MovieChat Forums > Ratatouille (2007) Discussion > Boring, unfunny and very overrated

Boring, unfunny and very overrated

posted 16 years ago by robby_ace
129 replies | jump to latest

The movie just doesn't take you anywhere at all. Paris is a city with so many amazing sights, pity the movie is stuck in a tight kitchen the whole time. It gives off the impression it needs major fleshing out, like it's an animation prototype or something. There's just nothing to it. The only character that caught my eye was the food critic, the rest are too realistic. I can't think of a single time I was close to laughing. A pleasant movie to watch, but after seeing what Pixar can do, I was disappointed. It just seems like a film can do well simply because it's made by someone who's produced masterpieces, not because of its actual experience.

[–] Startanew 16 years ago

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[–] kenmal-1 16 years ago

Boy - you sure know how to stop a thread (by asking for money) - jus kiddin!

[–] javinye626 16 years ago

The middle act in ratatouille where they introduce Linguini to the life in the kitchen is a bit sluggish, and i also find Linguini a bit annoying at times, especially his dialogue.

[–] Medacakathareal 16 years ago

I too was rather disappointed with it simply on a conceptual basis, a rat who can cook and talks to a disembodied imaginary dead chef all set in Paris. It just seems like a really weird idea and it doesn't really work for me. There are some moments when I found myself chuckling and others where I was hoping Patton Oswalt would start to be himself (FUNNY!) but in the end its just an average movie, certainly not Pixar's best. Ever since Cars the Pixar movies have been slowly declining in quality IMO. The Incredibles was their last great movie, not sure what changed, but there just seems something off with Cars, Ratatouille, and Wall-E...

"You call this a zombie apocalypse? Doesn't hold a candle to the great zombie attack of '57"

[–] BigWhiskers 16 years ago

i dont agree with the orig poster
your such crybabies fir sweetie pie movies..
this one is well done ..and is charming ..
you want cutesy disney then go watch that ..

[–] Egg_MacGuffin 16 years ago

I don't disagree with the original poster or the topic of this thread.

Boring - Remy has no goal, nothing he is striving for. Whatever he wants, it is not clearly articulated to the audience. Compare that to Finding Nemo, where Marlin has to save Nemo before Nemo is given away and most likely killed. There is an "or else" factor. What is the "or else" factor in Ratatouille? What will happen to Remy if he does not continue cooking? It's weak, unfocused, and meanders a while until Ego decides to review Gusteau's...near the END of the film. Too little, too late. Also, silencing your main character in favor of someone severely less-interesting is a horrible idea. I felt nothing toward the garbage boy. I cared for the rat more.

Unfunny - Speaks for itself. Pixar humor is rampant in nearly every one of their films. I laughed maybe once during Ratatouille. Maybe.

Very Over-rated - As long as people are not seeing this movie for what it is - Pixar's second worst effort - then yes, it is over-rated.

As for Pixar's worst...easily Cars. Here's why:

The visuals are great to look at, as long as you're not looking at one of the vehicles. They simply look goofy with eyes and a mouth. Something about them is not as right as, say...toys, monsters, or bugs. They don't look like cars or trucks, they look...weird. Especially when animated. It's not natural.

The story is somewhat lacking and there's not a lot of "movement" to it. Lightning McQueen is stuck in the town for a majority of the movie, and that's not good when the movie is nearly 2 hours. Compare that to everything that happens in Toy Story and Finding Nemo. All the places we visit, all the events that take place. It's exciting and there's an element of danger. It's dangerous to traverse the ocean, or to be a toy stuck in the bedroom of a child who destroys toys. How dangerous is a town?

The ending comes as no surprise. He's a race car trying to get to the race. What else could the finale entail? And we've seen hundreds of movies that all come down to the big race at the end, so the event in and of itself is not as fresh as, say...escaping from an aquarium. That is original.

To whoever said that Brad Bird is Pixar's best director...you misspelled Andrew Stanton.

[–] sabre_unlimited 16 years ago

Oh...my...God...Is goal was to be a cook. The "or else" factor would be going back to being a rat and eat garbage, a life he detests on many levels. If I can see that, it can't be that bloody hard, leaving me to believe you are an idiot or in denial

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Cars111 15 years ago

You are SERIOUSLY flawed when it comes to movies. Hello,his goal is to become a chef,if you were actually paying attention to the movie you'd realise that,Duh!!
I'm not a big Ratataouille fan I'm actually a Cars fan. Now I'll admit it doesn't expiain...well you know what if Remy stops cooking the "or else" is that he wont be living out his dream,so I guess that counts. You seem even more ignorant when it comes to Cars,"there's not a lot of movement"Duh!! that was the point! When you are in a SMALL town everything is supposed to be slow,the point was to put ourselves in Lightning's POV. And being lost in the middle of nowhere on an interstate nearly getting hit in the middle of the night is not dangerous?!The town is not like that but comeon there's some elements of that...You are TOTALLY wrong when it comes to the animation of the Cars. That's about as real as it can get without going overboard. Pixar has brought life to other objects in many of it's movies I'm trying to understand what the **** is the problem with animated cars?! If you actually listen to the commentary you'd realise that John Lassiter actually spent a lot of time researching and making the movie as "real like" as you can get it. "The ending comes as no surprise" Um,wasn't it already estabished at the begining of the movie that he had to get to the race? Secondly,Did you know he wasn't going to win the Piston cup before you saw the movie? Did anybody know the King was going to crash? If it wasn't original then Lightning would have won the Piston cup,and it would have been one of those "Hero always wins something in the end" things...It's funny how someone can see,but let ignorance blind them from seeing it....

