the m0vie blog

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re continuing a season focusing on the work of one particular director: Brad Bird’s Ratatouille.

Remi is a French rat with a taste for the finer things, quite literally. Remi longs to be a chef. When circumstances bring the young rat to Paris, and into the kitchen of a legendary restaurant, Remi is given the chance of a lifetime to seize his dream. He just needs to grab it by the hair and pull hard.

At time of recording, it was ranked 219th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Show Notes:

• Recorded 3rd November 2022.
• Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
• Ratatouille at The Internet Movie Database.
• The IMDB Top 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
• Follow Dee on Twitter.
• Read Dee’s reviews at entertainment.ie.
• Read Graham’s reviews at Scannain.
• Hear Graham on Speaking Geek.
• Read Graham’s guide to Irish Gaming at Gameir.
• Follow Graham on Twitter.
• Dee writes at The Irish Independent about Disney’s dominance in the animation field.
• Graham interviews Brad Bird for Movies.ie.
• Stephen Humphries at The Christian Science Monitor discusses “the year of the threequel”, January 2007.
• Roger Ebert reviews Transformers for The Chicago Sun Times, July 2007.
• David Kehr at The New York Times looks back on the Pixar shorts, November 2007.
• Jan Pinkava talks to Cartoon Brew about Geri’s Game, November 2017.
• Jan Pinkava talks to Animated Views about his original vision for Ratatouille, February 2008.
• Alan Siegel at The Ringer looks at the production and development of Ratatouille, June 2017.
• Carolyn Giardina at The Hollywood Reporter explores the career of Jan Pinkava after Ratatouille, May 2017.
• Katie Chapman at Disney Dining runs down the popular Disney mice, July 2022.
• Jim Korkis at Cartoon Research considers the character of Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective, October 2021.
• Claudia Eller at The Los Angeles Times considers Pixar’s “flirtations” with other studios, February 2003.
• Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller at The Los Angeles Times report on the schism between Disney and Pixar, February 2004.
• Laura Holson at The Los Angeles Times reflects on how the performance of The Incredibles increased Pixar’s negotiating leverage, November 2004.
• Jonathan Loades-Carter at The Financial Times charts the complicated and often frayed relationship between Pixar and Disney, January 2006.
• Mari Ness at Tor.com places Ratatouille in the context of the complicated relationship betwee Pixar and Disney, August 2017.
• Ryan Ball at Animation Magazine looks at the special arrangement made by Disney and Pixar to cover Ratatouille, February 2006.
• Brad Bird talks to The Los Angeles Times about taking control of Ratatouille, February 2008.
• Patton Oswalt talks about ordering a steak at Black Angus, June 2004.
• Patton Oswalt talks to The Los Angeles Times about being cast in Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Patton Oswalt talks to NPR about voicing Remi in Ratatouille, August 2011.
• Dave Itzkoff profiles Patton Oswalt for The New York Times, August 2009.
• Patton Oswalt talks to IndieWire about his memories of Brian Dennehy, December 2014.
• Neil Genzliner at The New York Times reflects on the passing of Brian Dennehy, April 2020.
• Matthew Simmons at The Weekly Ringer argues for Ratatouille as the best Pixar movie ever made, April 2022.
• Alex Metz at Tech Radar argues for Ratatouille as the best Pixar movie on Disney+, March 2021.
• Moviefone insists that Ratatouille is the greatest Pixar movie ever made, June 2017.
• Alexandra Ramos at CinemaBlend argues that Ratatouille is an underrated Pixar classic, March 2021.
• Jon Blistein at Rolling Stone reports on M.I.A. tweeting about the COVID vaccine, October 2022.
• Herb Scribner at Axios reports on a rise in hate speech and racial slurs on Twitter as overseen by Elon Musk, November 2022.
• Ross Douthat argues for “the redistribution of sex” at The New York Times, May 2018.
• Ross Douthat at The Atlantic argues that critics love Ratatouille because it flatters critics, July 2007.
