Ratatouille (2007) - Mini Review

Ratatouille 
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[00:00:00] Tim: 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 maître d' of le podcast. See what I did there. It's a French film. 

[00:00:18] Spaz: well played

[00:00:19] Chris: I, I did. I was just gonna let it fly under the radar.

[00:00:22] Tim: uh, Nope. I'm gonna bring attention to that one. We, we, 

uh, so joining me today is executive chef Chris 

[00:00:31] Chris: The only one here with a French last name.

[00:00:33] Spaz: Yes.

[00:00:36] Tim: and, uh, French mustache to go with it 

we also have sous chef Dana. 

[00:00:41] Dana: Hey guys.

[00:00:42] Tim: Dan, guess what? position I was gonna assign you to this rag tag group of

[00:00:46] Spaz: garbage man, dishwasher. host. 

[00:00:51] Tim: the 

[00:00:52] Spaz: I've done it all, man. I've done it all.

[00:00:55] Tim: All righty. So Ratatouille it's an original story by Jan Pinkava, who co-wrote with the screenwriter and director of this film, the legendary Brad Bird, starring Patton Oswald, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Peter O'Toole, Will Arnett. The list goes on and on a lot of great voice actors in this one and with a budget of $150 million, it made $623 million in the box office and currently sits at an 8.1 on IMDb. Now, as this is a mini review, we're skipping the trivia and the Madlibs, and just jumping straight into our review or thoughts about this film. So guys, I gotta ask. 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? 

[00:01:50] Chris: 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. 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. Anyways, she made these and she's made 'em a couple times throughout, like my childhood and stuff, but like, yeah, I hadn't had the opportunity to have, you know, homemade breakfast with my aunt and, you know, 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 like growing up, being a kid is, uh, my aunt's banana pancakes.

[00:02:39] Tim: that's awesome. Spaz, you got one?

[00:02:42] Spaz: Like a homemade chocolate cake. 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 story bought make your own fucking cake.

[00:02:59] Chris: I'm I'm gonna 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, 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, spazz, spazz is dying. Um,

[00:03:21] Dana: I'm happy. So here you go.

[00:03:22] Spaz: everything's ruined with coconut 

[00:03:25] Tim: Ya had Dan until you said coconut. 

[00:03:27] Chris: That's okay. Dana sounds like she's on board about this.

[00:03:29] Dana: I am

[00:03:30] Chris: so, and I believe she got this recipe from her mom. So my grandma, I mean, I, I'm not sure my, you know, she passed away a long, long time ago. Um, but anyways, for the holidays and stuff, my mom always makes these and needless to say, I have to avoid them.

If we 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, all bets are off I'm I'm gonna eat like 20 of them.

[00:03:57] Spaz: Yeah.

[00:03:58] Chris: 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.

[00:04:06] Spaz: Lemon bar is another one for me. If I taste a proper lemon bar, that will also bring me back to my other grandma who made the best lemon bar of all time.

[00:04:19] Chris: See Tim, this was a very dangerous opener. You

[00:04:23] Tim: I know, 

[00:04:24] Chris: yeah. Yeah. Asked us to talk about food

[00:04:26] Spaz: Ravioli is another one.

[00:04:29] Chris: this,

[00:04:29] Tim: just gonna keep 

[00:04:30] Chris: this, this mini podcast is gonna turn into our longest one ever, because now we can actually talk about food,

[00:04:37] Spaz: good marinara sauce.

[00:04:38] Chris: relation to the actual podcast, 

[00:04:41] Tim: goings back to the early days. 

[00:04:42] Spaz: like good. Boase

[00:04:44] Chris: should really switch tracks before spaz loses it over there.

Um, I'm a little nervous the way he's talking. 

Yeah. See, 

[00:04:52] Tim: start. He's gonna start making noises. We gotta go. Um, but Dana, how about you? 

[00:04:57] Dana: all right. So Tim, you, you may have remembered my adventure with this, so this is not anything crazy, but my grandma used to make this really weird, like 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.

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. 

[00:05:43] Tim: It was, I, I do remember. I remember every time you asked her grandma, she would either just laugh it off or just change the subject. It's one of those 

things. That'll just, it went with her, you know, 

[00:05:52] Dana: Yep.

[00:05:53] Tim: and I got, I have a very similar one. My, my grandma used to make this, uh, this fruit punch. That was just incredible.

And it's something basic, but 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, I 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. My mom's homemade pizza for some reason. Like I can think about it.

I can smell it. I can taste it. Um, 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. 

[00:06:37] Dana: I can confirm it was really.

[00:06:39] Tim: It was, but now we gotta stop talking about food. Cause this is gonna get, this is gonna be a disaster. 

[00:06:43] Spaz: Uh, raspberry jam another

[00:06:45] Tim: Okay, 

we're 

[00:06:47] Spaz: and, 

and, and 

[00:06:48] Chris: has a list. 

[00:06:49] Spaz: and rolls.

My 

[00:06:51] Tim: So 

[00:06:51] Spaz: yeah. 

[00:06:54] Tim: all right. I got, I got a couple things that were shared by some friends of the show on their thoughts about this film. I'm gonna start with Raynard City. Who's been a longtime supporter and he said, I love Ratatouille. The critic speech still gives me chills. As well as that iconic moment, when he tastes a dish and is returned to his childhood, beautiful, perfectly cast, funny, or cordon blue signature dish from Pixar. And then I got Madeline from Ko-fi this is one of her favorite movies. So she says I could watch Ratatouille all day, every day. 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. 

[00:07:52] Spaz: Well, seeing how I didn't watch it. And I haven't seen it in a while. I will go, I guess.

[00:07:57] Tim: Let's let's go for it. 

[00:07:59] Spaz: Uh, yeah, I, I was gonna watch it today, but. I didn't realize how long Hook was. So

[00:08:06] Tim: it was long. 

[00:08:07] Spaz: I thought for some reason I thought that movie was so much shorter than what it was. And, uh, I was like, it was done at 7:30. I was like, all right.

I don't think Ratatouille's that long. So that's just, and I was like, 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 

[00:08:31] Tim: eh, 

[00:08:32] Spaz: I have to watch, 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, what, uh, everyone said, the critic he was the best part of the movie. I'll say it. I liked the bad guy. Yeah, no, he was, uh, it's just, it brings back good feelings, you know, like when. Takes him back to his childhood. Ratatouille is a good dish though.

[00:08:57] Tim: I can't say I've ever had it. 

[00:08:58] Spaz: It's a, good dish done, done properly, but, uh, no, it's, uh, I like this movie. I mean, Pixar. do they do bad films? Not too many. I don't

[00:09:08] Tim: Uh, they do. 

[00:09:11] Spaz: know. I haven't seen them yet. I haven't seen one yet, but, uh, this movie's just, uh, one that will definitely last forever probably cause it's the acting is good.

The art is really good. I mean, they got great actors in it. It's uh, it's a damn good movie. It's well written

and you probably wanna score, right?

[00:09:31] Tim: Yeah. How about you? Give us one out of 10 

[00:09:32] Spaz: I'll give it an 8. I'm gonna give an eight.

[00:09:35] Tim: solid, solid eight. 

how about you, Dana? 

[00:09:38] Dana: 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. Um, it's just. It's really well done. It's a good story. I probably appreciate it more as an adult than I would've 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.

[00:10:04] Spaz: Whoa.

[00:10:04] Tim: of course not. 

[00:10:06] Dana: 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 8 outta 10.

[00:10:24] Tim: 8's around. All right, Chris, let's jump to you next. 

[00:10:27] Chris: So Ratatouille is one of my favorite Pixar films. Obviously Brad Bird directed it. And he is, you know, responsible for The Incredibles, which is my favorite Pixar film. 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've taken to it as a, like a little kid.

I probably thought it would've been funny. Haha. Rats cooking. 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, is solid. Um, it's been a while since I've 

seen it. So I was surprised that I, I forgot Patton Oswald is.

