Pixar’s 8th feature film is one hailed by many as a perfect film, not just one of their favorite animated films, but a film that deserved a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. I personally don’t love this film all that much, but I definitely do like it. Which film is that? Ratatouille, of course!
The film centers on a rat named Remy, voiced by Patton Oswalt, who has a gift for cooking and wants to cook gourmet dishes rather than eat garbage like the rest of his rat family.
After getting separated from his family due to an accident (that he may have inadvertently caused himself), he finds himself at a French restaurant in Paris named Gusteau’s. There he comes into contact with a worker named Linguini, voiced by Lou Romano, who’s quite pathetic at any job that he takes.
The two happen to cross paths and desperation pairs the two together making Linguini an amazing chef with Remy being the strings behind this proverbial puppet.
So where does our forgotten/minor character come into play? Well, you see, Gusteau’s was named after its former owner who’s recently passed away. It has since been under the command of a chef named Skinner, voiced by Ian Holm.
Skinner is a man who wants to put Gusteau’s name on various frozen food products and sell them to worldwide rather than just cook food for the Parisian restaurant-goers only. And Francois appears to be his marketing person.
Not much is known about Francois. He seems to be of Indian descent, is voiced by an actor named Julius Callahan, and only appears in one scene. Yet, he plays an essential part in Skinner’s plan. He is the one who decides and designs what is to be sold worldwide. He has to know the tastes of different parts of the world as well as the demand of certain foods in different parts of the world.
I highly doubt Skinner could have put this over by himself.
Whether or not this plan succeeds or is carried through at all, well…you’ll have to watch the movie. But you don’t need to have seen the movie in order to join me in commemorating our forgotten/minor character: Francois!
“Sorry, you don’t actually get an award, Francois!”
“Well, that’s deceiving! Looks like somebody needs to hire a better marketer! I happen to know a very good one if you’re interested!”
The Animation Commendation 
I’m in the masterpiece camp. I love the critic. It is such a wonderful commentary on modern culture and how we criticize first and then enjoy later. I also think it is very funny and amazing that a movie can be so beautiful when seen from the perspective of a rat. Makes me want to go to Paris.
In the end it is all about finding out what makes you special and then fighting to express it.
The music is also underrated. One of Pixar’s best and a nice break from Randy Newman. I love Le Festin.
So you think it should have been nominated for Best Picture?
Yes
Yes. I would have given it Atonements spot which I dont think was very good.
This movie always made me hungry. Despite the fact that I can’t stand rats. I love it, but Pixar has so many good movies that it is no longer one of my favs.
Totally understandable!
I am also in the camp of those who really love this movie. It has so much going for it, and definitely one of my favorite Pixar movies.
Awesome!
Love the movie. The details of the cuisine are spot on, the action scenes are real entertaining and great directed and there are some real awesome charaters. Too bad chef skinner is such a disliked character throughout the Pixar series. In favourite character lists all around the net his role is minor, Ian Holm is brilliant in voice acting all kind of mixed emotions doing skinner. Ratatouile along with The Incredibles are my fav Pixar flicks till now. I cant wait untill Brad Birds new movie Tomorrowland hits the theaters.
Thanks for commenting!
I’m honestly not that excited for Tomorrowland based on what I’ve seen from the trailer, but it may surprise me in the end.
This is definitely a classic, for me, and one of my top favorite Pixar movies, alongside BRAVE, A BUG’S LIFE, TOY STORY 1, MONSTERS INC., and FINDING NEMO.
One of the reasons why I love this film so much is that it provides an interesting spin on the old Hollywood formula of “animals doing things their species generally don’t do.” After all, when you think about it, we’ve previously had, among others:
-A golden retriever who plays basketball, then football, then soccer, then baseball (AIR BUD),
-A chimpanzee who plays hockey, skateboards, and snowboards (the MVP: MOST VALUED PRIMATE franchise),
-A zebra trained as a racehorse (RACING STRIPES),
and my personal favorite in this category, a pig who thinks he’s a sheepdog (BABE, of course).
Kind of makes me wonder, what kind of film will they make next with such a premise?
How about a Cockroach that teaches at a university? I’d watch that film!
Hmmm, interesting… But how would they pull that off?
That’s a challenge for the screenwriters.