Oh, cool. Well, have fun seeing it again - I’m sure you will. There is a lot to enjoy about this movie, no matter how many times you see it. 
And I’m sure your mum will enjoy it too, if she hasn’t seen it already.
Heheh. This is exactly what happened to me, and a few others from here, the first time they saw Ratatouille. I kept thinking “OMG I’m watching Ratatouille!”, instead of following the story. So yeah, like you said, just relax and enjoy seeing it again! 
lizardgirl - Oh yes. But, of course, we all have our preferences. I naturally tend to cite off Ratatouille as the best slice of meat since it impacted my life to an overwhelming extent, but in doing this…I often overlook the fact that other individuals have varying tastes. Actually, I’m rather curious to know what your favorite film is, if you have one, and if it’s not too much to ask. Just curious.
As rachel stated, Remy doesn’t necessarily come off as annoying to me because I also relate to him on several levels, too. I wonder if that makes me annoying at times? 
I agree in that Remy’s swtich to the evil side of the island presented to the audience a rather salted piece of the egg – like you stated, you do see a side of Remy that was previously hidden; it makes his overall personality come off as even more ambitious and determined than usual, which is interesting.
Anyway, have a great time seeing it again! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it a second time, and I hope that your mom will, too.
– Mitch
Mitch- It’s quite ironic, but my favourite film has to be something that’s completely opposite of not only the type of films that Pixar create, but even their ethos and everything- the phrase ‘story is king’ is certainly not present in the films I like aside from Pixar! My favourite film is The Big Lebowski. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I mean. 
And generally I like Indie films- i.e. films without a strong storyline.
Lol, you’re not annoying at all! I think perhaps it’s also to do with (prepares for the onslaught) his voice. He has got a very strong accent, and although it really does suit him, I guess it’s just so different to what I’m used to hearing on a day to day basis.
I still absolutely adore Remy- the scene where [spoil]Linguini is about to drop him in the river and Remy’s cowaring in the jaw, fur on end, with those big, doleful eyes makes me just want to hug him![/spoil]- but I just prefer other characters. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I see it again.
I showed my mum this ten-minute preview that they’re showing on the Disney channel- it’s a whole lot of footage, I must say- and she really liked the look of it, so I’m sure she will.
Hi fellow Ratatouille fans!
Here’s my review of this fabulous movie…sorry if I get carried away with ranting a little!
I’ve recently watched Ratatouille in my country, Singapore, about a couple weeks ago and watched it for the 2nd time last weekend again. What can I say…it is a work of art, very close to a masterpiece…the animation was simply sublime, the way the rats moved, their fur, the water scenes in the sewer tunnels, the view of Paris, Gusteau’s kitchen, and everything…gorgeous eye candy! The animation alone is enough of a guilty excuse to watch the movie a 2nd time round. Before this, The Incredibles was my favorite Pixar flick but now Ratatouille has been firmly established in no.1 spot.
The storyline was unusual from previous Pixar flicks in that it is much deeper, complex and explores issues previously unheard of in previous movies. I think the storywriters and producers had a hard time threading between giving the movie gravitas and emotional depth and including enough slapstick and light comedic sequences to keep the younger crowd entertained. On the whole I think they did it very well…the emotional depth was conveyed extremely well on the occasions that demanded for it.
The score by Michael Giacchino (I hope I spelled his name right) was wonderful… in particular standouts were “Wall Rat”, “Colette shows Linguini Le Ropes” and the magnificent and delightful “Le Festin” performed by Camille…in the 2nd viewing of this movie whenever the first bars of this song came on, I found myself tapping and humming the tune with delight, and infused with the warmth and joy that encompassed this movie.
The attention to detail was exceptional too…the food and cooking processes were lovingly rendered and animated, and got me fascinated in the workings of an actual Parisian gourmet restaurant. And I love the animators’ sly little touches in eliciting a laugh from the adult segment of the audience, [spoil]such as when in the Linguini/Colette scene in the backalley of the restaurant midway thru the film, where Linguini trying to explain to her the truth about Remy but ends up blurting that he has this “little…little…” and then for just the briefest moment Colette’s eyes flick down and up again…heheh. You have to be pretty alert to catch it though! I only noticed this in the 2nd viewing. [/spoil]
Characters: I thought Brad Bird did an incredible job at fleshing out the characters and making them believable persons…kudos too to the marvellous voice work done by the actors…in particular a mesmerizing Peter O’ Toole as the icy food critic Anton Ego, and Ian Holm as the villainous and hilariously manic Skinner the head chef. I’m sure most kids would fall for Remy’s cuteness, I’ll admit he was endearing but not my favorite character of the movie by far…which was Colette (closely followed by Anton Ego). Well I’m kinda a sucker for those female characters who are strong on the outside but occasionally show flickers of vulnerability on the inside, which she does in this movie.
