10. Ratatouille (Written by Matthew Kelly)

Release Date: June 29, 2007

Cast (voice talents): Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O’Toole, Brad Garrett, John Ratzenberger

Director: Brad Bird

First Time I Saw It: At this point in history, my favorite Pixar film (and quite possibly favorite film overall) was The Incredibles. When I heard that director Brad Bird was coming back to work on another Pixar passion project I knew it was going to be special. On top of that, I was a huge fan of comedian Patton Oswalt. Not a huge fan of rats of cooking but I was willing to give them a shot.

Its Impact on the Brand: Quick, check out the Rotten Tomatoes score of every Pixar movie released before Ratatouille. They are all in the 90’s or above. Except Cars. Cars has a very generous 74%. 2007 was not a great time for Pixar because 2006 was the year of Cars. While Cars was a commercial success, many people (including myself) believed it lacked the magic that made every other Pixar movie special.

More over, Cars represented Pixar’s new opportunity to merchandise the living hell out of a franchise and start developing plots around toy tie ins, like the awful Planes (which I realize is technically a Disney property). Either way, Ratatouille was Pixar’s chance to say “Hey! We value telling compelling and thought provoking stories regardless of how hard it will be to merchandise a rat! Until Cars 2, at least.”

Why I Love It: Pixar films are all about impossible dreams. Can a fish cross the ocean? Can one ant change the mind of the colony? Can a monster take care of a little girl? Ratatouille is quite possibly the most impossible dream Pixar has ever attempted to put to film: Can a rat cook food in a fancy French restaurant?

Ratatouille has an incredible amount of heart for a film about a kid and his rat. Remy is adorable. Pixar does an excellent job of making him expressive and cute, especially in scenes where he is silent. I almost wish they had taken the risk they took with Wall-E a year earlier and given Remy no voice at all. Imagine if the entire first half of the film was silent. They could have gotten away with it. Obviously, I love Patton and what he was able to do with the character but it just goes to show how excellent Pixar is at turning anything into a lovable protagonist, even a sewer rat.

Best Moment: No question. The best moment in Ratatouille is the first time Remy and Linguini cook together. You can watch the three-minute clip online. It highlights the true magic of Ratatouille while also demonstrating the films most inventive mechanic.

The scene in which Skinner chases Remy through the streets of Paris also stands out as the greatest individual Pixar chase scene, right up there with the 100 Mile Dash.

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