Welcome to this very special episode of Gabbin’ Away Again, where (because I got way too involved in the post on my definition of marriage, the winner of last week’s Instagram poll) I will be sharing my first ever movie review: Disney’s Ratatouille.
A Gabby Summary
There will be spoilers, but I hope most people out there have seen this movie. Ratatouille opens by introducing Remy’s role model Chef Gusteau, the French chef who grew famous for his inclusive idea that “anyone can cook.” Even though Remy looks no different than the regular garbage-eating rat, he holds out for a human-standard of food and longs for something more than his family’s current unsanitary standards.
His especially talented nose was used to sniff out rat poison for his family’s clan, but Remy longed to be something more. Since he started studying the cookbook of his idol, he did all he could as a rat to access ingredients and kitchen-like appliances that could aid in his learning— even using lightning from a storm to roast a mushroom. On one of his usual journeys to an elderly human woman’s kitchen, Remy gets distracted by a news report on the death of Gusteau and only realizes that the human has noticed their presence when she loads her shotgun.
After the struggle to escape the human leaves Remy’s family homeless, a storm separates him from the clan. He finds himself in the city, where he learns he has been living in Paris his whole life. His subconscious is personified by the friendly ghost of Gusteau who leads Remy to his restaurant, which has sadly lost its 5-star rating due to one scathing review and the death of the famous chef.
When he gets the opportunity to witness a real kitchen staff at work, Remy watches in horror as a garbage boy named Linguini clumsily tinkers with a recipe until Remy is forced to step in. Remy fixes the soup, changing the original recipe for the better, and the soup is delivered to the customer. Linguini is credited with the changes to the soup and is about to be fired by the head chef Skinner when it is revealed that the customer was a critic and she loved the soup.
After this, Linguini and Remy decide to cook together. They realize Remy can control Linguini’s limbs by pulling his hair within his chef’s hat, so they get to practicing. With Remy’s knack for cooking and tracking down flavors and Linguini’s ability to appear human and let life happen to him, they became a great team; but Linguini gets sidetracked by his feelings for Collette, another chef in the kitchen who— as the only woman on staff— doesn’t want to jeopardize her position for a garbage boy.
However, he turns out to be more than a garbage boy. It is revealed to Linguini that Chef Gusteau was his estranged father, a secret Skinner had kept from him. Skinner is fired and Linguini becomes head chef and owner of the restaurant. Linguini is now a famous name, not only for his newfound parentage, but his supposed natural talent for cooking. It would undoubtedly appear he was insane if Linguini were to reveal to the public the true reason for his success: the little chef inside his hat, but Linguini made no attempt at crediting anyone but himself for his success. In the heat of an argument, Linguini seems to have decided he can run the restaurant on his own and tells Remy to leave. Remy, feelings vengeful and otherwise helpless, returns later that night after the restaurant closes to host a family dinner for his entire clan. Linguini returns to apologize only to find Remy leading his family in stealing from the restaurant. The rats are shooed out, as vermin usually is.
Meanwhile, Ego, the critic responsible for the horrid review that killed Gusteau, has taken the restaurant’s resurgence as a challenge. He plans to visit the restaurant and demand their best dish. Linguini knows the restaurant simply cannot fulfill orders without Remy’s direction, so when he returns, Linguini reveals Remy as the actual talented chef to the kitchen staff, including Collette. Upon hearing the news of their rodent head chef, the entire staff turns in their aprons, leaving no hope to fulfill anyone’s orders…until Remy’s family returns to help. After a complete sanitizing of the rat clan, they get to work.
As fate would have it, Collette sees Gusteau’s book entitled “Anyone Can Cook” in a window display on her way home after the reveal and decides to return to the kitchen. She is hesitant, but watches in wonder as a rat teaches her an upgraded version of Gusteau’s recipe for ratatouille, a humble dish Remy is confident will impress the critical eye of Ego. It only takes a taste for Ego to be swept away in a childhood memory of his own mother cooking ratatouille for him after a fall off of his bicycle. After Linguini, who is now waiting on tables, admits he is not the chef responsible for Ego’s new favorite dish, Ego stays until closing to meet the chef who is.
Though confused and disturbed at first, Ego appreciates good food and writes an honest yet incredibly complimentary review of Gusteau’s. He finally understands the famous words of the deceased chef; the genius in the kitchen was from undoubtedly humble beginnings, but Ego still declared him as “nothing less than the finest chef in France.” Unfortunately, Skinner and the health inspector, who happened to walk in during the rat family’s employment in the kitchen, got the restaurant shut down and Ego lost his credibility due to his support of a rat-infested establishment. However, Remy kept cooking, Collette and Linguini stayed together and continued to work with Remy, and Ego decided to fund a new small business he believed in.
Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. —Ego, Ratatouille
REMI THE RAT IS ME
What a movie for a Gab to watch, especially when she’s feeling like she isn’t enough (which— let’s be real— is how I feel 90% of the time). Here I was, hanging with Zach and TJ, eating Wingstop and feeling on top of the world when Zach suggests one of our shared favorites: Ratatouille. Watching a movie in which the protagonist not only appreciates the flavor and joys of food, but also feels both called to and unworthy of a certain destiny definitely felt like a necessary part of my plot this weekend. Not only do I myself enjoy food, but I also struggle to feel capable and worthy.
It’s honestly just a really good movie with great re-watchability and, damn, if you haven’t seen it, you need to go give it a watch. It’s guaranteed to brighten your day or your money back (just kidding, I will not fund your Disney+). I recommend watching this movie while hungry so you can eat while you watch and picture the flavors dancing around in your mind.
From the beginning, Remy feels like an outsider, even in his own family. Not only are his talents not properly appreciated by his un-picky-eater family, but they also have certain expectations for him to act like a regular rat. As humans know, we view rats as the epitome of filth, as they eat anything and everything, but as the audience, we know immediately that Remy is different and deserves to be treated as such. Even though he is a rat, his talent and respect for the craft deems him worthy of the craft. In many ways, I relate to Remy. He’s creative, he’s open-minded, and he wants to believe in a better world that will allow him to share his talents with it.
His father Django spends a bulk of the movie warning Remy about the danger of humans and their definite impending rejection of his abilities. Even though Remy’s father has the best intentions in protecting his son, his words affected Remy negatively, making him doubt his abilities instead of making him fear humans. Later in the movie, Remy stands up to his dad even after viewing the elaborate ways humans try to exterminate rats. Not only does Remy believe in change, but he has made it happen for himself.
Django: This is the way things are. You can’t change nature.
Remy: Change is nature, Dad. The part we can influence. And it starts when we decide.
Django: Where are you going?
Remy: With luck, forward.
Throughout the movie, Remy learns to reject the limitations that have been placed on him by life. There is even a moment where he is trapped in a cage and realizes he has put himself in a different kind of cage by giving up. When he’s with his family, he feels the pressures to behave like a stereotypical rat, something he does not feel right doing. When he’s with Linguini, he feels the pressures to act human to be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor in becoming a chef. There is no one that truly understands him, both literally and figuratively, other than the embodiment of Gusteau he dreamed up in his head. There is no place he gets to just be himself without worrying about the judgement of those around him.
Remy: I can’t choose between two halves of myself.
In the end, when Remy is honest about who he is and what he can do, he is accepted by those who care for him. Yes, his restaurant may have been shut down and, yes, there are definitely people out there that would never trust a rodent to prepare their food, but there are those who would. There are friends like Collette and Linguini that know a good thing when they see it, there are unexpected friends like Ego who have the power to make a difference in your life with their support, and there are family members that will learn to embrace change and change their perspective to better connect with and support those that matter to them.
I have struggled with feeling the need to choose between different parts of myself, in fear of judgement, rejection, or a loss of my support system. This movie hits home for those of us who long to just be. Like Remy, I doubt my abilities, but more often than that I doubt if I am worthy of showcasing them at all. Like Gusteau said, “anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” I have to conquer my fear of rejection when I put my art out into the world, but I have to conquer my fear of rejection within myself to even put words onto a page. Being fearless is less about never having fears and more about not letting your fears stop you from doing what your soul is aching for you to do. Because a life lived halfway is no way to live.
Ratatouille is one of our family’s favorites and obviously a popular movie, having opened a ride at two Disney parks worldwide and inspired a crowd-funded and crowd-created musical featuring real celebrities, actors, and dancers. This animated Disney feature, like many others, has depth and heart, with life messages anyone can relate to.
If you haven’t seen it yet or it’s been a while, sit down and relax for a long lunch date with Remy and let me know when you want to fly to France to eat ratatouille at Remy’s Disney Paris restaurant.
I mean, come ON, look at it!
Have an awesome week, friends!
🌻ART SHOW & TELL🌻
Time for some TLCCC💕
Treating myself to: Beach Bum Tropical Smoothie! :) & strawberry yogurt pretzels from Costco and brownies made from the Ghirardelli mix from Costco…. 😍
Listening to: Christian music by queer artists which has been so cool to see! (or, hear, I guess lol)
Crafting: little paper stars, definitely getting better as I go 😅
Craving: Haru bento boxes at lunchtime 🍱 😍 and fricken brownies, man.
Caring SO much about: creating experiences! 🥳💕🥰 Our Avatar the Last Airbender viewing party was AWESOME! We all vaguely dressed up as characters from the show and watched the first episode of one of our favorite shows re-imagined for live action. More to come, but it was SO fun to experience together as a group.