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Ratatouille (2007) - Mini Review
198 Plays2 years ago
We were commissioned by Ko-fi to review the Pixar masterpiece, 2007's American computer-animated comedy-drama film, Ratatouille
Original story by Jan Pinkava, who co-wrote with the screenwriter and director of this film, the legendary Brad Bird. Starring a Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Peter O'toole, and Will Arnett
With a budget of $150mil, it made $623mil in the box office. Currently an 8.1 on IMDb
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Transcript
Introduction and Film Review
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to a mini review from On Second Watch, and we were commissioned by the fine folks over at Ko-fi to review 2007's American computer animated comedy drama film, Ratatouille. And my name is Tim, your maitre d' of Lay podcast. See what I did there? It's a French film? I did. I was just going to let it fly under the radar. Nope. I'm going to bring attention to that one.
00:00:26
Speaker
Wee wee. So joining me today is executive chef Chris. The only one here with a French last name. Yes. Exactly. In a French mustache to go with it. We also have sous chef Dana. Dan, guess what position I was going to assign you to this ragtag group of... Garbage ban? Dishwasher? Post? Dishwasher.
00:00:51
Speaker
The Dirty Boy. I've done it all, man. I've done it all. Alrighty, so Rad Itui.
Background and Success of Ratatouille
00:00:56
Speaker
It's an original story by Jan Pincava, who co-wrote with the screenwriter and director of this film, the legendary Brad Bird, starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Janine Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Peter O'Toole, Will Arnett. The list goes on and on. A lot of great voice actors in this one.
00:01:16
Speaker
And with a budget of one hundred and fifty million, it made six hundred and twenty three million in the box office and currently sits at an eight point one on IMDB. Now, as this is a mini review, we're skipping the trivia and the mad libs and just jumping straight into our review or thoughts about this film. So, guys, I got to ask.
Personal Food Memories
00:01:38
Speaker
At the end of this film, you have the critic that takes one bite of the ratatouille and just gets transported back to his childhood. Do you guys have a food that just takes you back to when you were a kid that it doesn't matter when you eat it, it's just magic? It's strange. It's my mom is a fantastic cook. And this is actually one of the few meals my mom didn't make.
00:01:58
Speaker
My aunt makes banana pancakes. I first had them when I was little while we were camping. They actually had one of those old school motor homes, you know, the all in one. We would go camping with them and stuff. And anyways, she made these and she's made them a couple of times throughout like my childhood and stuff. But like, yeah, I.
00:02:18
Speaker
Hadn't had the opportunity to have homemade breakfast with my aunt in 20 odd years. So she made them over the 4th of July when she was staying with us up north for a few days with my parents and such. So anyways, that's one of those few things that always reminds me of growing up being a kid is my aunt saw banana pancakes. That's awesome. Spaz, you got one? Like a homemade chocolate cake.
00:02:45
Speaker
Like my mom makes, but my grandma used to make like the best freaking cakes. She's the reason why I really don't like store bought cakes. Fuck store bought, make your own fucking cakes. I'm going to sneak in here real quick too. I know I'm double dipping shame on me. I want to give credit to my mom too. Another one is growing up.
00:03:06
Speaker
She would make this dessert chocolate haystacks. They're kind of like no-bakes, but it does require some baking. But instead of oatmeal, it's like shredded coconut. They look like, obviously, haystacks and spaz is dying. And I'm happy, so here you go. Everything's ruined with coconut.
00:03:25
Speaker
You had Dan until you said coconut. That's okay. Dana sounds like she's on board about this. I am. And I believe she got this recipe from her mom. So my grandma, I mean, I'm not sure, you know, she passed away a long, long time ago. But anyways, for the holidays and stuff, my mom always makes these. And needless to say, I have to avoid them if there's any chance whatsoever of them actually making it to the holiday. So if she starts making it and I get into the kitchen, it's just,
00:03:53
Speaker
Oh, that's rough. I'm going to eat like 20 of them. Anyways, that that is definitely a very much a childhood dessert, but like when I have to do snapshot knee jerk reaction, it's the banana pancakes and then the chocolate haystacks. Lemon bar is another one for me. I taste the proper lemon bar that will also bring me back to my other grandma who made
00:04:15
Speaker
the best lemon bar of all time. See, Tim, this was a very dangerous opener. You asked us to talk about food. Ravioli's another one.
00:04:28
Speaker
Like this is gonna keep going. This mini podcast is gonna turn into our longest one ever because now we can actually talk about food. Good marinara sauce. In relation to the actual podcast. Maybe we should just back to the early days. The early days. We should really switch tracks before Spaz loses it over there. Oh my god. I'm a little nervous the way he's talking. I don't know. See? He's gonna start making noises. We gotta go. But Dana, how about you?
