Ratatouille (film)

Ratatouille(/ˌrætəˈtuːi/RAT-ə-TOO-ee) is a 2007 Americananimatedcomedy-dramafilmproduced byPixar Animation StudiosforWalt Disney Pictures.The eighth film produced by Pixar, it was written and directed byBrad Birdand produced byBrad Lewis, from an original idea byJan Pinkava,who was credited for conceiving the film's story with Bird andJim Capobianco. The film stars the voices ofPatton Oswalt,Lou Romano,Ian Holm,Janeane Garofalo,Peter O'Toole,Brian Dennehy,Peter SohnandBrad Garrett. The title refers to the French dishratatouille, and also references the species of the main character, a rat. Set mostly inParis, the plot follows a young rat Remy (Oswalt) who dreams of becoming a chef at Auguste Gusteau's (Garrett) restaurant and tries to achieve his goal by forming an unlikely alliance with the restaurant's garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (Romano).
Development forRatatouillebegan in 2000 when Pinkava wrote the original concepts of the film, although he was never formally named the director of the film. In 2005, following Pinkava's departure from Pixar for lacking confidence in the story development, Bird was approached to direct the film and revise the story. Bird and some of the film's crew members also visited Paris for inspiration. To create the food animation used in the film, the crew consulted chefs from both France and the United States. Lewis interned atThomas Keller'sThe French Laundryrestaurant, where Keller developed theconfit byaldi, a dish used in the film.Michael Giacchinocomposed the Paris-inspired music for the film.
Ratatouillepremiered on June 22, 2007, at theKodak TheatreinLos Angeles,California, with its general release on June 29, in the United States. The film became a critical and commercial success, grossing $623.7 million worldwide. It finished its theatrical run as thesixth highest-grossing film of 2007and the year's second highest-grossing animated film (behindShrek the Third). The film received widespread acclaim for its screenplay, animation, humor, voice acting, and Giacchino's score. It also won theAcademy Award for Best Animated Featureand was nominated for several more, includingBest Original Screenplay.Ratatouillewas later voted one of the 100 greatest motion pictures of the 21st century by a2016 poll of international criticsconducted by theBBC.
Remy, a young rat with heightened senses of taste and smell, dreams of becoming a chef like his human idol, the late Auguste Gusteau. Conversely, the rest of his colony, including his older brother Émile and his father, the clan leader Django, only eat for sustenance and are wary of humans. The rats live in an elderly woman's attic outsideParis, but when the woman discovers them, they are forced to evacuate, and Remy is separated. Encouraged by an imaginary Gusteau, he explores until he finds himself on the roof of Gusteau's eponymous restaurant.
Remy notices the restaurant's new garbage boy, Alfredo Linguini, attempting to fix a soup he ruined and jumps in to fix Linguini's mistakes. Linguini catches Remy in the act but does not reveal him to Skinner, Gusteau's former sous-chef and the new owner and chef of the restaurant. Skinner confronts Linguini over the soup, but when the soup is accidentally served and proves to be a success, Colette Tatou, the restaurant's only female chef, convinces Skinner to retain Linguini and uphold Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook". After demanding that Linguini replicate the soup, Skinner spots Remy and orders Linguini to take him outside and kill him. Once they are alone, Linguini discovers that Remy can understand him, and he convinces Remy to help him cook.
Remy controls Linguini's movements like amarionetteby pulling on his hair while hiding under histoque. They recreate the soup and continue cooking at the restaurant. Colette begrudgingly trains Linguini but steadily appreciates him heeding her advice. Later, Remy finds Émile and reunites with the clan. After Remy tells Django that he intends to stay at the restaurant, Django shows him a group of exterminated rats to convince him that humans are dangerous, but Remy ignores his warnings and leaves.