[00:11:21] Spaz: The.

[00:11:22] Chris: You know, the rat Remy, which is kind of hard right now.

Cause I'm currently watching the Sandman and he, uh, voices,

[00:11:27] Spaz: uh, yeah, the

Raven Yeah. And he, I, I, that was the first time I ever heard him swear. So that was weird for me.

[00:11:35] Tim: Hm, 

[00:11:36] Chris: You should probably watch blade Trinity. 

[00:11:37] Spaz: Oh 

[00:11:38] Chris: And by that, I mean,

[00:11:39] Spaz: yeah. No, actually I had all right. I forgot that he was in blade Trinity.

[00:11:43] Tim: I just block it outta your 

[00:11:44] Chris: We all, we all try to wish we forget 

that movie was made, but anyways, back to Ratatouille. It's been a minute since I've watched it, but it's, it's one of the Pixar movies I very much enjoy. So it was, uh, it was nice to get the opportunity to, to rewatch it. As someone that really appreciates cooking and for a long time, when I was younger, wanted to be a chef, I'm gonna give this movie an eight, 8.5.

[00:12:06] Tim: The rebel 8.5.

[00:12:08] Spaz: May he's bringing the heat

[00:12:11] Chris: right, 

[00:12:13] Tim: all right. So for me, honestly, this is, 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 that the crew toured Paris to capture some of those tiny details, they ate some of the top restaurants to get a feel for the atmosphere, the ambiance and what it was like. Chefs were consulted by the animators to, you know, 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, you know, the layout of the kitchen was right.

The roles and responsibilities everybody had. It was just very instrumental in that. So you just got a real flavor. What life might be like in a kitchen in that setting. something else I thought was funny was there's a scene where you have Alfredo, which can we all agree that, his name is Alfredo Linguini. That is the best name ever. 

[00:13:08] Spaz: It's a good name. It's solid name. It's

[00:13:10] Tim: he. 

[00:13:11] Spaz: dish.

[00:13:13] Tim: For sure. Um, 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 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 could have him climb out and then they could see, you know, would the clothes stick to him?

What his hat like limp and fall off or what's what's the deal. So they just, everything they could possibly do just to capture. As realistic as possible, they did. 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 gotta do like top chef style where chefs around the world all have their own little rats making things.

And, uh, my thought was we find out that Guy Fieri is really just a dog in disguise, so 

[00:14:00] Chris: uh, 

[00:14:02] Tim: that's what I want to see. 

[00:14:04] Spaz: that, would 

[00:14:04] Dana: Can't tell we watch a lot of cookie shows.

[00:14:07] Tim: Right. Just all of a sudden it just, yeah, they just like, oh, Nope. That's really just a dog and 

[00:14:12] Spaz: I knew it

[00:14:13] Tim: take ya to Flavor Town. So my score for Ratatouille, like Chris I'm 8.5, is probably gonna be my scores an overall. But if I'm gonna rate it as a Pixar film, it's easily 9.5 it's it's gotta be in their, their top echelon of feature films.

For sure. It's, it's gotta be in the running, just everything they put into this one. Pixar is, is dynamite when they're on and that's just, that's more of what I wanna 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, a hair above IMDb, 

[00:14:53] Spaz: Take that IMDb. 

[00:14:55] Tim: at all. 

[00:14:57] Spaz: We better than you 

[00:15:00] Tim: I, guess... 

[00:15:02] Spaz: We are better. 

[00:15:04] Tim: like I mentioned, this movie was commissioned by the crew at Kofi. 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. This is where they chose the mini movie. So if anyone else with like a mini movie review of their favorite film, or just wanna have us watch something God awful. This is your chance to do it. 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 Ko-fi for commissioning us for this film. I have not watched it in a while all the way through, cuz I just kind of pick it on here and there when the girls are watching it. But uh, it's, it's a good one.

Just wanna Pixar's best. So thank you. Check out everything that we've got at oswpodcast.com and we'll see it out on social media. So thanks everybody. And we'll see you next time.