Mickey Mouse Organization

Ratatouille would have been a better and potentially much more interesting story if Remy had partnered with Collette instead of Linguini. Two underdogs with talent and passion forced to maintain a dangerous ruse. Fiercely independent Collette giving up temporary control of her body to a creature who, despite the insanity of a rat wanting to cook professionally, she can relate to on a personal level and who she does want to teach. The inner conflict of wondering if Remy’s growing talents are eclipsing her own, if the praise their food is earning belongs more to him than to her. Her guilt over feeling resentment and jealousy towards this little guy who wouldn’t have a hope of realizing his talents if not for her trust and protection. Both of them unraveling the mystery of that sweet but bumbling kitchen boy with the obvious crush on Collette being Gusteau’s secret son, and working together to thwart the new evil owner’s plans to stop Linguini from claiming his birthright. The message of the movie not being this weird, almost smug “some people are born with talent, some people aren’t, and that’s how being a ~great artist~ works”, but something more like, “if you have a dream, you deserve to pursue it, and be supported and encouraged in your pursuit of it, even if other people tell you that, because of some intrinsic aspect of yourself or the circumstances you were born in (like being a human woman in the restaurant industry, or being a literal rat), you have no place pursuing this dream. Also, raw talent can only get you so far, and skill and passion existing in the right balance is key.” I’ve been thinking about this for seventeen years. I’m breaking my silence

Wait I’m not done. Maybe at the beginning of the film, Collette is feeling burnt out and discouraged, and has almost reached the limits of her inner fire keeping her in this career despite industry sexism, and Remy, a complete industry rookie who just loves to cook, helps her rekindle her spirit by reminding her of herself when she was younger, and why she wanted to pursue the art of cooking at a high level in the first place. And, in turn, she patiently teaches Remy the skills he will need to cook at the level he dreams of. And when they’re practicing and she looks down at her hands and sees them moving with, what seems to her, painful slowness or imprecision, it takes her right back to when she was first learning how to move her hands in these ways, and Remy’s joy and determination about learning is an echo of her own, from a time when she was less jaded about her art. Remy as her student puts Collette back in touch with an inner younger self who has big dreams and loves to cook, and lets her shake the cynicism her career has ground into her— which is paralleled by the cynical Ego’s journey, and how Remy’s cooking puts him back in touch with his inner child, too. Remy the innocent, rekindling joy in two jaded professionals and helping them remember what they’re doing all of this for.

i don't think "flex" is a strong enough word for whatever the last three minutes of my life was

That was one of the most beautiful sequences I have ever seen.