Ratatouille | Film | The Guardian The Guardian Share on Messenger Close Shortly before his death in 1966, Walt Disney looked at the rushes of The Jungle Book and said with a sigh: 'I don't know, fellas, I guess I'm getting a little old for animation.' In fact, he hadn't produced a cartoon of the first rank for more than 20 years, not since the great early quintet of Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi Another 25 years were to pass before the Disney Studio embarked on a second cycle of great animated films in the age of the computer-generated image. It began with Beauty and the Beast in 1991 and led to the creation in 2001 of a new Oscar, for best animated feature. Since the mid-1990s, this new Golden Age has come to be dominated by the Pixar Animation Studios, which had started out in 1979 as largely a computer hardware organisation. In 1995, Pixar made its first full-length feature, Toy Story, released through Disney and now a sub-division of the Disney Organisation.

Each of its films to date has been a major popular and critical success, and its latest, Ratatouille , is arguably its finest yet, a tale exuding good taste and civilised values that centres on a rodent. A rare case of Roedean meeting Rodine. Rats have rightly had a bad press throughout history, carrying plagues around the world, terrifying Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four and universally loathed, though the puppet Roland Rat enjoyed a vogue on television after saving a crisis-troubled TV station from extinction, and Sinatra and his disreputable chums proudly called themselves the Rat Pack. Mice, on the other hand, have always been thought cute and lovable, idealised by Beatrix Potter and providing the Disney Organisation with its corporate symbol. The Disney company is popularly known in the film industry as 'the Mouse', so it must have seemed an amusingly subversive notion to make Remy, the hero of Ratatouille, not only a rat, but a highly sophisticated one.

Moreover, he's a native of that 'Old Europe' so roundly condemned by Donald Rumsfeld, and a citizen of France, whose most significant contribution to America's fast-food cuisine was for a while redesignated as 'freedom fries'. To put a serious interpretation on a hilarious, fast-moving picture, Ratatouille is about education, aspiration, collaboration and the challenging of stereotypes. Remy is a rural rat who discovers he has remarkable gifts of smell and taste, which his loving, hard-nosed dad (voiced by Brian Dennehy) insists should be used for the benefit of the pack by sniffing out poisonous materials among the garbage they feed off. 'But why should we steal food or live on waste stuff?' Remy asks. In a country cottage occupied by an old lady, he watches the TV shows of Parisian restaurateur Auguste Gusteau, author of Anyone Can Cook, which encourages him to experiment, initially using the smoke from the cottage chimney. But in a superbly orchestrated sequence, the outraged old lady takes a shotgun to the local rats, driving them into a sewer that takes them towards Paris.

Separated from the others, Remy finds that fate has led him to Gusteau's restaurant which, since the death of its owner and because of the animosity of imperious food critic Anton Ego, has lost two of its stars and become stultified. The ghost of Gusteau, a Jiminy Cricket conscience figure who describes himself as 'a figment of your imagination', becomes Remy's companion and, first by accident, then by design, the rat sets about restoring the restaurant to its old status. As he can't reveal his identity for fear of closing the place down, he works through the dim but likable Linguini, a garbage boy who's in fact Gusteau's heir. Remy sits under the lad's toque, directing him by pulling his hair, and rapidly turns him into a star. He renews the restaurant's repertoire, but excites the suspicions of the top chef (voiced by Ian Holm), who wants to take the place over and, a very sly joke here, uses Gusteau's reputation for a fast-food franchise exploiting every form of world cuisine.

The movie becomes something of a thriller as Remy fights to retain his disguise and a suspense story in the way he contrives to woo Ego, who looks like a cross between the great Louis Jouvet and novelist Will Self, and is spoken by Peter O'Toole at his plummiest. There are some almost serious moments, as when Remy gets lost in the city and discovers what an outcast he is, and when Ego gives a little disquisition on the nature of criticism. The film is constantly dazzling in its graphic inventiveness, both in the frequent chases and in complex setpieces like the kitchen being operated by dozens of rats under Remy's instruction. The latter brings to mind WP Frith's detailed paintings of busy Victorian life and also Martin Handford's Where's Wally? books. As for the magnificent food, in its animated form, it has that surreal quality of food and fruit in paintings that pleases and satisfies in itself without exciting desire or hunger. The Pixar people aim both to please audiences and to fulfil themselves as artists. As in their previous films, they provide a marvellous curtain-raiser, in this case a 10-minute film called Lifted, a comic take on Close Encounters.

