totoro: It is really different than most ratatouille sites I have seen, but it looks really cool!
I just noticed there is another German website, which looks more like the ones in other countries: disney.de/DisneyKinofilme/ratatouille/
No idea why there are two separate websites for Buena Vista and Disney - it is the same company, after all…
wow, that is great, can somebody translate the parts with the black background? I beleive that’s one of the screen tests. (Since this post is next to yous) Thank you my neighbour, Totoro.
I agree… thanks for the link! I think the German voices sound great too!
I’m curious what the characters are saying though, in the “anti-piracy” trailer. I hear the word “copy” here and there. Are they telling the audience to go see the movie instad of downloading it?
I just got my Japanese Ratatouille DVD (normal version). It’s pretty disappointing. In a nutshell, it’s almost exactly the same as the US Region 1 DVD, so if you were expecting any more extras here, forget it. In fact, some extras were even taken away.
It’s a 1-disc set. White case instead of black. The DVD itself has a nicer picture on it (Linguini holding Remi in his hand). When you pop it in, it starts the same way (almost the same advertisements). Pretty much the same main menu screen (both the easter eggs on the pots work; I didn’t bother yet seeing if the easter egg in the Scene Select screen is there, but the two on the main screen are there). The only thing different is you can select between English (one choice, unspecified) or Japanese (2.0 or 5.1) audio, and subtitle (off, English, or Japanese). You can change subtitle option while watching the movie, but language selection must be done from the menu (not on-the-fly as you’re watching). One addition to the main menu is a “For your information” selection that shows an advertisement for a non-Pixar CGI film soon to be released on DVD called “Azul and Asmal” (my spelling from the Japanese, haven’t heard of this one before). As far as bonus features, at first glance it’s the same as the R1 DVD, but for the “Deleted Scenes” catagory, there are only two instead of three (the Japanese disc has “Chef Gusteau” and “Meet Gusteau” – but NOT “First Day”. So just 2 deleted scenes instead of 3 like the US disc). The movie has the changes made to it for video release (adding a chef’s hat onto Remi at the end).
It seems like just as in North America, Disney is trying to push BluRay as the only choice now to get all the extras. The normal DVD releases in Japan are as sparse of extras as their US versions. The collector’s box doesn’t have anything extra either (just things like books, teacups, etc, but the DVD is the same). You have to get the bluray to get all the extras. A shame… in the past getting the Japanese version was the only way to get lots of stuff you never saw on the US version (for instance, back in LaserDisc days, getting the REAL cinemascope sized Mary Poppins at 2.35:1, not the fake “1.66 letterbox” released in the US, which cropped all the animation and picture on the sides. On that one, Disney recalled the LaserDiscs, but not before everyone bought them). But now it seems to be pretty uniform that Japan gets what the US does (even the main menus are pretty much a duplicate, just with language changed).
I’m still glad I got it. I like the Japanese cast and I saw the film theatrically in Japan in Japanese and it’s a great fim. But don’t expect any extras on the Japanese disc over the R1 disc (there’s even less). I guess it’s a forceful situation. In the past when DVD was new, its main selling point was all the extras. Now DVD is seen as old and BluRay as new, so companies are abandoning DVD in favor of BluRay where there is much more money to be made, and making people make the switch if they want the extras.
joehisa - Man, that sucks. It’s a crime shame enough that extra extras (ha!) are not included on the U.S. version of the DVD alone, but when the “trend” is integrated into overseas countries (ie., Japan, etc.) as well, with even less bonus features than usual/would be expected, things start to come across a rather ludicrous.
I understand that Disney and other companies are attempting to push this whole Blu-Ray mess into outer space and beyond, but monetary gain is not everything. They would make just as much money placing a decent collection of bonus features on the regular DVD discs (while still including a select amount of special thing-a-ma-jigs on Blu-Ray discs only) as on their Blu-Ray counterparts. What’s the problem in giving people their money’s worth?
Yeesh…
– Mitch
Mitch, yes it is a shame.
I forgot to mention that the papers inside the DVD were just as sparse as on the R1 DVD as well. Just a thin 1-sheet piece of paper for the actual movie (along with other papers which are just ads, including one for Movie Points, which it seems they’re doing in Japan as well).
Still, the Japanese dub was very well-done, and it’s pretty enjoyable. They did a good job at matching the voices to the characters this time (not always the case).
Seriously - what are they thinking, stripping down the barebones DVD even more?
I think everyone (especially those living in a country where Ratatouille is not yet out on DVD) should tell the folks at Disney how they feel about this.
It probably won’t make a difference, but nothing is lost by trying. If a rat can become a chef, maybe Ratatouille fans can get a decent DVD release… 
joehisa - The U.S. version of the Ratatouille DVD also includes that 1-sheet “guideline” and a couple of other papers advertising various films and the like. Pitiful…
Haha. I second that…
– Mitch
Even worse – I forgot to mention this earlier.
The Japanese version doesn’t even have “Your Friend the Rat”!!!
(And has only 2 deleted scenes instead of 3)
So there is quite a bit less extras on the Japanese DVD (not that there were all that many on the R1 DVD to begin with).
Sigh…
Great comment Totoro. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
joehisa - Get out! That’s beyond ludicrousy…
– Mitch
That must be really annoying, joehisa. And I thought the US fans got a raw deal… Maybe in a few years when the Ratatouille special edition is released, Japan will get a better version.