Alright, I’ll admit even a movie as fine as this one has some flaws. No doubt its a “cartoon”, but you’ll need to suspend your belief for certain scenes. [spoil]The scene of rats cooking in Gusteau’s kitchen may not appeal to everyone’s tastes…even though they are just cartoon critters, but some may find the idea of food being cooked by rats a turn-off or even downright disgusting. Linguini being controlled by Remy’s pulling his hair…its hilarious at first but well, kinda hard to believe that a rat could have such subtle control such that Linguini can chop onions with ease. Also I find it inexplicable that Remy managed to turn Linguini’s disaster of a soup into a culinary delight, given the space of perhaps a few minutes from the moment he started adding ingredients to it to the moment the soup was slopped into the bowl for serving. Surely it would have been better to dump off that junk in the whole pot and start anew??[/spoil] Still, these are relatively minor niggles in a movie that only a picky critic would pick on.
The pacing of the storyline is also uneven. I think the start was the weakest part of the movie, although it establishes the storyline its also a little draggy, as were some of the scenes midway thru the movie. The story picks up pace in the latter half though.
Some of my favourite scenes/sequences in the movie (beware spoilers galore):
[spoil]
The part when Remy runs up the building gables and catches the gorgeous view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower for the first time from the top…simply breathtaking and perhaps even better than the real thing!
The entire sequence when Remy falls from the roof window above Gusteau’s kitchen until he is caught by Linguini in a glass bottle and ordered by Skinner to “dispose of it”…superbly choreographed and animated scenes of Remy running through the kitchen, and the 180 degree view round the soup pot when Remy decides to take matters into his own hands to change the soup.
The little vignette between Colette and Linguini whom Skinner has just tasked under her care…out come the sharp knives and through her little rant about how she got to where she is, she lets Linguini know she is not a woman to be trifled with…
Colette teaching Linguini “Le Ropes” in the kitchen, “keep your station clean” etc…until the part where she says “thank you…for taking it (her advice)” these two are so cute together haha…
The scene where Linguini runs after Colette and stops her on her motorbike, then tries to blurt out his little “secret”…but ends up being manipulated by Remy and ends up kissing her instead…one of the best scenes in the movie! swoons
The parts where “Le Festin” were played in the background, I love that song!
The scene of Anton Ego being brought back to his childhood memories when he first samples Remy’s ratatouille.
The chase scene in the streets of Paris between Skinner and Remy for Renata’s will.
The entire last scene of the movie, close to when Ego begins his monologue to the last shot of the movie.
[/spoil]
end of spoilers
Phew…so sorry for the longish review!!! I knew I overdid it a little…lol
I’ll admit this movie has really caught me and held me firmly by the scruff of the neck, who knows, I might even go and watch it for a 3rd time, perhaps, before it disappears for good from the big screen? One thing is for sure…I definitely know which DVD I’ll be getting next month!
Oh yes. I have tried fixing things that are too salty (oh hey lack of manual dexterity!), and it does not work. [spoil]That soup would have been impossible to retrieve from I-must-go-outside-and-eat-grass-until-it’s-all-out-of-me-dom, let alone to make into some ethereal dining experience.[/spoil]
What a lovely review, Garion! I agree with everything you said, including Ratatouille’s one or two little flaws. The whole soup thing had me thinking, too. I guess the only real explanation is that Remy is a really, really good chef!
Saw it again tonight. It was a lot better than the first time- the atmosphere was really relaxed, and we saw it later in the evening, which is always a much better time to watch a film.