An apprentice pilot of a flying saucer, assigned to make an alien abduction, botches an attempt to beam up a sleeping boy from a prairie farmhouse and his extraterrestrial supervisor has to take over. This little gem puts you in the right mood. Then, at the end, the credits (which name everyone at Pixar from the animators to the lawyers) are accompanied by beautifully drawn backgrounds, even though the producers are well-aware that few people will stay to watch them. That's true self-respect. Ratatouille (2007) - Financial Information Ratatouille (2007) Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists Record November 6th, 2007 by Walt Disney Home Entertainment MPAA Rating: Ranking on other Records and Milestones Record DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 5th, 2011 July 5th, 2011 It's a terrible week for new DVD and Blu-ray releases with no first run releases of note. There's not even an abundance of limited releases, TV on DVD releases, or catalogue releases to pick up the slack.

The best-selling release according to Amazon.com is 13 Assassins on Blu-ray and it is also arguably the best. It's really the only competitor for Pick of the Week. More... DVD Sales - Beowulf has 7 Days on Top March 10th, 2008 There were plenty of new releases to hit the sales chart this week, as well as an older release that returned to the top five. Number one was Beowulf with 902,000 units sold for $17.08 million in revenue in its first week. More... Awards Season - No Country but Plenty of Oscars for Old Men February 25th, 2008 The Oscars have all been awarded and No Country for Old Men was the big winner at the Oscars, taking home four major awards. (It was shut out of the technical nominations.) The second biggest winner of the night was The Bourne Ultimatum with three awards, all technical. More...

Oscar Contest - Category Highlight - Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay February 15th, 2008 With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at Best Writing - Original Screenplay and Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay. More... Oscar Contest - Category Highlight - Best Animated Feature / Best Documentary February 13th, 2008 With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Animated Feature Film and Best Feature Length Documentary. More... Awards Season - Country's Wins are Getting Old February 10th, 2008 The final guilds awards were handed recently and it seems like a stuck record with No Country for Old Men picking up award after award. However, it wasn't the only winner. More...

Awards Season - No Shortage of Love for Country or Blood January 22nd, 2008 The Oscar nominations were announced today and there is no shortage of contenders. In fact, with no real juggernaut to deal with, the competition is more up in the air that most years. More... Awards Season - Guilds Get into the Act January 15th, 2008 The final three guilds handed out their nominations over the past week and while most deal with television, there are a handful of theatrical nominations for each of the Directors Guild of America , the Producers Guild of America , and the Writers Guild of America . More... Awards Season - No Ceremony but Plenty of Winners January 14th, 2008 The WGA strike meant the Golden Globes ceremony was cancelled last night and the winners were instead announced during a half-hour press conference. For people who think the awards have become bloated, this was welcome news. More... DVD Sales - Pirates Find Plenty of Booty on the Home Market December 17th, 2007 Only five new releases landed on the sales chart this week, but that included the top two sellers.

Leading the way was Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End with a year's best weekly sales of 7.35 million units and total revenue of $145.06 million, which crushes The Transformers ' opening week by nearly 2 million units. In fact, after just one week, At World's End is in fourth place for the whole year . At this pace, it could be the biggest seller of the year by next week. More... International Details - No Heartbreak for the Kid December 16th, 2007 The Heartbreak Kid slipped a spot to sixth with $5.04 million on 2029 screens in 46 markets for a total of $79.44 million internationally, which is more than twice what it earned domestically. This includes France where it pulled in $1.10 million on 320 screens while lifting its running tally to $3.37 million in that market. More... Award Season - Globes Spread the Love Around December 13th, 2007 The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their Golden Globe nominations this week, but there were no truly dominate films out of the 14 theatrical categories. More...

DVD Sales - New Releases Die, Hard December 10th, 2007 There were no new releases to reach the top five on the sales chart this week and this left Live Free or Die Hard in first place with 716,000 units sold this week. That raises its total sales to 2.78 million units and $47.60 million. More... International Details - Bee Movie is Buzzing Internationally December 9th, 2007 Bee Movie returned to the charts in sixth place with $6.71 million on 1288 screens in 11 markets for an early international total of $19.43 million after a month of release. This includes a pair of first place debuts in Spain and Mexico. In the former it earned $2.81 million on 421 screens while in the latter is earned $2.60 million on 389 screens. While Spain is the larger marker, I thought the family friendly nature of Mexico would give it the edge. Even so, there are great openings for the film. More...

DVD Sales - Living for the Home Market December 3rd, 2007 New releases were not plentiful on the sales chart this week, but they dominated the top five by taking three spots. This includes Live Free or Die Hard in first place with 2.06 million units sold and $35.11 million in total sales. More... International Details - Lions are more like Lambs December 3rd, 2007 Lions for Lambs climbed a spot to sixth place with $4.34 million on 2453 screens in 53 markets for a total of $25.97 million, while only managing $1 million or more in one market this past weekend, ($1.40 million on 390 screens during its sixth place debut in France). It opens in Italy later this month and Japan in the spring of '08, but there's almost no chance the film will show a profit at this point.

