef on staff, Colette Tatou (voiced by Janeane Garofalo), to train his new cook. Over time, Colette and Linguini formed a budding relationship as she starts to slowly become jealous of Linguini's success. However, Anton Ego hears about the success of Gusteau's and Linguini, he is skeptical and has high expectations.
SPOILER ALERT!
At times, I felt like I was not watching an animated movie because I appreciate how realistic the Parisian setting and culture was as the animators took their time crafting the setting around the storyline. Plus, I think it is one of those rare animated movies where I felt like they cast actors quite uniquely and successfully because I did not feel like I was distracted by another voice performance. Like, not to take anything away from this actor, but if you put Eddie Murphy in the movie, it would have changed everything and become more funny. This product is an authentic Parisian animated movie that immerses you into the atmosphere and in the setting of that culinary world.
It is interesting that the main character is the rat and not the human and the thorough line is that we are Remy's shoes than in Linguini's shoes. No matter who or what it is is that your are inspired by the passion of cooking. Passion lies within Remy's talents because he likes experimenting flavors however it is his attempt that is overshadowing his work. His Work is basically going with the flow with what his dad/everyone is telling Remy what to do vs. His Attempt as to what he wants to do. To explore part of his plan, why does he want to cook? His main reason is that Remy loves food but I think he wants to give the clan some healthier or fresher options rather than eat trash, to maintain the clan.
Now, also the theme of ambition can cross over with passion as Remy has the drive to become the best and later on, recognized, chef. As Linguini becomes "successful" because of his appearance with the world and also because we discover that he is the son of Chef Gusteau and another woman, the media goes nuts and people think that he has the blood to become as good as he is. The truth that he is not. Even though Chef Skinner, his boss, appears to be the villain, I think you can title Linguini as sort of an anti-hero because he is using Remy to become a "great chef". Down below the clip, you can see he cannot get rid of Remy as Skinner discovers him while escaping. Linguini sees an opportunity to become somebody.
But, let's get back to Remy's ambition to become a great chef. However, the difference of becoming a great chef is cooking with passion and also cooking efficiently but under pressure. Researching, I read that the restaurant business is one of the most stressful workplaces ever because time is of the essence especially in a very fancy and well-known restaurant that customers set a high standard. Also, here in the clip coming up is a very underrated character in the Pixar universe: Colette, she is a bad-ass cook who knows what to be like under pressure but she knows that she is the only female cook in the kitchen and has to set a higher bar because of her gender. It is unfair. However, the scene below illustrates the truth that both Remy and Linguini, new chefs, have to learn real quickly as the job is real quick as the dinner rush will suck your soul but again, you have to cook efficiently and passion while under time and pressure. I love the line, "I killed a man....with this thumb!" It gets me every time.
Even though Remy knows from his father, who he reunites with later in the movie, that nature cannot be changed, Remy disagrees that maybe the best of us can earn the trust of other people even if it is worth sacrificing his life and well-being. That is why his ambition is so important through this movie. It is even at stake while he and Linguini has to cook for the food critic, Anton Ego, when he hears that Gusteau's is famous again.
Speaking of Anton Ego, let's talk about his character because he is such a complex and appealing character even with not much time on-screen as he mostly appears in the third act and in the intro. I love his character because from the introduction of his character, he seems to appear as a villain in the common sense of the word. But, he is basically he is a strict businessman. I believe the bird's eye view of the coffin in Ego's office is a symbol of if a well-known or highly regarded critic gives a negative review to your work and to the restaurant, your business is destroyed. So, many chefs are afraid of him because many people will listen to his expertise.
Obviously, the theme of ego surrounds not just him but the entire movie as again Remy's passion, creativity and ambition is a boost to his ego, but again, people cannot recognize him because, of course, he is a rat, and people will become repulsed that a rat can cook great food. Of course, Anton's ego is what the climax is all about as he wants to taste great food because he wants to taste the chef's passion that went into the dish. What is so refreshing and emotional is what we do not know after Remy cooks the ratatouille and Ego tastes the ratatouille, he is tasting what he thinks is a high standard: his mother's cooking. The flashback is reminiscent of his instinctive reaction of his mother's food that will make him feel better. It brings back the inner child in him. It is without question one of the best moments in Pixar history. (Sorry about this clip. This is terrible quality and it is all that is available.)
Even though you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit with a rat cooking a kitchen, I believe that this is fantastical animated movie that works as a love letter to both food and Paris. The animation captures the beautiful sights of the streets, the decorum and the people with such authenticity that you feel like your a tourist and that Remy may be a tour guide, for better or for worse. Director Brad Bird has had a fantastic streak of mesmerizing animated movies from The Iron Giant to The Incredibles to this that it seems that he has a keen sense of pacing and perspective of the people, places and insights of storylines that gets us interested throughout the way. And, Patton Oswalt fits the voice of Remy quite well from his intelligence to his sarcasm and to his wisdom regarding nature.
It hurts me that this movie does not get mentioned quite as much as we talk about the best in Pixar animation, but I do believe that this is one of the best and also more mature Pixar movies. It gets kids involved in the characters especially the cartoonish rats when a couple scenes look like they have been taken from episodes of Tom and Jerry. And, it gets adults involved as the movie explore the same complex themes I've issued before in this analysis and maybe will earn some nostalgic tears when Ego flashes back to his childhood. This movie is a colorful palate of creativity and contentment that you want to get in the kitchen and cook some food with passion. Well, after typing this and searching clips, I'm hungry. Haha!
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