Meanwhile, Skinner discovers a letter from Linguini's late mother stating that Linguini is Gusteau's son and thereby the rightful owner of the restaurant. Skinner is shocked and enraged about this revelation, as Gusteau's will stated that he would inherit ownership of the restaurant only if no biological heir appeared two years after the latter's death. After his lawyer verifies that Linguini is Gusteau's heir, Skinner hides the evidence in an envelope. Remy escapes with this, and shows it to Linguini, who then fires Skinner and discontinues a line of frozen food that Skinner had started. The restaurant thrives as Remy's recipes become popular, and Linguini's life improves as he develops a romantic relationship with Colette. Food critic Anton Ego, whose previous negative review of the restaurant indirectly led to Gusteau's death, announces to Linguini that he will review the restaurant again the following day. After Linguini takes credit for Remy's cooking at apress conference, he and Remy have a falling out. As revenge, Remy leads his clan to raid the restaurant's pantries. Linguini arrives to apologize, but upon discovering the raid, he furiously expels Remy and his clan from the restaurant.
The next day, Remy is captured by Skinner but quickly freed by Django and Émile. After returning to the restaurant, he and Linguini reconcile, and Linguini reveals Remy and his cooking techniques to his staff, who all immediately quit. Reminded of Gusteau's motto, Colette returns to help the clan cook under Remy's direction while Linguini waits tables. Skinner and a health inspector attempt to interfere, but the rats lock them in the pantry. Remy creates avariationofratatouille, which reminds Ego of his mother's cooking. Ego asks to meet the chef and is stunned when introduced to Remy. The next day, he writes a review, stating that he has come to understand Gusteau's motto and describing Remy without revealing that he is a rat.
Although the rats imprisoned Skinner and the health inspector, the authorities learned of the rats in the kitchen and Gusteau's is shut down, stripping Ego of his job and credibility. Remy, Linguini, and Colette open abistrocalled La Ratatouille, which a now-happier Ego invests in and frequents. The rat colony settles into the bistro's attic as their new home.
Jan Pinkavacame up with the concept in 2000, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline, but he was never formally named the director of the film.By 2004, Pixar addedBob Petersonas a co-director and he was given exclusive control of the story.After three months and lacking confidence in the story development,Pixar management turned toThe IncrediblesdirectorBrad Birdto direct the film, just as Pinkava departed Pixar in 2005 while Peterson left the film to return to work onUp.Bird was attracted to the film because of the outlandishness of the concept and the conflict that drove it: that rats feared kitchens, yet a rat wanted to work in one.Bird was also delighted that the film could be made a highlyphysical comedy,with the character of Linguini providing endless fun for the animators.Bird rewrote the story, with a change in emphasis. He killed off Gusteau, gave larger roles to Skinner and Colette,and also changed the appearance of the rats to be lessanthropomorphic.
BecauseRatatouilleis intended to be a romantic, lush vision of Paris, giving it an identity distinct from the studio's previous films,director Brad Bird, producer Brad Lewis and some of the crew spent a week in the city to properly understand its environment, taking a motorcycle tour and eating at five top restaurants.There are also many water-based sequences in the film, one of which is set in the sewers and is more complex than theblue whalescene inFinding Nemo. One scene has Linguini wet after jumping into theSeineto fetch Remy. A Pixar employee (Shade/Paint department coordinator Kesten Migdal) jumped into Pixar's swimming pool wearing a chef's uniform and apron to see which parts of the suit stuck to his body and which became translucent from water absorption.
A challenge for the filmmakers was creating computer-generated images of food that would appear delicious. Gourmet chefs in both the U.S. and France were consulted,and animators attended cooking classes atSan Francisco-areaculinary schools to understand the workings of acommercial kitchen.Sets/Layout department manager Michael Warch, a culinary-academy-trained professional chef before working at Pixar, helped teach and consult animators as they worked. He also prepared dishes used by the Art, Shade/Paint, Effects and Sets Modeling departments.Renowned chefThomas Kellerallowed producer Brad Lewis to intern in hisFrench Laundrykitchen. For the film'sclimax, Keller suggested a fancy, layered version of the title dish for the rat characters to cook, called "confit byaldi".The samesub-surface light scatteringtechnique that was used on the skin inThe Incredibleswas used on fruits and vegetables,while new programs gave an organic texture and movement to the food.Completing the illusion were music, dialogue, andabstract imageryrepresenting the characters' mental sensations while appreciating food. The visual flavormetaphorswere created by animatorMichel Gagnéinspired by the work ofOskar FischingerandNorman McLaren.To create a realistic compost pile, the Art Department photographed fifteen different kinds of produce, such asapples, berries,bananas,mushrooms,oranges,broccoli, andlettuce, in the process of rotting.