Normally one movie losing money isn't a big issue because the studio can rely on one or two monster hits to pay for their misses, ( Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made enough money to pay for the entire budgets of half-a-dozen misses for Warner Bros. this year, and that's before the home market). However, United Artists is a newly relauched studio and they don't have a war chest built up from past victories. Stumbling out of the gate like this hurts. More... 2007 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I December 2nd, 2007 It's the first of December. (At least it was when I was writing this intro the first time. I was only going to do a dozen or so releases, but the list ballooned well out of control.) This week kicks off our second annual Holiday Gift Guide with a look at some high definition releases, because nothing says holidays like a format war. More... DVD Sales - Shrek Stomps Competition November 25th, 2007 Shrek the Third was the second digitally animated film to debut on top of the sales chart in two weeks.

Preliminary numbers have the DVD selling 4.10 million units for $62.42 million in sales. The Thanksgiving holiday delayed full numbers and this could change when final updates are in, although they won't change by enough to drop it out of first place. More... DVD Rentals - Shrek Even Stronger on Rental Charts November 25th, 2007 There were only four new releases to chart this week on the DVD rental chart, including Shrek the Third , which opened in top spot with $11.01 million in rentals. More... International Top Five - Beowulf is the Leader of the Pack November 21st, 2007 Beowulf was able to come out on top on the international charts just as it did domestically, but it was by a lot closer margin of victory. During its first weekend of release, the film pulled in $17.41 million on 2432 screens in 13 markets, including a first place debut in South Korea where it earned $2.91 million on 365 screens over the weekend and $3.92 million in total.

Beowulf opened in other major markets but had to settle for second in the U.K. with $4.51 million on 485 screens, and in Germany with $2.12 million on 698 screens while it could do no better than third place in Italy with $2.09 million on 368. Like its domestic debut, these results could be described as disappointing when placed next to its $150 million production budget. More... DVD Sales - Ratatouille Rules the Sales Chart November 19th, 2007 Ratatouille led a large group of new releases on this week's sales chart selling a massive 3.86 million units for first week sales of $57.82 million. More... DVD Rentals - Why Buy Chuck and Larry When You can Rent It? November 19th, 2007 There were just four new releases to chart on this week's rental charts, but three of them placed in the top five. This includes the new number one renter, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry , which pulled in $9.26 million in rentals. More...

International Top Five - Bollywood Blowout November 14th, 2007 For the first time in a while we have a Hollywood film releases day-and-date internationally in more than 40 markets, so it comes as a huge surprise that the number one film this weekend is Om Shanti Om . It is true that Bollywood films have been performing better as of late and the overall market is typically slow during the fall, but earning $18.17 million on 1,048 screens in 17 markets is still a fantastic start by any measure. Most of that figure came from India , but unfortunately that market generally doesn't release final numbers till much later in the week, if not the following week. We have read reports of record openings on the vast majority of the 600 screens it opened on in its native market, and expectations are for strong legs there. Meanwhile, the film placed seventh in the U.K. with $1.07 million on just 52 screens for a per screen average of over $20,000. More...

DVD Releases for November 13, 2007 November 12th, 2007 Another week, another $300 million hit comes out on DVD, along with a few dozen other films and TV series. While this week wasn't quite as busy as it has been for a few weeks, we still had plenty of contenders for DVD Pick of the Week. This includes this week's winner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition - Blu-Ray , while a release from last week, Ratatouille - Blu-Ray , earns a belated honor. More... Contest - Feeling Blu November 8th, 2007 The third family film of the month is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium , and it is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. To win one must simply predict the box office opening for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium . Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Ratatouille on Blu-Ray . That's right, we have our first Blu-Ray giveaway.

Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Broken on DVD . Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More... International Top Five - Ratatouille's a Five Star International Release November 7th, 2007 For the fifth week in a row, Ratatouille led the way on the international charts as it pulled in $15.65 million on 3732 screens in 30 markets for a total of $375.08 million. The film is still number one in the U.K. with $3.22 million on 498 screens and in Italy with $3.15 million on 536 screens. However, its best market of the weekend was Germany where it added $3.84 million on 835 screens scoring second place in the process.

The film now has $42.19 million in Germany, $40.89 million in the U.K., and $20.37 million in Italy, which is impressive but well back of France where the animated feature has earned $66.05 million after three months of release. Even with no further markets to open in, Ratatouille will have no problem becoming just the third Pixar film to earn $600 million worldwide and the sixth such hit this year. More... DVD Releases for November 6, 2007 - Part 2 November 6th, 2007 Now that Halloween is over, the Christmas shopping season has (un)officially started and there is a flood of DVDs coming out this week, so much so that we again had to split the list into two parts. (And looking at next week's list, we might have to do it again.) Despite this long list, it was an easy choice for DVD Pick of the Week: Cars - Blu-Ray Release . Although when the other two Blu-Ray Pixar screeners show up, I might have to revise that choice. More...

