Review of Ratatouille (2007) by Griffon D — 08 Aug 2017

"Anyone can cook".

Have you ever wondered if rats have dreams and ambitions too? Well they do. A story focused around a rat wanting something more out of a stereotypical dumpster-diving life, Ratatouille is another Pixar masterpiece. The irony of a rat being the head chef and basically best chef in Paris just shows you that Brad Bird is on another level than other animators/directors when telling a story. Patton Oswalt voices the main character, Remy, a lovable, determined, and gifted rodent who aspires to be a cook. After being forced out of his home and separated from the rest of his family, Remy finds himself in the great food city of Paris. He later stumbles upon a human named Linguini who takes him in and together they help one another restore the tattered reputation of Gusteau's.

There are two recurring themes spread throughout the movie and these are exceeding expectations and doubt of capability. The quote that is scattered throughout the movie is "Anyone can cook". This means exceeding expectations that others have on you. The two themes of this movie go hand-and-hand. When others doubt your capability you have to exceed their expectations they have in order to be successful. Remy's father doubted his ability to be a cook numerous times throughout the movie. He explained that humans are dangerous by showing him the dangerous contraptions humans have to kill rats; therefore he shouldn't go near them. He is very unsupportive of Remy's dream until the very end where he saw how perseverant and passionate he was. Another scene from the movie where doubt is evident is when Anton Ego, the food critic, builds up hype around his second visit to Gusteau's. He doubts Gusteau's ability to serve him a decent meal and when he's served the Ratatouille meal, he is overcome with joy and is eager to meet the chef (Remy). The ability of Pixar to capture this moment that Ego has of flashing back to a childhood memory and comparing the meal to the warmth and safety of his home relates to all of us so well. Anton Ego indirectly doubted Remy, a rat, to prepare him a delicious meal and when he met Remy, it was apparent that Gusteau's famous quote "Anyone can cook" was true. Pixar does such a wonderful job in all of their movies with this where, with careful observation, there are hidden messages that directly translate to the real world. If you are truly passionate about something, then go for it. There's going to be periods of doubt you or others might have in you, but you need to overcome those doubts in order to exceed expectations.

I love Pixar because it has an amazing ability to hit every emotion in such a brilliant way that makes it standout from other animation companies. Their ability to create a relationship/connection between the characters and the audience makes their storytelling so tremendous. The genre may say children and family, but these movies are truly for all ages. Giving his review on Gusteau's at the end of Ratatouille, Anton Ego says, "I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more." This movie will do just that; Ratatouille is so good and you will be left wanting more, and that is why I highly recommend seeing it.