The cast members strove to make their French accents authentic yet understandable.John Ratzenbergernotes that he often segued into an Italian accent.Ian Holmwas cast as the character of Skinner after Bird saw him inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. According to Pixar designer Jason Deamer, "Most of the characters were designed while Jan [Pinkava] was still directing… He has a real eye for sculpture."According to Pinkava, the critic Anton Ego was designed to resemble avulture.To save time, human characters were designed and animated without toes.Dana Carveywas originally approached for a role but he declined as he was busy raising kids.
Rat expert Debbie Ducommun (a.k.a. the "Rat Lady") was consulted on rathabitsand characteristics.Along with Ducommun's insight avivariumcontaining pet rats sat in a hallway for more than a year so animators could study the movement of the animals' fur, noses, ears, paws, and tails as they ran.
Promotional material forIntelcredits their platform for a 30 percent performance improvement in rendering software. They usedRatatouillein some of their marketing materials.
The film was animated with traditional techniques rather thanmotion capture. Bird noted this in thecreditsbecause he felt there was a trend of using real-time performance capture in animated films instead of the frame by frame methodology he "love[s] & was proud that we had used" on the movie.
Ratatouilleis the second Pixar film to be scored byMichael GiacchinoafterThe Incredibles. It is also the second Pixar film not to be scored byRandyorThomas Newman. The scores feature a wide range of instrumentation and are influenced by various music genres. Giacchino wrote two themes for Remy, one about him with the rat colony and the other about his hopes and dreams. He also wrote a buddy theme for both Remy and Linguini that plays when they are together. In addition to the score, Giacchino wrote the main theme song, "Le Festin", about Remy and his dream to be a chef. French artistCamille(who was 29 at the time of the film's release) was hired to perform "Le Festin" after Giacchino listened to her music and realized she was perfect for the song; as a result, the song is sung in French in almost all versions of the film.Thesoundtrack albumwas released byWalt Disney Recordson June 26, 2007.
Ratatouille (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) track listing
Ratatouillewas initially scheduled for release on June 9, 2006, but was later pushed back to June 29, 2007. This shift was reportedly made to accommodate the 2006 date forCars.
Ratatouille's world premiere was on June 22, 2007, at Los Angeles'Kodak Theatre.The commercial release was one week later, with the short filmLiftedprecedingRatatouillein theaters. Earlier in the year, it had received anAcademy Awardnomination.Atest screeningof the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theater inScottsdale, Arizonaon June 16, 2007, at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback.Disney CEO Bob Iger announced an upcoming theatrical re-release of the film in 3D at the Disney shareholders meeting in March 2014.
The trailer forRatatouilledebuted with the release ofCars,its immediate predecessor. It depicts an original scene where Remy is caught red-handed on the cheese trolley in the restaurant's dining area, sampling the cheese and barely escaping the establishment, intercut with separate scenes of the rat explaining directly to the audience why he is taking such risks. Similar to most of Pixar's teaser trailers, the scene was not present in the final film release.
A second trailer was released on March 23, 2007.The RatatouilleBig Cheese Tourbegan on May 11, 2007, with cooking demonstrations and a film preview.Voice actor Lou Romano attended the San Francisco leg of the tour for autograph signings.
Disney and Pixar were working to bring a French-producedRatatouille-branded wine toCostcostores in August 2007, but abandoned plans because of complaints from the CaliforniaWine Institute, citing standards in labelling that restrict the use of cartoon characters to avoid attracting under-age drinkers.Moreover, both companies faced other challenges trying to lure audiences, as several stores had been overflowing with merchandise themed to other newly released films likeSpider-Man 3,Shrek the ThirdandTransformers, making it tougher to persuade parents to spend an additional cost between $7.99 to $19.99 on a plush rat.