International Top Five - International Auds Gorge on Ratatouille October 31st, 2007 Ratatouille 's feeding frenzy continues with another first place finish this time the film earned $22.61 million on 4271 screens in 29 markets for a total of $348.16 million. Even though the film had no new openings this week, and won't for the rest of its run, it still managed first place in a handful of markets. The best of these was the U.K. where it earned $7.40 million on 525 screens over the weekend for a total of $35.73 million, which is already more than Cars earned in that market in total. Meanwhile in Italy it remained in first place despite having to deal with five wide releases while adding $4.56 million on 624 screens for a two-week total of $14.07 million. On the other hand, a local hit pushed the film into second place in Germany, but it still earned $3.91 million on 845 screens over the weekend for a total of $35.15 million.

It looks more and more likely that the film will reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide . Only Finding Nemo earned more internationally for Pixar and only The Incredibles and Finding Nemo earned more worldwide . More... International Top Five - Audiences Still Haven't Had Their Fill of Ratatouille October 24th, 2007 Ratatouille remained in first place over the weekend as it topped $300 million internationally and $500 million worldwide . Over the weekend the film opened in first place in Italy with $6.29 million on 658 screens over the weekend and $7.26 million in total, which is the best opening for a Pixar film in that market. It also topped the charts in Sweden with $1.71 million on 183 screens over the weekend and $2.03 million in total and Poland with $1.24 million on 130 screens over the weekend and $1.49 million.

Overall, Ratatouille added $30.11 million on 4168 screens in 29 markets for a total of $310.12 million internationally and $515.03 million worldwide. The film could reach $400 million internationally, especially with its impressive legs so far. In the U.K. the film was down only 31% to $6.26 million on 535 screens over the weekend and $18.38 million in total, while in Germany it was down just 1% to $6.40 million on 860 screens over the weekend and $29.24 million in total. The only Pixar film to make more in that latter market was Finding Nemo at $54 million, which is in all likelihood out of reach, but not completely out of the question. More... International Top Five - Second Helping for Ratatouille October 17th, 2007 Ratatouille remained in top spot with $21.07 million on 3721 screens in 39 markets for a total of $271.85 million.

This includes a dominating first place, $9.08 million opening on 503 screens in the U.K. This was nearly twice as much as Cars debuted with in that market, but only half as much as The Incredibles . Meanwhile in Germany, the film was down 45% to $6.46 million for the weekend and $20.40 million in total. This is already more than Cars made in total in that market and is about a week away from also topping The Incredibles final figure of $24.22 million. Its best market is still France where it has made $64.76 million, just a hair below the $64.78 million Finding Nemo made in that market meaning Ratatouille has already become the all-time highest grossing Pixar movie in France. More... International Top Five - Ratatouille Earns its First Michelin Star October 10th, 2007 Ratatouille climbed to the top on the international charts thanks to a first place opening in Germany, which is one of its last major markets.

The film pulled in $11.71 million on 853 screens, which is almost four times what Cars made during its opening and more than twice what The Incredibles debuted with. It isn't as strong as Finding Nemo but that's such a high standard that no one will be disappointed that it didn't make it there. Overall the film added $19.33 million on 3265 screens in 30 markets for a total of $245.83 million, including $63.92 million in France. More... International Top Five - Bourne Refuses to Fall October 3rd, 2007 The summer blockbuster season may have ended a month ago, but The Bourne Ultimatum is still ruling the international box office. This week the film added $9.61 million on 2875 screens in 47 markets for a total of $162.78 million so far. The film had no major, or even midlevel openings this past weekend, but it still managed an estimated $1.5 million in France for a total of $12.6 million after three weeks there.

Even if the film had no more markets left to debut in, it could still cross $200 million internationally, and with openings in Italy and Japan still ahead, the goal is to earn more than the first two installments in the franchise combined. More... International Details - Ratatouille Serves Up an International Dish September 30th, 2007 Ratatouille opening in first place in South Africa this weekend earning $298,000 on 40 screens, which is very close to what The Simpsons Movie made in its opening there a few weeks ago. Its best market of the weekend remains France where it was down a mere 4% to $1.67 million on 655 screens over the weekend for a total of $58.63 million. At this pace, the film will reach $60 million by this time next week while topping Finding Nemo 's total of nearly $65 million is increasingly in reach.

