Film Theory: Don't Trust A RAT! (Ratatouille)
Apr 03, 2024Now that there's a food
theory
channel, do you go here about movietheory
or there about food theory since you're a food theory cooking rat? That sounds like a great channel. I better watch it at the end of the episode, oh yeah. It's an amazing channel where everyone will immediately want to hit the subscribe button and ring the notification bell, but we won't be friends at the end of this episode. Remy, wait. I'm an adorable cartoon rat in a children's movie. Could I have done it wrong? Oh man, you're talking to a guy who ruined some of the most beloved Disney characters of all time.The lions of the Lion King. Strong female characters like Rapunzel like all the Zootopia characters. Wait, I know those guys, Remy. I don't stand a chance Hello Internet, welcome to Film Theory, where today's episode is with apologies to schaeferless productions because, no joke, this is a pick-up line while we were working on this episode. I think, oh no, suddenly he's talking about Ratatouille. Upload this hour-long dissertation on why Ratatouille is a masterpiece of cinema and how it moves you emotionally and yes, I'm here today to trash its main character, so I apologize, I can hear you moaning in the comments now.
Grumpy old Matpat is here to ruin an animated family movie from your childhood, as always, but don't fear the Internet because I'm here to say that Ratatouille is everything a great G-rated movie should be. It's a fantastic story. It has an encouraging message. It has a detestable bad boy and an admirable protagonist and in the case of
ratatouille
that protagonist is chef Skinner the guy that everyone seems to think is the antagonist is actually the good guy what is a typical episode of game theory or theory cinematic? I don't know why everyone. thinks that remy the rat, who is obviously a dangerous narcissist, is the good guy, but it's about time the misconceptions about this rat tale follow the same rat tale if it's been a while since you watchedratatouille
here's a quick review ratatouille stars remy a rat the internet will literally roast me if i accidentally call him ratatouille is the name of the movie, not the name of the rat.He has a passion for the culinary arts, but there's no reality cooking competition show to show for it. He leaves the colony to live his dreams. In the only place where gourmet kitchen linguine is not allowed, a young member of the kitchen staff lets Remy hide under his hat, this allows Remy to pull strands of the linguine's hair and control the linguine's every move. young man with Remy at the helm. Linguine impresses even Paris's most formidable food critics with its inventive cooking. Skinner, the restaurant's highly trained chef suspects something is up and goes to great lengths to uncover the truth about Linguine's new talents in the kitchen now that this sounds like an inspiring story about overcoming obstacles and achieving your destiny i'm sorry to tell you that you completely missed the point the theoretical truth is that remy is no one's master chef he's actually a brazen criminal and yes i know i don't you're going to believe here, matpat is also taking it so far, this theory is going to be too far-fetched, I've heard it all and yet, despite all my admittedly outlandish theories, hello Finding Nemo episode, this one is surprisingly sensible, just listen, remy is a real criminal defined by the dictionary, he's kind of a narcissist and overall an asshole creature and if you look at his behavior on screen you'll realize that he's not actually the good guy here, I smell a rat in this Disney classic and it's remy, rats, you get it.
The first thing Remy did that left a bad taste in my mouth was establish himself as a habitual thief. Now that alone wouldn't be too big of a problem. The real problem is that he lies about it. He explicitly says that he is against robbing a cook. the thief takes, you are not the thief and yet we witness Remy literally stealing herbs, spices, cookbooks, letters and of course food all the time, Remy never learns his lesson, look, it's delicious , but don't steal, I'll buy some spices, okay, in fact, the longer the movie goes on, the more shameless it becomes.
At first, she just steals food for him, but eventually she starts letting his rat friends into the restaurant to steal food after hours. You are stealing. You told Linguine that he could
trust
me and he can, but Zaboy could lose. his job, which means I would do it too, is under control, okay, he's not just stealing on a small scale, he's stealing in massive quantities by the end of the movie, let the whole rat colony do it in any context Realistically, this is absolutely disgusting, not to mention that restaurants operate on very thin margins for their products, so stealing the food here could literally put them out of business, either for hygiene reasons or at the very least having to throw away literally tons of food that's been touched and nibbled on by a parade of rats, but that's okay, petty thefts still aren't enough to turn you against them, how about a nice, healthy serving of fraud?Look at the linguine, the poor linguine, the garbage boy, the sap that Remy literally controls like a puppet throughout the movie when the two meet. linguini is homeless i need this job i have lost so many i don't know how to cook and now i'm actually talking to a rat like you uh so linguini doesn't know how to cook lucky for us remy has a great mantra that he preaches throughout this whole movie anyone can cook, what do I always say?, anyone can cook, anyone can cook, obviously, with Remy's great skill, he can teach linguine to cook, right?, no, there is no one who takes out the garbage that he takes out. not to cook, anyone can cook well, yes anyone can, that doesn't mean anyone should.
