Ratatouille

A soundtrack that's best served with a side of heart.

Image source: https://open.spotify.com/album/39xxmPYtF4hIZOWMJDQX4R

Score by Michael Giacchino

Rating 10/10

If you've ever wanted to be transported to the French countryside, or maybe the busy streets of Paris, let the calming sounds of classical guitars, bongos, and accordions from the Ratatouille (2007) soundtrack take you on a trip. Sit down with some great food, friends, and relax as the sounds of 1960s France surround you and tickle your taste buds.

Michael Giacchino is known for his fantastic scores from other Pixar movies such as The Incredibles (2004) and Coco (2017), as well as other well-known movies like Startrek (2009) and War of the Planet of the Apes (2017). Giacchino is incredibly talented, and his musical style tends to be very identifiable through his instrumentation and certain rhythms. For the Ratatouille soundtrack, Giacchino mixed classic French instruments and a jazz combo with the soaring sounds of 50s and 60s movie music with a large orchestra.

Giacchino is a master at setting a scene with the right music and instrumentations. One of my favorite examples of this is the piece This is Me. During the exposition of the movie, this song plays behind Remy explaining his home situation. The trumpets and bouncing clarinets emphasize a sneaky feeling from the rat colony. Later, the calm tones of a lone classical guitar give a homey, calm feeling. In 100 Rat Dash, the frantic flutes, violins, and trumpets are reminiscent of rat squeaks. As an audience, we feel the fear of the colony on the screen as they run away from their home because the music tells us we should feel scared.

Once Remy makes his way into the city of Paris, the score matches the awe he feels. At the two minute mark of Wall Rat, the piece soars with the sound of a full orchestra playing the big recurring motive of the score in old Hollywood fashion. This motive and full melody can be heard best in Anyone Can Cook as well as the only song with words on the soundtrack, Le Festin. If I had to pick a song to best wrap up the feeling of the movie as a whole it would be either of these pieces. They leave the listener with a melancholy and heartwarming feeling, perfectly setting the stage at the beginning of the film, and wrapping it in a nice bow at the end.

Overall, the soundtrack (and movie) is one of my personal favorites from Pixar. Whether you’ve seen the movie or you just want some nice instrumental music to play while completing work, the Ratatouille soundtrack is perfect for the occasion.