• A.O. Scott contemplates the acclaim that Sideways received from critics in The New York Times, January 2005.
• Kim Severson at The New York Times looks at the preparation that went into the making of Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Roosana Hossenally at Forbes looks at the history of La Toud d’Argent in Paris, February 2017.
• Anthony Bourdain writes to Ruhlman.com to compliment Ratatouille, July 2007.
• Brooks Barnes at The New York Times considers the success of Ratatouille in France, October 2007.
• Pamela McClintock and Dave McNary at Variety discuss the reception of Ratatouille in France, August 2007.
• Corinna Gavard and Molly Moore at The Seattle Times discuss Ratatouille with French moviegoers, August 2007.
• Claudia Eller at The Los Angeles Times looks at the challenges facing Disney in trying to sell Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Gina Keating at Reuters reports on Ratatouille as a “test” of the deal between Disney and Pixar, June 2007.
• Jim Hill at Jim Hill Media reports on tensions between Disney executive and Pixar playing out during the release of Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Nate Jones at Vulture reports that some in Disney considered the box office returns on Ratatouille to be Pixar’s first “flop”, September 2007.
• Emily St. James at Vox rejects readings of Brad Bird’s work as “objectivist”, June 2018.
• David Sims at The Atlantic argues that Brad Bird’s big thematic preoccupation is creativity rather than “objectivism”, June 2015.
• Susan Martinez-Conde at Scientific American looks at the way in which Marcel Proust influenced Ratatouille, May 2013.
• Colleen Walsh at The Harvard Gazette discusses the links between taste, smell and memory, February 2020.
• Megh Wright at Vulture considers Janeane Garofalo’s time on Saturday Night Live, February 2012.
• Janeane Garofalo talks to The New York Times about her life and career, July 2022.
• Cassandra Smolcic at Variety discusses the sexist work culture at Pixar under John Lasseter, June 2018.
• Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter discusses the pattern of misconduct by John Lasseter, November 2017.
• Frank Bruni at The New York Times considers the portrayal of criticism in Ratatouille, July 2007.
• Patton Oswalt and Janeane Garofalo talk to Gone With the Twins about the portrayal of Anton Ego in Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Roger Ebert contemplates the role of critics at RogerEbert.com, September 2008.
• Nathan Schmidt at AllEars reports on Bob Iger’s decision to acquire Pixar, July 2020.
• Britt Hayes at ScreenCrush reports on Tom Cruise’s enthusiasm for cinema, July 2018.
• Bethy Squires at Vulture reports on Harry Styles opining that Don’t Worry Darling is a movie that feels like a movie, September 2022.
• Frank Bruni at The New York Times discusses the growth of food culture in turn of the millennium America, July 2007.
• Lewis Lapham at Mother Jones reports on food culture as an expression of wealth, June 2011.
• Laurie Winer at The Los Angeles Times reports on the emergence of “American foodie cinema”, August 2007.
• Ryan Sutton at Eater places Ratatouille in the context of the food culture of the era, October 2021.
• Julia Boorstin at CNBC considers the merchandising around Ratatouille, June 2007.
• Michael Cieply at The New York Times considers the debate over which category Pixar would push Ratatouille for awards, November 2007.
• John Lasseter talks to The Los Angeles Times about the possibility of a Best Picture bid for Ratatouille, November 2007.
• Brad Bird talks to The New York Times about his pride in receiving a Best Original Screenplay nomination for The Incredibles, January 2008.
• Brad Bird argues with The Los Angeles Times for animation to receive more mainstream respect and credibility, November 2007.
• Jacob Kushner at National Geographic reports on conflicts between hippos and humans in Africa, January 2021.
• The Associated Press considers the enduring popularity of the animated penguin, March 2007.
• Mika McKinnon at The Smithsonian Magazine considers evidence that rats were innocent of spreading the bubonic plague in medieval Europe, January 2018.
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