Remy invents a complex hair-pulling system that allows him to hide under Linguine's chef's hat and operate Linguine's body as if it were nothing more than a human forklift, and in the process, he doesn't teach Linguini any useful culinary skills. and what's the point of all this just so remy can cook only for his own benefit, instead of teaching someone a lifelong skill that could put a roof over his head and make sure he keeps his job without fear of being kicked out from the restaurant because they keep an unsanitary rat under his hat all the time he just uses the garbage boy to get ahead great great then okay remy is selfish he is a hypocrite he is a thief those are just facts from the movie they are on the screen , they're in the script, we get it, but that doesn't mean he's necessarily the right antagonist, after all, all great heroes have their flaws, I mean, who hasn't forced two adults without their consent to kiss once? or twice in the morning?
I'm right, oh no, oh remy, that's going to get you canceled on Twitter, dude, but that's okay, it's not like remy's selfishness puts other people's lives at risk or anything, right, hey, remy, you think? That maybe we shouldn't be so oh my, him, really. it's just the absolute worst disney its almost like i told you in the thesis of this episode i hate to break it to you guys but remy just doesn't give a damn if anyone around him lives or dies his singular purpose is to be a chef and he will achieve it no matter how many rats or innocent humans are left in his path and spoiler alert both are left dead in his path.
I've already subtly hinted at the fact that he's a rat and rats are off limits. from Parisian kitchens for a very good reason, according to the CDC, rats and mice are known to transmit more than 35 different diseases to humans around the world, many of which can be fatal and Remy knows it, understand this concept, remy without exaggeration kidnaps anyone who threatens to report the hundreds of sewer rats running through the kitchen, oh sure they get cleaned and disinfected for that final scene after they've walked all over the floors and surfaces, but what about when everyone raids the refrigerator?
I don't see any sanitation being done. Before or after that scene, what happens when they invade the kitchen for the first time? Where are the hairnets? And if you don't think human health codes are important, I encourage you to read Upton Sinclair's spoiler alert, Jungle Friends. Rats play a major role in that. one also after The Jungle was published in 1906, helped raise public awareness about the unsanitary practices of the meatpacking industry that led to a massive decline in typhoid fever, trichinosis, and several other potentially fatal diseases. I know what is worse than all the crimes he has committed in the human world beyond poor working conditions, lying, stealing, kissing without consent.
Remy's worst offense occurs before he even sets foot in the kitchen at the beginning of the
film
. Remy's extraordinary nose. He is the most important job in his colony, the rat poison sniffer, as he is the only rat in the entire colony capable of sniffing out rat poison. Remy can ensure that the colony's food supply is safe for consumption. It's an admirable job in which Remy certainly saves lives, but in the end he abdicates his position in favor of becoming a chef Now, that wouldn't be a problem, except for one thing: he's the only rat in the entire colony with the ability of saving his friends' family and species from a painful poisonous death and yet you just have to Go, master that beef bourguignon, don't get me wrong, I'm all for chasing your dream.My grandmother still asks me when I'll get a real job and move back to Ohio, but Remy's quest for cooking is literally killing his friends and family. but he's an artist, he needs to spread his wings and fly, sure, Remy, you can play with that Nicoise salad all you want after you train someone else to do your life-saving job, nothing's been poisoned, thank goodness , but it hasn't been easy, tldr here. it's remy he doesn't care about anyone else he only cares about himself he doesn't care about saving their lives he doesn't care about keeping their jobs he doesn't care about their personal physical limits and he doesn't care about them Staying healthy without the foods they eat, in a nutshell, Remy is the worst, but does that mean this movie is left without a protagonist in a shocking twist?
No, let's shift gears for a moment to consider Skinner, widely considered the villain of Ratatouille. Although we've just established that Remy fills that role very well, it's true that Skinner is diametrically opposed to Remy throughout the story, but if Remy is selfish, heartless, and criminally dangerous, well, what exactly does that say about Skinner? because no matter how you slice it and say it chef skinner doesn't do anything wrong if skinner is guilty of anything it's presenting him as a villain the sunken eyes the fits of anger the guy with the pencil thin mustache isn't exactly going to appear on the cover of a romance novel in the short term, but what is it?
We are told again about books and covers, it is the actions of a person that really matter and if we immerse ourselves in Skinner's actions, we quickly realize that everything the man does is correct, he is a trained chef and You know good food when you try it, chef. Skinner's game recognizes the game even when it looks like the food was made by someone who has no training, he listens to his staff and can even admit when he's wrong, maybe I've been a little ashy with our new dumpster, it's taken a bold risk. and we should reward Skinner for going so far as to give linguine to a completely inexperienced garbage man who hasn't worked in a kitchen for a full shift more than a fair chance to prove he's a real chef by recreating the soup by taking as much time as possible So What is Skinner's crime?