In the United Kingdom, in place of releasing a theatrical trailer, a commercial featuring Remy and Emile was released in cinemas before its release to discourage obtaining unlicensed copies of films.Also, in the United Kingdom, the main characters were used for a commercial for theNissan Note, with Remy and Emile watching an original commercial for it made for the "Surprisingly Spacious" ad campaign and also parodying it, respectively.
Disney/Pixar was concerned that audiences, particularly children, would not be familiar with the word "ratatouille" and its pronunciation. The title was, therefore, also spelled phonetically within trailers and on posters.For similar reasons, in the American release of the film, on-screen text in French was printed in English, such as the title of Gusteau's cookbook and the sign telling kitchen staff to wash their hands, though, in international versions such as the British English release and the US Spanish-language DVD release, these are rendered in French. In Canada, the film was released theatrically with text in English, but on DVD, the majority of the text (including Gusteau's will) was in French.
Ratatouillewas released byWalt Disney Studios Home EntertainmentonBlu-rayandDVDin North America on November 6, 2007.A new animated short film featuring Remy and Emile entitledYour Friend the Ratwas included as a special feature, in which the two rats attempt to entreat the viewer, a human, to welcome rats as their friends, demonstrating the benefits and misconceptions of rats towards humanity through several historical examples. The eleven-minute short uses 3-D animation, 2-D animation, live action and even stop-motion animation, a first for Pixar.
The disc also includes a CGI short entitledLifted, which was screened before the film during its theatrical run. It depicts an adolescentextraterrestrialattempting to kidnap a sleeping human. Throughout the sequence, he is graded by an adult extraterrestrial in a manner reminiscent of adriver's licensingexam road test. The entire short contains no dialogue, which is typical of Pixar Shorts not based on existing properties.Also included among the special features are deleted scenes, a featurette featuring Brad Bird discussing filmmaking and chefThomas Kellerdiscussing culinary creativity entitled "Fine Food and Film", and foureaster eggs. Although the Region A Blu-ray edition has a French audio track, the Region 1 DVD does not, except for some copies sold in Canada.
The DVD release on November 6, 2007, earned 4,919,574 units (equivalent toUS$73,744,414) in its first week (November 6–11, 2007) during which it topped the DVD charts. In total it sold 12,531,266 units (US$189,212,532) becoming the second-best-selling animated DVD of 2007, both in units sold and sales revenue, behindHappy Feet.In 2014 the film was re-rendered in 3D and in July of that year was released on Blu-ray 3D in the UK, France, and India.In 2019,Ratatouillewas released on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
IfmagazinedescribedRatatoing, a 2007Braziliancomputer graphicscartoon byVídeo Brinquedo, as a "ripoff" ofRatatouille.Marco Aurélio Canônico of the Brazilian newspaperFolha de S.PaulodescribedRatatoingas a derivative ofRatatouille. Canônico discussed whetherRatatoingwas similar enough toRatatouilleto warrant a lawsuit for copyright violation. TheBrazilian Ministry of Cultureposted Marco Aurélio Canônico's article on its website.To date no sources have been found to indicate that Pixar took legal action.
In its opening weekend in North America,Ratatouilleopened in 3,940 theaters and debuted at number one with $47.2 million,the lowest Pixar opening sinceA Bug's Life. When the film opened, it topped at the box office ahead of20th Century Fox'sLive Free or Die Hard.Ratatouillewas the first non-sequel film to reach the number one spot sinceDisturbiadebuted two months earlier.The film only stayed in its position for a few days before being taken byTransformers.In France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film and dethronedTitanicfor the most consecutive weeks at the top of the box office.In the United Kingdom, the film debuted at number one with sales over £4 million.The film has grossed $206.4 million in the United States and Canada and a total of $623.7 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossingPixarfilm.