Overall Ratatouille added $4.66 million on 2535 screens in 27 markets for a total of $216.42 million, which is more than Cars managed, and this film still has openings in Germany, U.K., Italy, and Scandinavia. More... International Details - Rush Hour Just Misses Going Five by Five September 23rd, 2007 Rush Hour 3 missed spending its fifth week in fifth place by less than $4000 at $5.69 million on 2443 screens in 31 markets for a total of $69.71 million. This weekend the film opened in first place in Russia with $2.28 million on 385 screens while it had to settle for second place in Denmark with $485,000 on 41 screens over the weekend and $517,000 in total. More...

International Top Five - Ultimatum Ultimate Bourne Film September 12th, 2007 The Bourne Ultimatum regained top spot as it became the fist film from the Bourne franchise to cross $300 million worldwide while it is about a week from being the highest grossing film internationally as well. Over the weekend the film added $15.79 million on 3341 screens in 38 markets for a total of $98.24 million internationally and $308.53 million worldwide . It was aided by two openings in major markets as it scored first place in both Germany, ($4.65 million on 703 screens), and Mexico, ($1.43 million on 385 screens). Meanwhile, the film is still doing swift business in holdovers like Australia with $3.25 million on 402 screens over the weekend and $10.08 million in total and the U.K. with $2.21 million on 457 screens over the weekend and $40.63 million in total.

The Bourne Ultimatum opens in France and South Korea this week while it doesn't hit Italy and Japan till November and by then it could have $200 million internationally. More... International Top Five - Shrek Storms Back to the Top September 6th, 2007 It was the end of summer and that's the best time for Shrek the Third to make its debut in Italy. Summers in Italy are for outdoor activities, so much so that many theaters close down for the season, which makes it a good plan to hold off opening blockbusters there till the fall. The film dominated that market earning $8.02 million on 705 screens over the weekend and $10.67 million overall. The film also opened in three of the four Scandinavian markets earning a combined $4.06 million on 347 screens, including previews / midweek numbers. Overall the film added $17.87 million on 1849 screens in 23 markets for a total of $436.45 million. More...

Halloween has Furious Beginning September 4th, 2007 The summer ended on a strong note, including a record-breaking opening by Halloween . Overall the box office earning $118 million over the 3-day weekend, which was up 8% from last weekend and 16% from the same weekend last year. Over 4 days, the box office total was $149 million, up 15% from last year. With records broken for total box office, number of $300 million movies, number of $200 million movies, and more, this is a summer most movie executives will deeply miss. More... International Top Five - Bourne Breaks Bank August 29th, 2007 The top five on this week's international charts was the same as last week, only in a slightly different order. For instance, The Bourne Ultimatum was able to climb into top spot with $15.17 million on 2059 screens in 24 markets for a total of $52.55 million so far.

The film had a number of openings, including Russia where it opening in first place with $2.57 million on 453 screens and New Zealand where it top the box office with $666,000 on 60 screens. However, it had to settle for second place in Brazil with $976,000 on 196 screens, but that was still the best per screen average in the top ten there. The film's biggest market overall was the U.K. where it remained in first place with $5.77 million on 456 screens for a two-week total of $27.86 million, which is more than either of the previous films made in that market. In fact, The Bourne Ultimatum is on track to top the $33.94 million the first two films made in total in the U.K. More... International Top Five - Simpsons Streak is Summer's Best August 22nd, 2007 The Simpsons Movie topped the charts for the fourth weekend in a row, the first film do win four weeks in a row on the international chart this summer.

However, it was very, very close with $22.30 million on 3128 screens in 49 market for a total of $267.62 million internationally while its worldwide total is now $432.89 million. The film opened in first place in Russia with $3.66 million on 545 screens while in Brazil it took in $2.73 million on 442 screens. Its final significant opening of the weekend came in the Netherlands where it also took first place with $844,000 on 190 screens including the biggest opening day for an animated film at just under $222,000. The film is already $100 million ahead of its domestic pace on the international scene and should hit $300 million before long, while worldwide it could be headed to $500 million. More...

International Top Five - Simpsons Stave Off Potter August 15th, 2007 For the third weekend in a row, The Simpsons Movie topped the charts, but it was a close race as the TV adaptation pulled in $24.12 million on 6,629 screens in 55 markets for a total of $232.02 million, just beating Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , which clocked in with $23.87 million. The Simpsons' nearly 50% drop-off can be explained by they lack of new openings and the film is still performing strongly in several major markets, including the U.K. where it added $4.39 million on 506 screens to its running tally of $60.41 million. Meanwhile in Mexico, the film was down 64% during its second weekend of release, although that's typical of the film's performance so far and it was still able to earn first place with $1.95 million on 986 screens for a total of $11.10 million so far. More...