Have unpleasant behavior. I can't think of any other revered international chef who fits that profile. Do you have enough? But that's so good it's really a waste. What's more, Skinner makes good business decisions. Having inherited a restaurant shaken by the death of Gusto Skinner, he shrewdly rebrands and diversifies the business into a frozen food market, and the frozen food business he is certain is not as fancy or artistic as being a chef in a fancy French restaurant. , but guess what? Expanding into frozen foods ensures that good quality products reach a broader market that may not be able to afford to eat at Gusto's elegant and revered French restaurants and sells millions and millions of burritos, which is no bad thing, since that delivers more food to more people. and making sure his business remains profitable in the future after losing his head chef, I mean, it's a thankless position, and yet Skinner manages to thread that needle perfectly.
Skinner is also a strong advocate for the health code which in 2020 we can certainly see saving lives. Remy isn't washing her hands precisely because the CDC recommends 40 seconds.Out there, Skinner surely wants Remy out of the kitchen, not because he seeks to deny Remy's destiny as an artist, but for the pragmatic reason that his restaurant would close if the health inspector discovers a rat and his staff would be unemployed. Every person in his restaurant would be at risk of contracting any of the 35 diseases that a sewer rat like Remy could transmit. I'm also 100 percent right about Remy, even if Remy's half-assed hand washing was somehow rinsing all the bacteria off his body, he's still a threat to spread any of the dozens of diseases when he knows he bites the people all the time, this is not going to work, little chef, no hand washing and external sanitation will clean the bacteria from your mouth and teeth, there Remy throughout the movie, chef Skinner is an absolute boy scout and what does he do that in the end they kidnap him and tie him up? of rats and locked in a refrigerator next to a health inspector for the quote-unquote good guys, but even in the face of this mafia intimidation, Skinner and the health inspector fearlessly pursue justice once they are freed and finally manage to shut down the likes for health code violations, Skinner had every opportunity to stoop to Remy's level of poisoning. lying cheating destroying the evidence that linguini was actually the rightful heir and owner of the restaurant but he does none of that, he follows the letter of the law every step of the way, even when it makes him really angry or upset if Skinner was really the antagonist, he could have won this movie, he could have sat back and sold millions and millions of frozen burritos well into his golden years, but instead Skinner sacrificed his own career for the important cause of public safety if the bad reputation by Skinner What I got at the end of this movie doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth, I don't know what will, but hey, that's just a theory, a movie theory and a big thank you to our sponsor for the epic games in today's episode and their huge hit video game Fortnite, yes we have a gaming channel but they wanted to sponsor us here for the
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theory which may seem strange but it's actually not a big surprise considering they are also crossing genres with their huge release of season 4. the nexus war, which allows you to step into the shoes of some of marvel's greatest heroes and villains, including doctor doom, wolverine, iron man, i love that guy 3000. but perhaps my favorite appearance of the group, thor also joins fortnite. phrase, so watch out for rookie master 69, Thor is actually coming for you, he's also coming for Galactus, apparently who is also arriving on the scene, I guess as the big villain of the season, I'm not 100 sure, actually, I'm excited to see if I haven't tried Fortnite yet, it's like nothing else out there and the constant flow of new content that the team at Epic Games is constantly infusing into the game is truly impressive and this new season comes with some of the best additions, but not only You will get a bunch of new characters from the Marvel universe, but also their locations on the map, like the X-Men sentinel graveyard or Dr.Doom's domain? Also not only are the characters hanging around with sleazy people all the time but they are actually coming in with their powers groots bramble shield silver surfers surfboard really cool really awesome new details let me say it right now I'm not what you would call well in a fortnight but it's times like this where I'm really happy to have an account where I can just dive in and play some games and explore the new characters, the new locations, the new powers, whatever direction it's headed. its history and at the very least will probably someday get its own film theory as it is now the crossroads. from the marvel and star wars video games, which means that pretty much everything is canon to everything else thanks to fortnite, in short, this fortnite is free, it's a hugely solid game that is constantly updated with really cool new things and if you value being If you know pop culture even the slightest, then you owe it to yourself to play a few matches to see what Season 4's Nexus War is all about.
It's a good time to get involved. It applies to gamers. It applies to. movie fans and it applies to you since you know you watched a video about ratatouille and it lasts until the end which implies that you are a fan of Disney stuff and since Marvel is now Disney you know how it goes if you haven't downloaded yet Fortnite, use my link. in the description below and download fifteen days now for free stay tuned for me on the battlefield. I'll be the groot standing in the corner pretending to be a tree before you leave if you like theories, food and the big screen.
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