Bernadette Benda

Ratatouille will forever be one my favorite movies. It just never gets old.

One of the things that the movie does so well (despite making the food look delicious) is the character of Linguini (his first name is Alfredo btw. Like what the heck I think his mom liked pasta too much).

He starts the movie as an “underdog”. And by the end…he still is.

He starts off as an orphan with apparently no skills who keeps losing his job. When Remy (the rat) comes into his life and cooks a soup that everything thinks Linguini did, Linguini’s life changes. In order for him to keep his job, and for Remy to have the opportunity to cook, they team up.

Everyone thinks Linguini is the great chef, while in reality he’s not.

Then he starts to be trained by Colette

The unlikely pair (confident woman vs awkward kid named Alfredo) end up falling for each other. But Colette doesn’t fall for him because she thinks he’s a great chef. She begins to like him because:

He takes her advice, listens to her,  honest, and isn’t competitive.

There is also an equality between them. Linguini is wowed by a ride on her motorcycle, while he teaches Colette how to roller skate.

Soon Linguini finds out that he is the son of the recently deceased Gusteau, a famous chef. The restaurant jumps into fame, with Linguini on top, even though all the good food is really being made by Remy.

But Linguini’s ego gets little big and he throws Remy out. When the critic, Anton Ego shows up, he doesn’t know what to do, because he’s not a cook. He panics.But Remy returns, and Linguini, finally admitting that he’s not anyone great, shares that the rat is the real cook with the staff.

They leave. (unclear why except – maybe they think he’s crazy??)

But Colette stays and helps Remy prepare the meal for Ego. And Linguini finally is able to use the two skills he’s good at:

Roller skating and his friendly personality.

With all the staff gone, they need a waiter and he is there to do it, roller skating through the tables and filling wine glasses as he passes.

Ego gives a 5 star review, even after finding out that Remy the rat was the chef.

Colette and Linguini end of opening a new restaurant, where Remy is the chef. And Linguini?

He’s the waiter.

He remained an underdog. He wasn’t anyone with exceptional talent. BUT, he finally figured out what he was good at, and was able to use his talents, however odd they seemed (like roller skating).

The other thing I love about his character is what he wanted at the beginning of the story.

A job. All he wanted was a job.

He didn’t want to be a great chef, he didn’t want to be exceptional or talented, he just wanted a job so maybe he could move to an apartment that actually had a kitchen.

What I loved about it, is that it let an average person be average. He didn’t have to have an amazing talent, become famous, or accomplish anything amazing. All he needed to to do was gain confidence and discover the talents he already had.

And I think that’s important.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash