Disney and Pixar hope to entice moviegoers to watch their latest animated family flick, Ratatouille, more than once so they can pick up on hidden details and inside jokes that may have scurried under the radar range the first time around. In addition to the Pizza Planet Truck and other elements that pop up in every Pixar production, there are morsels to be found that offer a unique insider’s view into the world of the Ratatouille filmmakers.
The Pizza Planet Truck first made an appearance in Toy Story in 1995 and has been the animated equivalent of Alfred Hitchcock’s obligatory cameo or Quentin Tarantino’s Red Apple cigarette pack. In Ratatouille, the truck can be seen on a bridge over the Seine during the scene where Skinner is chasing Remy. Also showing up in every Pixar film is the number A113, which was Brad Bird’s and John Lasseter’s former classroom at CalArts. It last appeared on a train that Lightning McQueen narrowly misses in Cars, and pops up again for fans to find in Ratatouille.
The character Bomb Voyage from The Incredibles makes two appearances in Ratatouille. He can be seen as a mime on the bridge by Notre Dame when Linguini and Colette skate past, and shows up again in the front-page photo on the newspaper Colette is reading with the Solene Le Claire review.
The names of quite a few Ratatouille crew members can be spied in the 372 graphics created for food labels, boxes, street signs, posters and businesses. In particular, look for Lasseter Cabernet Sauvignon and Chateau-Bird on bottles of wine, and Bouchiba brand spaghetti named for animator Bolhem Bouchiba. Theres also a storefront sporting the name Bar Des 7 Chanceux, which gets it moniker from the famed hidden “Lucky 7 Lounge,” accessible through a small door inside Pixar Animation Studios.
On the more obvious side is the presence of voice of actor John Ratzenberger, who is featured in every toon produced by Pixar. Often referred to as the studio’s official good luck charm, Ratzenberger can be heard in Ratatouille as the head waiter, Mustafa.
Ratatouille opened nationwide on July 29 and earned $47 million to take the top spot at the box office. The critically acclaimed pic continued to perform strong this week despite tough competition from DreamWorks/Paramount’s Transfromers and 20th Century Fox’s Live Free or Die Hard, which were both released as Independence Day event movies. Ratatouille had the biggest Tuesday and Wednesday draws of any Pixar film to date.