The review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoesreported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8.5/10 based on 253 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Fast-paced and stunningly animated,Ratatouilleadds another delightfully entertaining entry—and a rather unlikely hero—to the Pixar canon."OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 37 reviews,the highest of any Pixar film (tied withToy Story)and the 46th highest-rated film on the site.Audiences surveyed byCinemaScoregave the film a grade "A" on scale of A+ to F.
A. O. ScottofThe New York TimescalledRatatouille"a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film"; echoing the character Anton Ego in the film, he ended his review with a simple "thank you" to the creators of the film.Wally Hammond ofTime Outgave the film five out of five stars, saying "A test for tiny tots, a mite nostalgic and as male-dominated as a modern kitchen it may be, but these are mere quibbles about this delightful addition to the Pixar pantheon."Andrea Gronvall of theChicago Readergave the film a positive review, saying "Brad Bird's second collaboration with Pixar is more ambitious and meditative than his Oscar-winningThe Incredibles."Owen GleibermanofEntertainment Weeklygave the film a B, saying "Ratatouillehas the Pixar technical magic without, somehow, the full Pixar flavor. It's Brad Bird's genial dessert, not so much incredible as merely sweetly edible."Peter TraversofRolling Stonegave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "What makesRatatouillesuch a hilarious and heartfelt wonder is the way Bird contrives to let it sneak up on you. And get a load of that score from Michael Giacchino, a perfect complement to a delicious meal."James BerardinelliofReelViewsgave the film three out of four stars, saying "For parents looking to spend time in a theater with their kids or adults who want something lighter and less testosterone-oriented than the usual summer fare,Ratatouilleoffers a savory main course."Christy Lemire of theAssociated Pressgave the film a positive review, saying "Ratatouilleis free of the kind of gratuitous pop-culture references that plague so many movies of the genre; it tells a story, it's very much of our world but it never goes for the cheap, easy gag."Justin Chang ofVarietygave the film a positive review, saying "The master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients—abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication—to produce a warm and irresistible concoction."
Michael Phillips of theChicago Tribunegave the film four out of four stars, saying "The film may be animated, and largely taken up with rats, but its pulse is gratifyingly human. And you have never seen a computer-animated feature with this sort of visual panache and detail."Rafer Guzman ofNewsdaygave the film three out of four stars, saying "So many computer-animated movies are brash, loud and popping with pop-culture comedy, butRatatouillehas the warm glow of a favorite book. The characters are more than the sum of their gigabyte-consuming parts – they feel handcrafted."Roger Moore of theOrlando Sentinelgave the film three out of five stars, saying "Has Pixar lost its magic recipe?Ratatouilleis filled with fairly generic animated imagery, a few modest chases, a couple of good gags, not a lot of laughs."Scott Foundas ofLA Weeklygave the film a positive review, saying "Bird has taken the raw ingredients of an anthropomorphic-animal kiddie matinee and whipped them into a heady brew about nothing less than the principles of artistic creation."Colin Covert of theStar Tribunegave the film four out of four stars, saying "It's not just the computer animation that is vibrantly three-dimensional. It's also the well-rounded characters… I defy you to name another animated film so overflowing with superfluous beauty."Steven Rea ofThe Philadelphia Inquirergave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "WithRatatouille, Bird once again delivers not just a great, witty story, but dazzling visuals as well."Bill Muller ofThe Arizona Republicgave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Like the burbling soup that plays a key part inRatatouille, the movie is a delectable blend of ingredients that tickles the palette and leaves you hungry for more."