International Top Five - Simpsons Score, according to Estimates August 8th, 2007 Full numbers are not in, so we are stuck with studio estimates for this week's international top five round-up. That means a couple of films could switch places when the final numbers are in. However, it is certain that The Simpsons Movie will take top spot as it pulled in an estimated $47.3 million on 6,627 screens in 75 markets for a two-week total of $187 million. This week's numbers include several new releases, including Mexico, where the family friendly film dominated the box office taking in $5.46 million on 842 screens over the weekend and $6.84 million in total. Holdovers were mixed with the film down 70% in the U.K. and 64% in Germany, however, it still made $8.18 million on 519 screens in the former market and $5.15 million on 816 screens in the latter for running tallies of $24.96 million and $49.14 million respectively.

It fell more than 50% in almost all major markets, but with a worldwide total of more than $300 million after the weekend, the studio should be very happy with the results. More... International Top Five - Simpsons Nearly Reaches Nine-Digits August 1st, 2007 The Simpsons Movie started its international run with a bang -- a nuclear powered bang. The film earned $82.49 million over the weekend on 5,527 screens in 71 markets and now has $96.85 million including midweek numbers and previews. This is an unbelievably huge opening and one that would have floored analysts not too long ago. However, it is less than half way to what At World's End opened with earlier in the year and just over half of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Spider-Man 3 's openings, leaving it in fourth place for the year. The film's best individual market was the U.K., where it earned a massive $27.67 million opening on 499 screens, which helped pave the way for the largest weekend ever in that market.

Other major markets include $14.22 million on 754 screens in Germany, $11.32 million on 442 screens in Australia, $9.47 million on 716 screens in France, and $7.57 million on 672 screens in Spain. The film has also yet to open in Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Italy, Russia, and other significant markets. I'm a little concerned by the Fanboy Effect and what it could do to the film's legs, but no matter what happens from now on, the film is a financial success, and one that practically demands a sequel . More... International Details - Transformers Remains Hair-raising July 29th, 2007 The Transformers held on strong dipping just 7% to $33.77 million on 4626 screens in 41 markets for a total of $192.44 million. This includes an estimated $6.4 million from previews in the U.K.

The film's only major opening of the weekend was Mexico where it placed first with $5.46 million on 410 screens pushing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into second place. The Transformers also continued its amazing run in South Korea adding $3.12 million on 442 screens for a running tally of $46.21 million, which is like making $500 million here given the relative sizes of the two markets. More... Chuck and Harry Finish One-Two but Hairspray is the Real Winner July 24th, 2007 As expected, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix traded spots during the weekend. However, they both finished lower than expected in raw dollars. Fortunately Hairspray and the rest of the films were able to compensate. The overall box office was down 14% from last weekend to $155 million, but that was still up close to 3% compared to the same weekend last year. More...

International Details - Harry Was Not the Only Film to Light Up the Charts July 22nd, 2007 As expected, The Transformers fell to second place this week, what wasn't expected was how well it held on. The film was down a mere 23% to $36.13 million on 3667 screens in 31 markets for a total of $146.66 million internationally. The film opened in China with a record-setting $12.6 million on 300 screens over the first five days while it earned $498,000 on 71 in Greece and $258,000 from 28 in Israel. The film's best market so far has been South Korea where it has taken in $39.52 million in three weeks, including $5.76 million on 540 screens this past weekend. This is a record for a non- South Korean film and an unexpectedly strong performance.

Additionally, the film has yet to open in a number of major markets including the U.K., Japan, France, and Mexico and should hit $300 million internationally and $600 million worldwide, if not more. More... Chuck and Harry July 19th, 2007 The buddy comedy with Adam Sandler and Kevin James opens this weekend, and while it won't be seen as one of the major hits of the summer, it should still be in a relatively close battle with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for top spot on the charts this weekend. More... Harry Potter and the Fanboy Effect July 17th, 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix burst onto screens on Wednesday but proved the old adage that the fire that burns brightest burns the shortest as it fell off its record breaking pace immediately. That said, the weekend was still one worth celebrating as the overall box office took in $181 million, which was a small increase (4.3%) from last weekend, and a substantial increase (14%) from the same weekend last year.

And there are still five more films to come that should have little trouble topping $100 million and a couple that could reach $200 million. More... Harry Potter and the Record Opening July 12th, 2007 Well, the numbers are in for Wednesday and it looks like we are in for a very good weekend. In fact, 2007 is back to re-writing the history books and we have at least a few more records that will be set before long. More... International Top Five - A Change at the Top July 11th, 2007 The Transformers climbed into top spot with $47.17 million on 3381 screens in 29 markets for a total of $97.21 million. The film opened in nearly 20 markets, and did extremely well in a number of them, but it was a holdover that led the way. In South Korea the film grew by 5% to $11.83 million on 617 screens for a two-week total of $31.02 million, which is nearly what Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will earn there in total.