Although this time round I knew what to expect, that didn’t lessen the experience at all. There’s something very, very special about Ratatouille- something I can’t really put a finger on. I was thinking about the ad that’s been showing for Bee Movie, and how it actually looks like a funny film…Yet it’s as though they haven’t really put a lot of effort into it. It really annoyed me when that woman squished the insect on her leg, and her and the bee looked at each other and laughed; not only because, let’s be honest, laughing about killing someone like that is a pretty weird thing, but when the shot goes back out, the insect has disappeared from her leg. This lack of attention to detail is strangely frustrating.
Yet you never, not for one moment, feel that when watching Ratatouille. Sure, it’s beautiful and the storyline is incredible and the characters are believable, but there’s something about the emotions evoked whilst watching the film…I hate to use the phrase, but it is a real rollercoaster, and it deals with important issues.
And, at the end of the film, you can just tell that everyone in the audience is sitting there feeling exactly how Anton Ego feels when he first pops that forkful of ratatouille into his mouth- pure happiness.
Tonight, the audience was predominantly adult, which was a relief to say the least, and it was about three quarters full, so an improvement on the last time I saw it. There was also a lot more laughter from the audience, too, and a few people actually gasped when
[spoil]Anton Ego strides into the room as Linguini is with the press[/spoil]. My mum enjoyed it as well, though I didn’t realise just how much talking there was in the film. One of the first things she said when we left the cinema was, ‘we’ve got to get that film on DVD when it comes out!’
I am not good at all at writing reviews, so I will say that most of the things I loved about Ratatouille were already pointed out.
I loved the movie, first and foremost, for its message. It is another Pixar movie that influences me, although not as much as FN have done.
I liked the animation, the story & characters.
(I might expand this post later)
Going back to those small flaws that Kageri and Garion were discussing:
The only thing that irked me a little was this – whenever Remy was cooking by himself (the soup for instance) and he would stand on the rim of the pot… wouldn’t that burn his little paws?! ouch
sheila
lizardgirl - Well, I’m very glad that you enjoyed the movie the second time 'round.
The real question is: will you see it a third time?
Heheh. The thing that sort of disturbed me with the Bee Movie trailer, was the relationship between the bee and the lady - it looked like they were on a romantic picnic or something, which is just wrong.
I totally agree. Ratatouille is a lot like The Incredibles, in that, it has so many levels to the film that it’s hard to take it in all at once, and you can watch it again and again and find something new to enjoy. I love how Ratatouille has so many layers and deals with such complex issues, even though it is “just” an animated film.
Did you know that rats can’t really talk? You have to use a little bit of “suspension of disbelief” for parts of the movie, I think.
Actually, (according to the movie), humans can’t hear rats talking.
rachel- Lol, no, I don’t think I will. I’ve had my fill of Ratatouille. I’m gonna save my money and spend it on getting the DVD.
And one word about Bee Movie- beastuality. 
Ha! I keep hearing people mention this “Big Lebowski” film, especially after I watched part of this YouTube video enttield “The Big Wazowski”. I’ve gotta check out this film…
Eheheh. Well, I’m glad I don’t come off as annoying. My sister might say otherwise, though… (snigger)
I’m glad that you enjoying tasting Ratatouille for a second time, lizardgirl, and that’s cool that your mom liked it, too!
Oh, and I find Remy’s voice rather…forcefull, as well. Patton Oswalt’s voice scares me, actually, as does his laugh. Don’t ask me why.
Garion - Quite beautiful… I love your review, dude! I certainly agree with you concerning many of the points you mentioned, especially the fact that the people behind Pixar were able to keep both the emotional and comedic aspects of the film on a kid-friendly and adult-oriented level.
Nice review, and welcome to Pixar Planet!
– Mitch
I few clever, little visual things I noticed in Ratatouille:
[spoil]- When Remy is telling Django that he has sort of been hanging around humans, if you watch his fingers they sort of touch, and then when he says “closish range” they fully click together, as if Remy is unconsciously giving away the fact that he has been very close with Linguini.
I love how when Remy is stealing food for Emile, he doesn’t want Gusteau bothering him, so he “pushes” him away and Gusteau spins around and around. Heh.
Outside the restaurant, after Emile eats the cheese and strawberry (I think) watch how he gets up. He sort of rolls over to get up. I think that’s hilarious.
When Remy is starving after being in the sewer for days, and he sees a picture of a cake in Anyone Can Cook!, I love how he looks at the cake then turns away with his hand facing the cake, as if to say “No, I can’t look!”. It’s so dramatic, and it makes me laugh because that’s what people do in real life.