Rene Rodriguez of theMiami Heraldgave the film three out of four stars, saying "Ratatouilleis the most straightforward and formulaic picture to date from Pixar Animation Studios, but it is also among the most enchanting and touching."Jack Mathews of theNew York Daily Newsgave the film four out of four stars, saying "The Pixar magic continues with Brad Bird'sRatatouille, a gorgeous, wonderfully inventive computer-animated comedy."Stephen Whitty of theNewark Star-Ledgergave the film three out of four stars, saying "Fresh family fun. Although there are those slightly noxious images of rodents scampering around a kitchen, the movie doesn't stoop to kid-pandering jokes based on backtalk and bodily gases."David Ansen ofNewsweekgave the film a positive review, saying "A film as rich as a sauce béarnaise, as refreshing as a raspberry sorbet, and a lot less predictable than the damn food metaphors and adjectives all us critics will churn out to describe it. OK, one more and then I'll be done: it's yummy."Peter Hartlaub of theSan Francisco Chroniclegave the film four out of four stars, saying "Ratatouillenever overwhelms, even though it's stocked with action, romance, historical content, family drama and serious statements about the creation of art."Richard Corliss ofTimegave the film a positive review, saying "From the moment Remy enters, crashing, to the final happy fadeout,Ratatouilleparades the brio and depth that set Pixar apart from and above other animation studios."Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesgave the film four out of four stars, saying "A lot of animated movies have inspired sequels, notablyShrek, but Brad Bird'sRatatouilleis the first one that made me positively desire one."Peter Howell of theToronto Stargave the film four out of four stars, saying "Had Bird gone the safe route, he would have robbed us of a great new cartoon figure in Remy, who like the rest of the film is rendered with animation that is at once fanciful and life-like. It's also my pick for Pixar's best."
Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journalgave the film a positive review, saying "The characters are irresistible, the animation is astonishing and the film, a fantasy version of a foodie rhapsody, sustains a level of joyous invention that hasn't been seen in family entertainment sinceThe Incredibles."Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Timesgave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "Brad Bird'sRatatouilleis so audacious you have to fall in love with its unlikely hero."Claudia Puig ofUSA Todaygave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Ratatouilleis delicious fun sure to be savored by audiences of all ages for its sumptuous visuals, clever wit and irresistibly inspiring tale."Miriam Di Nunzio of theChicago Sun-Timesgave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Ratatouillewill make you wonder why animation needs to hide behind the mantle of 'it's for children, but grownups will like it, too.' This one's for Mom and Dad, and yep, the kids will like it, too."Michael Booth ofThe Denver Postgave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Writer and director Brad Bird keepsRatatouillemoving without resorting to the cute animal jokes or pop-culture wisecracking that ruined so many other recent animated films."Tom Long ofThe Detroit Newsgave the film an A, saying "Ratatouillehas the technical genius, emotional core and storytelling audacity to lift it into the ranks of [the best] Pixar films, the crème de la crème of modern animation." Liam Lacey ofThe Globe and Mailgave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "No sketchy backgrounds here—Ratatouille's scenes feel like deep-focus camera shots. The textures, from the gleam of copper pans to the cobblestone streets, are almost palpable."Desson Thomson ofThe Washington Postgave the film a positive review, saying "Ratatouilledoesn't center on the over-familiar surfaces of contemporary life. It harks back to Disney's older era when cartoons seemed part of a more elegant world with less edgy characters."
Ratatouillewon theAcademy Award for Best Animated Featureat the80th Academy Awardsand was nominated for four others:Best Original Score,Best Sound Editing,Best Sound Mixing,Best Original Screenplay, losing toAtonement,The Bourne Ultimatum(for both Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing), andJuno, respectively.With five Oscar nominations, the film broke the record for an animated feature film, surpassing the four nominations each ofAladdin,Monsters, Inc.,Finding Nemo, andThe Incredibles. As of 2013,Ratatouilleis tied withUpandToy Story 3for the second-most Oscar nominations for an animated film, behindBeauty and the BeastandWALL-E(six).
Furthermore,Ratatouillewas nominated for 13Annie Awardsincluding twice in the Best Animated Effects, where it lost toSurf's Up, and three times in the Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm, and Patton Oswalt, where Ian Holm won the award.It won the Best Animated Feature Award from multiple associations including theChicago Film Critics,theNational Board of Review,the Annie Awards,theBroadcast Film Critics,theBritish Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA), and theGolden Globes.