00:04:57
Speaker
All right, so Tim, you may have remembered my adventure with this. So this is not anything crazy, but my grandma used to make this really weird orange creamsicle jello thing. And it was so good. And every single time I asked her what was in it, she would always tell me she forgot the directions and how to do it every time, without fail.
00:05:20
Speaker
and Tim I'm pretty sure you remember this but there was one day I just really really wanted it so I went and found any recipe that could be even slightly close to it and made it myself and even to this day that's always gonna remind me of my childhood and spending time with my grandma no matter what um I don't know what it is still but it was really good
00:05:42
Speaker
Do you remember that at all? It was. I do remember. I remember every time you asked your grandma, she would either just laugh it off or just change the subject. Every time. It went with her, you know? Yeah. I have a very similar one. My grandma used to make this fruit punch that was just incredible. It's something basic.
00:06:02
Speaker
I don't know what was in it, but I would just drink that by the gallon, uh, when I was a kid. So, uh, they have no idea. We'll probably never know, but that was one of those things. But then the other one is actually food, not dessert is my mom's homemade pizza for some reason. Like I can think about it. I can smell it. I can taste it. Um,
00:06:21
Speaker
There's just something magical about that homemade pizza that I just every time it was my birthday and I got to choose what to eat. It was always that homemade pizza for whatever reason. That's just something that will always be my just sudden take me back to my childhood food. I can confirm it was really good. It was.
00:06:40
Speaker
Now we got to stop talking about food because this is going to get, this is going to be a disaster. So raspberry jam. Another one. Okay. All right. I got, I got a couple of things that were shared by some friends of the show and their thoughts about this film.
Fan Reviews and Key Themes
00:07:00
Speaker
I'm going to start with Raynard city, who's been a longtime supporter.
00:07:03
Speaker
And he said, I love Ratatouille. The critic speech still gives me chills, as well as that iconic moment when he tasted dish and his return to his childhood. Beautiful, perfectly cast, funny, a cordon bleu signature dish from Pixar. And then I got Madeline from Kofi. This is one of her favorite movies. So she says, I could watch Ratatouille all day, every day.
00:07:24
Speaker
The message of anyone can cook is something I absolutely love. The animations are beautiful and setting a film about food in Paris is just a dream. I love the character arc of Anton Ego, the film critic. And I think we've all had a moment like Anton where food just takes us to a special place and memory. So, hey, thank you, Tim and crew for reviewing my favorite film of all time. So we're happy to do it. So how about, let's talk about our thoughts on this one. Um, who would like to kick us off?
00:07:52
Speaker
Well, seeing how I didn't watch it, and I haven't seen it in a while, I will go, I guess. Let's go for it. Yeah, I was going to watch it today, but I didn't realize how long Hook was. It was long. For some reason, I thought that movie was so much shorter than what it was. Oh, man. I was like, it was done at 7.30. I was like, all right, I don't think Ratatouille's that long. And I was like,
00:08:20
Speaker
Shit, this movie's an hour and 50 minutes. What the hell? So I was like, well, there goes that plan. But I guess I could have watched it any other time, but you know, I don't do that. I have to watch these the day of, or I forget things, even though I still forget things anyway. So whatever. But pretty much what everyone said, the critic, he was the best part of the movie. I'll say it. I like the bad guy.
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah. No, he was just, it brings back good feelings, you know, like when he takes them back to his childhood. Ratatouille is a good dish though. Can't say I've ever had it. It's a good dish. Done properly.
00:09:02
Speaker
But no, I like this movie. I mean, Pixar, do they do bad films? Not too many, I don't think. They do. I don't know. I haven't seen them yet. I haven't seen one yet. But this movie is just one that will definitely last forever, probably, because the acting is good. The art is really good. I mean, they got great actors in it, and it's a damn good movie. It's well-written, and you probably want to score, right?
00:09:31
Speaker
Yeah, but just give us one out of 10. I'll give it an eight. We can give it an eight. Solid. Solid eight. How about you, Dana?
Appreciation and Ratings
00:09:38
Speaker
This is something that our kids like to watch a lot. And of all the movies that they like to watch, this is probably in the top five very easily. It's just...
00:09:49
Speaker
It's really well done. It's a good story. I probably appreciate it more as an adult than I would have it as a kid. Just for the fact being that I watch shows constantly that are baking shows and cooking shows and all this stuff too. Not calling out Top Chef or anything. Whoa!
00:10:06
Speaker
but um no i just i really enjoy it it's just one of those movies that i don't mind and trust me when i say most kid movies are annoying as could be this is not one of those so i can watch it over and over again and it doesn't bother me it's a solid flick so eight out of ten
00:10:24
Speaker
It's around. All right, Chris, let's jump to you next. So Ratatouille is one of my favorite Pixar films. Obviously, Brad Bird directed it and he is responsible for The Incredibles, which is my favorite Pixar film.