When Remy is listening to the bread being crackled, I love his facial reaction.
This isn’t so much as clever, but did it seem as if Skinner’s moustache was drawn on?[/spoil]
rachel- Concerning your last point, I think that would actually explain Skinner’s height- perhaps he hasn’t reached puberty yet, but wants to appear more…manly.
Haha. Yeah, it’s little things such as that that, in the end, fill in the blanks in the film that most audience attendees wouldn’t normally notice. I didn’t catch the whole thing with Emile until several viewings later, and the same goes for your point about Skinner.
Heh. I like your first point. It all makes perfect sense in a very subtle way.
Although it’s fairly insignificant, I happened to notice this after watching the 9-minute sneak peek of Ratatouille for the…one billionth time:
[spoil]As Remy points out each chef and his/her duties while watching the entities in question from a skylight above Gusteau’s! kitchen, you’ll notice him sort of twitch/rub two of his fingers together as he says, “The sous chef… There!” as though he’s silently trying to decide where to locate the sous chef. It only happens for a couple of seconds, but I thought that that was just so charming…[/spoil]
– Mitch
[spoil]Yeah, that happens a lot in Ratatouille. Their actions aren’t just made to seem like they are human. They are human (or a rat). [/spoil] You can just tell by their body language, and little things like that, represent what’s going on in their head.
Like when…
[spoil]After Colette slaps Linguini, she is admitting to him why she wanted to help him succeed. Her eyes dart around, but are not really focusing on anything, like she is remembering what she did. She puts her hand in the other, as if to console herself, a bit. I have done this, and I’m sure you have, too.[/spoil] I just love the body language in this film. The first time I saw Ratatouille it felt as if Ratatouille was acted out by real people in a live-action, then Pixar animated what they saw them doing. I know this is what they actually do at Pixar - film themselves in a mirror - but wow!
I’m sure there are more examples I could use, but for the life of me I can’t remember.
Hi Mitch, and thanks for the warm welcome! Yes I think overall they did very well …of course you can’t please everyone in this world…some said the storyline was “boring” and “slow-moving” but I think the story was brilliantly executed…less gags than previous Pixar works, since they concentrated on slightly more mature themes and also on the story progression and character development…in that respect its really a “deeper” film than the previous works.
Those are marvellous observations Mitch and rachelcakes1985…I agree with you both, I love how the film pays great attention to details, especially in the characters’ movements and expressions, both the rats and the humans. [spoil]That little scene between Colette and Linguini in the backalley of the restaurant after she slaps him was also pretty fun to watch for the range of facial expressions, hand movements and body language…one of my fave scenes in the movie. [/spoil] [spoil]Also a lot of the scenes between Remy and Django and his brother Emile had lots of interesting body language and expressions…they seemed almost ‘humanlike’ despite the fact that they were rats…and moved like rats![/spoil] The animation in this film was wondorus. 
This just epitomizes Emile…
[spoil]When Remy takes the cheese from his brother in the beginning, Emile says “We’ll throw it in the pile, I guess…” - all the while scratching the bottom of his feet with his paws.[/spoil]
I just couldn’t help but notice that.
Yeah, it sure does. Heheh.
Another classic part of Ratatouille that says a lot about Emile:
[spoil]Remy: “Don’t you ever think about what we put into our mouths?!”
Emile: “All the time.”
But Remy is talking about the quality of the food they eat, and Emile is only concerned with when his next meal is - whatever it may be.[/spoil]
I noticed this the first time I saw the movie, and I’m sure you did too, but I found it so funny that… [spoil]The rats had their own boats made out of makeshift material, ready for their inevitable getaway. I just found that hilarious.[/spoil]
What did everyone think of Brad Bird’s cameo, as [spoil]Ambristo Minion? (I don’t think I spelt that right). It’s such a difference between his cameo as Edna, I think. I didn’t even recognise him! His voice is so sweet and delicate - I liked how Brad pulled it back for this one.[/spoil]
Oh, and when [spoil]Remy is making his way out past the window and he passes the soup. I love how his cooking instinct comes out of him, and he just has to fix the soup. So he goes back and adds an ingredient to try to fix the problem, then gets on with escaping, but he just… can’t… walk away from the soup! Heheh.[/spoil]