Ratatouille Review « My Wine Education

Ratatouille Review

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While we were visiting Michelle’s grandmother this past weekend, we had the opportunity to take in the new Disney Pixar film, Ratatouille. Michelle posted last week on some of the cross marketing, like wine. That move was very indicative of how I felt about the movie. There are a few foodie references, especially around wine, that will make most oenophiles happy, and I felt that was more of the target market for the movie than kids.

The plot follows the adventure of a rat who wants to become a chef, following the motto "anyone can cook." The unanswered question posed by the critic is, but should they? That type of premise can be read into for any walk of life from blogging to formal writing and the resolution is equally as grand, if you want it to be.

Movie:
My philosophical ramblings:

I think this is much more focused for adults than children. A few of the scenes I considered a touch too grim for younger eyes. Also, the plot seems a little more complex than a typical kids movie, such as Finding Nemo. I’m not sure if kids would find it interesting or not. Please note, I do not have kids and don’t know anything them new young whipper snappers. Just as long as they stay off of my porch!

– Kevin

I’m a huge fan of Disney and Pixar, so it goes without saying that I loved this movie. But this time around, I felt it was aimed a little more at adults than kids. Maybe it’s just because I’m an adult. I wonder how kids feel about it. It’s longer than your average kids movie, coming in at 1 hour 51 minutes. There were a lot of complex plotlines for an animated film (anime aside).
There were all sorts of wonderful little touches. I loved when the rats were all cleaned in the dishwasher. So fluffy! I liked that Remy could speak, but only to other rats. To humans, he still squeaked. There was a veiled reference to Hell’s Kitchen, and I enjoyed the description of the past lives of the kitchen staff. Very Anthony Bourdain.
An interesting note: Thomas Keller (Per Se, French Laundry) was the chef consultant for the animators, and created the ratatouille recipe used in the end.
The movie was unexpected, goofy, and touching. I loved it.
A great big for me. Yay!

– Michelle

All foodies should follow this link. It’s a great article on exactly what the Ratatouille chefs are cooking and how the animators emulated French restaurants.