Its biggest opening came in Russia where it made $6.81 million on 700 screens over the weekend and $7.19 million in total while in Spain it took in $3.57 million on 565 screens over the weekend and $4.87 million in total. These two totals are probably better indicators of the film's international drawing power, but it should still do very well overseas. More... Transformers's Changing Fortunes July 10th, 2007 Records fell this past week(end) as The Transformers topped almost all expectations and broke a couple of records. However, while the overall box office hit $174 million, which was 12% higher than last weekend, it was 20% lower than the same weekend last year. There are some mitigating circumstances to deal with. For instance, the midweek releases did pull some business from the weekend. And secondly, last year at this time was the then record-breaking opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest . More...

International Details - Pirates Ship Starts to Sink July 8th, 2007 Some very interesting news on the international front this weekend regarding Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End . First of all, it fell out of the top five; however, it was still able to pull in more than $10 million over the weekend. Not too long ago it was a chore to find a dozen films that cracked $1 million, while this past weekend we had 6 that earned $10 million or more. Over the weekend the film added $14.02 million on 5775 screens in 104 markets for a total of $608.89 million internationally. It is the sixth film to cross $600 million internationally and is now in fifth place on that chart. Worldwide the film has $906.89 million making it the ninth highest grosser of all time. The U.K. is still the film's best market at $78.51 million compared to second pace Japan where it has made $74.02 million.

However, that gap continues to narrow with the film making $3.23 million on 691 screens in the latter and $1.37 million on 401 screens in the former. More... Expectations Change Little July 6th, 2007 With the strange release schedule this week, it seemed a smart plan to give updates just before the weekend starts. This should be the end of the scheduling weirdness as well, at least until the next holiday. More... Seven Day Weekend July 3rd, 2007 The weekend lasts seven days this time around, starting on Monday evening at 8 p.m. with the debut of The Transformers in roughly 3,000 theaters. And with July Fourth on Wednesday, there are films opening up practically every day this week. More... Rats Make Per Theater Chart Sick July 3rd, 2007 There were only two films to crack $10,000 on the per theater chart this week, both of which placed in the top ten overall.

The box office champion, Ratatouille , finished in first place with an average of $11,936 while Sicko wasn't too far behind with $10,208. More... Ratatouille Leaves the Box Office Wanting a Little More July 2nd, 2007 There was some good news over the weekend; the mini-slump ended as the overall box office pulled in $156 million, 1% over the same weekend last year. That's not a big increase, in fact, it is below ticket price inflation, but that's still something to celebrate and focusing on the good news is good for business. More... Movie Website Updates for June 24 - June 30, 2007 June 30th, 2007 One of the slowest weeks I can remember for this list, but at least we have a top-notch site to give the Weekly Website Award to: Ratatouille - Official Site . More... Will Rat Power Push Pixar to the Top? June 28th, 2007 The mini-slump of 2007 threatens to become the dominant story if things don't change soon.

This week there are a two wide releases hoping to prop up the box office numbers, as well as two other films opening or expanding semi-wide. None look like they will set records during their opening weekends, but Ratatouille should outperform Superman Returns , and that's good news. More... Movie Website Updates for June 17 - June 23, 2007 June 24th, 2007 One of the most anticipate films of the summer became the best site of the week. The Simpsons Movie - Official Site is finally here and the winner of the Weekly Website Award. More... Contest - Some Enchanted Evening June 22nd, 2007 Ratatouille explodes into theaters next week, while Evening makes a wide-ish opening. Because of the uncertainty in Evening 's theater count, we will be using Ratatouille as our target film even though the prizes come from Evening . To win, one must simply predict the box office opening for Ratatouille . Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win an Evening poster, book, and make-up bag.

Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win an Evening cookbook and candle. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More... Movie Website Updates for June 10 - June 16, 2007 June 17th, 2007 There weren't as many websites on this week's list as in the past few weeks, but there were at least three that earned some consideration for the Weekly Website Award. In the end, that honor went to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - Official Site . More... Summer Looking to Return to Fantastic Ways June 14th, 2007 After an amazing May, June has shown a bit of weakness and the summer has fallen off its record-setting pace. Things look to turn-around thanks to a super-hero sequel and the buzz suggests Fantastic Four franchise should be up to the task of rescuing a slumping box office, again. More...

