Anyone Can Cook? How the Film "Ratatouille" Undermines Its Own Message



In the charming Pixar film Ratatouille, a rat named Remy is inspired by a famous cook who says that "anyone can cook." In the end, the rat is vindicated, and becomes the chef at a French restaurant. 

The story evokes the American value that with hard work even someone from a lower class can achieve greatness. The theme of the film, "anyone can cook," resonates when even a rat, with sufficient ambition and wiles, can make it big. 

What most people ignore about the film, though, is the complete inability of the other main character, Alfredo, to learn to cook, in spite of having the same ambition, and, indeed, extensive exposure to good cooking practices. 

In the story, Remy secretly uses Alfredo as a puppet to cook (see the picture). In this way Remy's cooking gains acceptance--nobody would give a rat the same chances they'd give a human. But even by the end of the movie, Alfredo is incapable of making a decent meal on his own. 

What's the difference between Alfredo and Remy? It appears to be some kind of in-born talent, which is at odds with the theme of the film. 

Anyone can cook. Except you, Alfredo. You just don't have the right stuff. 

Pictured: A screenshot from the trailer. From Wikipedia.

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Comments

Ali Arya said…
"Anyone can cook" is the book's message not the movie's. One can argue that the movie's message is "anyone can achieve his or her true passion". Not that I necessarily agree with either message. And I thought the American Dream was about opportunity not hard work :)
Anonymous said…
Towards the end, Patton Oswalt as Remy actually says the line, "Anyone *can* cook, but not everyone *should* cook", which destroys that phrase as the theme, and made me want to smack him. That and the whole unexplained body-control-via-hair thing were the major downfalls of the movie for me.

Clearly the way it should have gone was some more plausible, cyrano-like cooking guidance from Remy - and then at the climax he couldn't make it, and Alfredo holds it together based on what he learned from Remy, at least until Remy shows up. That's how it should have gone, but Brad Bird has some weird Ayn Randian axe to grind: as in The Incredibles the message is, "just don't get in the way of the inherently superior people." And it led to him ruining the story (Alfredo has nothing to do at the end but play busboy).
Anonymous said…
signed, Daniel
Anonymous said…
the message of the movie is that greatness can come from anywhere.
Just want to thanks for this helpful and knowledgeable

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Gray said…
Anonymous’s comment is nonsensical. The charm of the movie comes from the fact that the audience believes that a rat in a kitchen is okay and special in this universe. Of course the reality isn’t true. Of course a rat can’t control a human via his hair, but we believe it in this universe.

It doesn’t matter that Linguini doesn’t become a chef at the end of the film, he comes to terms with the fact that he doesn’t want to, he can wait tables and he excels at that. What are we saying if we are stating that he didn’t find his purpose by choosing that path. That that decision isn’t admirable? He accepts that Remy is the one with the gift. To say that “anyone can cook” loses its meaning because Linguini can’t is a missing the point of the line completely. Remy can. That’s the point of the film. By the end of the film, the core characters accept this as true. He is the one with the passion. Linguini never had the passion for cooking. So what if he doesn’t end up doing it at the end of the film?
Anonymous said…
Ego at the end of the movie explains the phrase "Anyone can cook". It's not that Gusteau's phrase means just anyone can become a Michelin Star Chef. But that such a chef can come from anywhere. Remy does have more talent than Alfredo, but he's a rat. He comes from a rat family and a life as the lowest of all creatures. Yet even in a place like that talent is born. Alfredo never did become a chef, but it was never about that. It's that greatness can be born out of the mundane, the ordinary. That is true. Not everyone can achieve it but it can come from the most unlikely of places
Arnold M said…
Great readding your blog post
Max said…
thanks for share

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