[–] HarlequinForestt 16 years ago

Just watched it for the first time, and I must say...this is my least favorite Pixar film I've seen.

[–] elora2404 16 years ago

I thought it was lovely.

I really, truly don't understand the complaints of it being unrealistic. How does anyone sitting down to watch a movie about a rat that loves to cook expect realism? That just boggles me.

I also don't understand the complaint that we didn't see enough of Paris. I love the city, but I never expected this to be some sort of "Paris Sightseeing 101". That's not at all what the movie is about for me.

I thought the film was visually gorgeous, very well made. The characters were great, and the passion for food really filled the story. It was funny, heartwarming and cute. I liked it a lot.

[–] cee_dill 16 years ago

I enjoyed it tremendously and while I don't expect everyone to have the same opinions as I do, I can't help but wonder about the people who feel that an internal crisis is somehow less important than an external threat.

No, there is no "Remy must cook a perfect meal or rocks fall and everyone dies" threat, but isn't the idea of always having to avoid what you most love and live your life as someone that you aren't a pretty terrible idea, too? The idea wasn't to go on some great journey full of hijinks and adventure, it was to step outside expectations and put your efforts out there.

The characters were interesting and fairly likable to me. No, they didn't develop every chef in the kitchen with a full personality, but I don't think we explored the backstory of the dinosaur and piggy bank in Toy Story and no one seems to mind that they are just stock characters.

And from a purely visual point of view, did no one notice how good the animation has gotten? The water in this film made Finding Nemo look like practice. The Skyline shots were beautiful and I can't imagine how long the texture of all that fur took.

I thought the relationships between all the lead characters was well thought-out and portrayed and the scene where Ego takes his first bite of his dish and has his memory of being a baggy-eyed scrawny kid who just needed some comfort food brought tears to my eyes.

This wasn't a great comedy or kids' movie, but it was amazing storytelling that really spoke to me.

"Call me in about a week."
"So it could be cancer? Hey, doc. You don't be a stranger either."

[–] Jake3988 16 years ago

It's by far the worst pixar film. I watched the first 45 minutes and didn't even chuckle once!!

[–] varyenka 16 years ago

Well said, Cee.

I also agree with the earlier poster who said it was about passion. The crisis was existential, that desperate drive to become what you know you're meant to be. Any artist who's ever grasped at that dream can relate to this film. It's not about do it or go home. It's about do it or die.

Ego's critique is one of Pixar's crowning achievments. There is such a relevance to the words beyond the context of the film itself. In those last moments they convey on so many levels how true art not only transcends society's artificially induced boundaries, but can shatter our own carefully constructed artifices and lay our souls bare. Sometimes it confronts our stubbornly held tenets, and it can radically impact hearts and minds.

Yeah, this one was probably a little more of an artists-being-indulgent project. I don't expect it to ever be one of Pixar's most popular, but it is tops in my book, not only as my favorite Pixar films but is on my list of favorite films in general.

[–] fredhenry20 16 years ago

I rarely write on the board, but I had to commit myself this time because I totally 100% agree with this statement. This movie IS boring and overrated. I really can't figure out why it has won an Oscar and why it is ranked so high on iMDB.

[–] markthomas26 16 years ago

we all have opinions ... i loved it, and so did many other people obviously

[–] mrs-peabody 15 years ago

That's probobly because 1: the movie isn't about paris. it's about paris cooking. 2: what the hell are you talking about? 3: the rest are to realistic? lets see, between the talking rat and the chef who robbed a bank with a ballpoint pen, i'd say that one's pretty unfounded. what is unrealistic to you? the road runner? 4: you weren't laughing? it isn't meant to be a hilarious comedy. it mostly runs on charm, with some small jokes. if you can't laugh at anything without bodily functions mentioned, well, that's your fault.

[–] naimaziz 15 years ago

Who doesn’t know Pixar’s box office hits Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall E and Up but fewer people know the exhilarating collection of Pixar’s Short Films.

Most of these animated films span 5 minutes and deliver excellent entertainment often without saying a single word! Here are our top 5 picks of Pixar’s Short Films.

http://techflipper.com/2009/06/22/the-five-best-pixar-short-films/

Please Digg if you appreciate the story!

[–] 15 years ago

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