Movie Website Updates for May 27 - June 2, 2007 June 2nd, 2007 A busy week for new sites with roughly a dozen making their first appearance on this week's list. However, it was a site making its last appearance, Knocked Up - Official Site , that was judged best-of-the-best. More... 2007 Preview: June June 1st, 2007 With the irrational exuberance of May over, June promises to be a solid month with a number of big hits opening. In fact, every week there's at least one film being released that has a legitimate shot at $100 million at the box office and two films that should hit $200 million. If both Ratatouille and Evan Almighty make it there, we will have six $200 million films so far this year, just two back of 2005's record. On the other hand, there are also a number of films on this month's list that may or may not open wide, and for most of these becoming a midlevel hit will be a chore. More...

Movie Website Updates for May 20 - May 26, 2007 May 26th, 2007 Another slow week. If this keeps up I'm going to have to rethink my methodology. Not only were there not as many sites as I would like, there were none that really stood out as award-worthy. The best was Stardust - Official Site , but here I will wait for more of the content to be added before I make a final decision. More... Movie Website Updates for May 13 - May 19, 2007 May 19th, 2007 Either it was a really slow week or my Google-Fu is way off, because there's a short list this week. Not only were there very few new / updated sites, but there was nothing that jumped out as award winners. I was tempted to give the award to The Transformers - Official Site just for the new trailer, but I already geeked-out over that site when the first trailer came out. In the end there just wasn't a site worthy of the award this week. More...

Movie Website Updates for April 29 - May 5, 2007 May 6th, 2007 Among the more than two-dozen films on this week's list, there were a few that came very close to winning the Weekly Website Award. Of the three, Spider-Man 3 - Official Site was probably the closest to winning, but in the end was brought down by high expectations. More... Movie Website Updates for March 17 - March 23, 2007 March 24th, 2007 Good week for trailers with several on the list, including a trio of major summer blockbusters. However, while those site will obviously generate the most traffic, they are not award-worthy sites, (at least not yet). The best site this week is Pathfinder - Official Site . More... Movie Website Updates for March 10 - March 16, 2007 March 17th, 2007 We are starting to get some serious updates on the websites for the summer blockbusters, however, it will be a few more weeks before this list is dominated by such films.

In the meantime, it is a website for a new release, Dead Silence - Official Site , that is the winner of the Weekly Website Award. More... French Main Dish Recipes - French Main Courses - French Cooking French Food Main Dish Recipes French main dish recipes. The main course is the focal point of a French meal. Given the numerous regions and cultural influences within France and its Overseas Departments, these dishes can range from complex to simple with a variety of meat, poultry, and vegetable ingredients used. Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! Ratatouille Part 2 - Jon Stolpe Stretched Ratatouille Part 2 September 23, 2007 — Leave a comment Last year about this time, Leanne and I traveled to France to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It was a vacation that we will never forget. We traveled all over the country enjoying that sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of this beautiful nation. One of our stops along our journey was the home of Renee Vachier, a family friend of the Lomickas (my wife’s family). Renee lives in the south of France near the Mediteranean city of Marsailles.

This two day stop in our adventure totally engulfed me in the french language and the food famous in the Provence region of France. One of the many dishes that I sampled here was none other than Ratatouille. Renee’s rendition of this native delicacy was unbelievable. Having recently seen the Disney movie Ratatouille, I was inspired to look up a recipe that I thought I would share here. I don’t know how it will compare with the Vachier family recipe, but I’m sure it will bring back pleasant memories. We’ll see.

Recipe (12 servings makes about 4.5 litres) 1.6 kg tomato [tomate] 700 g eggplant (2) [aubergine] 500 g zucchini (2) [courgette] 700 g bell pepper (2-3) [poivron] 1 kg onion [oignon] Herbes de Provence (basilic,thyme, parsley) olive oil [huile d’olive] salt, pepper [sel, poivre] 140 g tomato paste Common Method This method, or a variation, takes fewer pots, is somewhat faster, yet keeps the flavors well and is commonly used. About 65 minutes cooking. 1. Peel and drain the tomatoes (don’t mind the seeds): cut out the stem cores; drop the whole tomatoes into boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove into a collander. The skin should split for easy removal; otherwise, make an X cut in the top, then peel off the skin. 2. Chop the onion and garlic. Clean the bell pepper, cut into small strips. 3. In a large cooking pot with thick bottom, put in olive oil, onions and chopped garlic.

Add in the bell pepper. Cover to keep in the moisture. Cook for 20 minutes, stiring frequently, and add olive oil as necessary to prevent singing. 4. Add the peeled tomatoes and herbs de Provence. If you don’t have good garden tomatoes with flavor, add a small can of tomato paste. Stirr well and cook for another 15 minutes. [35′] 5. Cut the eggplant into rondelles. Cut the un-peeled zucchini into rondelles. 6. Add the eggplant and zucchini to the pot. Cook for about 30 minutes. [65′] Conversions

Question: Ratatouille is native to which country?
Answer: France