00:10:42
Speaker
I like this movie a lot because it's a very simple story. It's not overly complex and it's different. I mean, there are not many animated films, to my knowledge at least, that revolve around cooking, you know, for the whole premise of the movie. But like Dana said, you know, I'm not sure how I would have taken to it as a like a little kid. I probably thought it would have been funny, haha, rats cooking.
00:11:05
Speaker
But as an adult, I have a better appreciation for it and the message it sends. And, you know, I think the voice acting is solid. It's been a while since I've seen it. So I was surprised that I forgot Patton Oswalt is, you know, the rat Remy, which is kind of hard right now because I'm currently watching the Sandman and he voices the Raven Matthew. That was the first time I ever heard him swear. So that was weird for me.
00:11:35
Speaker
oh you should probably watch blade trinity oh and by that i mean don't yeah no actually i forgot that he was in blade trinity we all we all try to wish we forgot that yeah that's true but anyways back to retituey it's been a minute since i've watched it but it's it's one of the um pixar movies i very much enjoy so it was uh it was nice to get the opportunity to to re-watch it
00:11:58
Speaker
as someone that really appreciates cooking. And for a long time when I was younger, wanted to be a chef. I'm going to give this movie an eight 8.5. The rebel 8.5. He's bringing the heat up. That's right.
00:12:13
Speaker
Alright, so for me, honestly, this movie is Pixar at its best. The fact that they spent so much to get it right, I really appreciate. I was doing some research and the crew toured Paris to capture some of those tiny details. They added some of the top restaurants to get a feel for the atmosphere, the ambiance, and what it was like.
00:12:31
Speaker
The chefs were consulted by the animators to understand the food prep and the actual cooking and everything that goes into it. The layout manager was actually a professional chef before Pixar. So he was constantly being consulted by the animators to make sure the layout of the kitchen was right, the roles and responsibilities everybody had. He was just very instrumental in that. So you just got a real flavor for what life might be like in a kitchen in that setting. Something else I thought was funny was there's a scene
00:13:00
Speaker
where you have Alfredo, which can we all agree that his name is Alfredo Linguini. That's the best name ever. It's a good name. It's a solid name. It's also a good dish. For sure. There's a scene where he jumps in the water to save Remy when he, you know, threw him in there and to capture what
00:13:21
Speaker
it must really be like with all the water was they had one of their animators just dress up in full chef outfit, hat and all jump into the pool so they can have him climb out and then they could see, you know, with the clothes, stick to him, what is hat like limp and fall off or what's, what's the deal? So they just, everything they could possibly do just to capture it as realistic as they did.
00:13:44
Speaker
And for me, I can't wait for that sequel to come out. I know there's not really a plan for it, but come on, they got to do like top chef style where chefs around the world all have their own little rats making things. And my thought was we find out that Guy Fury is really just a dog in disguise. That's what I want to see.
00:14:04
Speaker
That would be awesome. We watch a lot of cookie shows. Right. Just all of a sudden, just, yeah, they just took up. Nope. That's really just a dog. I knew it. Take it to flavor town. So my score for Ratatouille, like Chris, I'm 8.5. That's probably going to be my score as an overall film.
00:14:26
Speaker
But if I'm going to rate it as a Pixar film, it's easily 9.5. It's got to be in their top echelon of feature films for sure. It's got to be in the running. Just everything they put into this one.
00:14:38
Speaker
Pixar is dynamite when they're on. And that's just, that's more of what I want to see. I guess it takes it with the four of us, the original crew of OSW when we started 8.3 is our score. So it's just a hair above IMDB. Take that IMDB. Bad at all. We better than you. I guess. We are better Tim.
00:15:04
Speaker
So like I mentioned, this movie was commissioned by the crew at Ko-fi. They have just released a brand new commissions experience, and they have this whole campaign going on all month long to commission different creators, and we were one of them. So really quickly, I'm gonna show you guys, if you haven't seen it, this is our Ko-fi page. All the stuff that we're doing on here, things that people can be a part of, become a member, support us, buy stickers, all that fun stuff. But over here in the commissions,
00:15:33
Speaker
This is where they chose the mini movie review. So if anyone else would like a mini movie review of their favorite film or just want to have us watch something God awful, this is your chance to do it. Um, so you can check out all our commissions, everything we got in the shop, the memberships, all that fun stuff, but yeah, come have some fun with us. So that's what I gotta say about that. So thank you, Kofi for commissioning us for this film.
00:15:59
Speaker
I have not watched it in a while all the way through because I just kind of pick it on here and there when the girls are watching it, but it's, it's a good one. It's one of Pixar's best. So thank you. Check out everything that we got at oswpodcast.com and we'll see you out on social media. So thanks everybody. See you next time.