A primary video game adaptation of the film, titledRatatouille, was released for all major consoles and handhelds in 2007. ANintendo DSexclusive game, titledRatatouille: Food Frenzy, was released in October 2007.Ratatouilleis also among the films represented inKinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure, released in March 2012 forXbox 360.The video game based on the movie was released in 2007 forXbox 360,Wii,PlayStation 2,GameCube,Xbox,Game Boy Advance,Nintendo DS,PlayStation Portable,Microsoft Windows,Mac OS X,Java ME, andmobile phones. APlayStation 3version was released on October 23, 2007.The other versions, however were all released on June 26, 2007.
Remy is featured in the video gameKingdom Hearts III. He appears as the head chef forScrooge McDuck'sbistro and participates withSorain cooking minigames. He is addressed only as "Little Chef" in the game, as he does not speak and cannot reveal his name to the characters.
Remy, Linguini and Colette appear as playable characters in theworld buildergameDisney Magic Kingdoms, in addition to attractions based on Gusteau's Kitchen andRemy's Ratatouille Adventure. In the game, the characters are involved in new storylines that serve as a continuation of the events of the film.
In the video gameDisney Dreamlight Valley, Remy appears as one of the characters that the player meets during the progress of the story, being the owner of the valley's restaurant,Chez Remy.
A Disney theme park attraction based on the film has been constructed inWalt Disney Studios Park,Disneyland Paris.Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémyis based upon scenes from the film and uses trackless ride technology. In the attraction, riders "shrink down to the size of a rat".At the 2017 D23 Expo, Disney announced the attraction would be built at theFrance PavilioninEpcot'sWorld Showcasewhich opened on October 1, 2021, during the 50th anniversary ofWalt Disney Worldand the 39th anniversary of Epcot.
In late 2020, users of the social media appTikTokcrowdsourced the creation ofa musical based on the film. A virtual concert presentation of it, produced by Seaview Productions, streamed for 72 hours onTodayTixbeginning January 1, 2021 to benefitThe Actors Fundin response to theCOVID-19 pandemic. It is directed bySixco-creator and co-director Lucy Moss from a script adaptation by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, both of whom co-executive produced the concert withJeremy O. Harris. The cast includedKevin Chamberlinas Gusteau,Andrew Barth Feldmanas Linguini,Titus Burgessas Remy,Adam Lambertas Emile,Wayne Bradyas Django,Priscilla Lopezas Mabel,Ashley Parkas Colette,André De Shieldsas Anton Ego, Owen Tabaka as Young Anton Ego andMary Testaas Skinner. The concert raised over $1.9 million for The Actors Fund.
The film has often been referenced in popular culture since its release, being mentioned or parodied on shows such asSaturday Night Live,My Name Is Earl,The Simpsons,Breaking Bad,Key & Peele,Orange Is the New Black,Teen Titans Go!,Difficult People,The Good Place,Once Upon a Time,Brooklyn Nine-Nine, andTed Lasso, as well as in the filmsThe Five-Year Engagement(2012),The Suicide Squad(2021),Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem(2023), and in comedianJohn Mulaney's comedy specialNew in Town.
A parody ofRatatouilleis a significantplot threadin the 2022 science-fiction filmEverything Everywhere All at Once. In the middle of the film, the main character Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) attempts to explain themultiverseand the concept of "verse-jumping" (temporarily linking one’s consciousness to another version of themselves in a different universe, and accessing all the emotions, memories, and skills in the process) to her family using the Pixar film as an analogy, only to misremember it as being about araccoonand being titledRaccacoonie. Later, in one of severalparallel universes, Evelyn is ateppanyakichef who works with anotherteppanyakichef named Chad (Harry Shum Jr.) who is indeed being puppeteered by the anthropomorphic Raccacoonie (voiced byRandy Newman) who is hiding under Chad's chef hat, much like Remy and Linguini; during the film's climactic montage, Evelyn exposes Raccacoonie and he is taken away byanimal control, before she has a change of heart and helps Chad rescue Raccacoonie. Reportedly inspired by producer Jonathan Wang's father's habit of misremembering the names of popular films,the running joke was described byIGNas "one of the film's highlights",while Alison Herman ofThe Ringernoted a thematic resonance as both films were about "the virtues of creativity within material constraints".