admin
Fri, 10/14/2022 - 16:06
Edited Text
A
Score
Analysis
of:
Written
By,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
For
the
Culminating
Experience
of
the
2014
Masters
in
Scoring
for
Film,
Television,
and
Video
Games
at
The
Berklee
College
of
Music,
Valencia,
Spain
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
2
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Intro – 3
Story Synopsis – 3
Background Information – 4
Orchestration – 8
Main Themes – 9
Main Theme – 9
Le Festin – 12
Remy the Rat – 16
Ratpack/This is Me – 20
Anton Ego – 23
Linguini/Buddy – 25
Colette – 27
The Will - 29
Food Tasting – 31
Conclusion – 32
Cue Sheet – 33
Works Cited - 36
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
3
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
INTRO:
The musical score of Ratatouille, by Michael Giacchino, is a Grammy-winning,
Academy Award nominee with a unique and eclectic sound that perfectly compliments
the heartwarmingly peculiar story of Remy the Rat, who dreams of becoming a chef in
Paris. The music takes on a great variety of styles and instruments, ranging from jazz, to
orchestral, to the tango, and takes us on a musical journey alongside of the main character
and his hopes and dreams. Throughout the musical telling of this story, Mr. Giacchino
uses a number of different musical themes to represent certain characters and their
emotions. He alters and manipulates these themes in a great deal of subtle ways to bring
the audience into the emotional state of the characters on screen. This paper hopes shed
some light on the creation of the music, its musical themes and instruments, and how they
are used to tell the story of Remy the rat in Ratatouille.
STORY SYNOPSIS:
Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is the story of a rat named Remy who has an uncanny
sense of smell, a natural talent for cooking, and big dreams of being a chef in a five-star
restaurant. Yet despite Remy’s dreams, the fact remains that he is indeed simply a rat
living amongst his pack in the roof of a house of an elderly woman somewhere in the
countryside of France. Yet the unexpected happens, and his pack is discovered by the
elderly woman, and as they flee from their home, Remy is separated from the group and
left stranded and alone in the sewer, with his only friend being an imaginary ghost of his
hero, Chef Gusteau, whose slogan is “Anyone can cook”. We follow our protagonist as
life leads him in an unexpected direction where, after he makes his way out of the sewer,
he finds himself at the restaurant of his hero. Peering anxiously through the rooftop
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
4
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
window of the restaurant, Remy spies a bumbling garbage boy, Linguini, who happens to
be accidentally ruining the soup of the day. In angst, Remy leans too far in, slips, and
falls into the kitchen. This is where his adventure begins, leading him to a unique
friendship with Linguini who he guides around the kitchen, and the chance to pursue his
dream of becoming a chef in Gusteau’s restaurant.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Ratatouille is a Disney/Pixar film released in June of 2007. The story was by Jan
Pinkava, with direction and screenwriting by Brad Bird, who worked to make the absurdsounding tale of a rat cook into one we can all relate to. He did this by creating
characters with real, human emotions that we all share, despite their comedic animated
form. “This film is personal to me in a way, because I think that we all have sort of
impossible dreams and do what we can to pursue them. And this is the ultimate
impossible dream” (movieweb). His choice in composers worked in his favor,
heightening and enhancing these emotions throughout the story. Brad personally asked
Michael Giacchino to score the project, as they had previously worked together on
Pixar’s “The Incredibles”, and both came away feeling it was a very positive
collaboration. According Giacchino, Brad, “is one of my best friends…and I had a great
time working with him on the Incredibles” (Noyer).
In a number of interviews, Giacchino talks of Brad with a great deal of respect,
mentioning that he only wants to do something if it’s original and can tell a story in a
slightly different way. His method is to be inspired by something you love and make
something new and creative from that inspiration, which works well with Giaccino’s
style, who enjoys trying to do something different stylistically with each story he scores
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
5
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
(Cooke). According to Giacchino, Brad Bird does a great job of energizing his team,
and tends to bring out their creative best. As for the music of Ratatouille, he wanted the
same from Giacchino, giving him basic ideas and explaining what he wanted, while
allowing a lot of room for creativity in the compositional process. “He really leaves the
construction of it (the music) up to me, which is really nice.”(Noyer).
There was also next to no temp score when Giacchino received the movie. This
was partially due to the speed in which they were working, and partially because Mr.
Bird did not know what the film should sound like (Noyer). It is a very unique story and
thus required an original sound, musically speaking. This led to Michael drawing on his
many personal influences which range from classical to jazz as well as elements of the
film including Paris, rats, food, animation, and some very human emotions. He crafted
an eclectic sound including all of these elements, and created a score leaning towards the
side of jazz for a great deal of it. Giacchino reminisced in an interview, comparing jazz
to cooking in the sense that in both, “you’re just kind of throwing in different things and
seeing what works. It’s all about that experimentation and the film’s score was very
much like that.” (Noyer)
For the composing process of Ratatouille, it was initially all done digitally.
According to Giacchino, the last film he composed “traditionally”, with pen and paper
was “The Incredibles”. He composes at a keyboard while watching the film, and makes
sketches where he composes and orchestrates simultaneously. He then sends these nearly
completed sketches off to his orchestrators, Jack Hayes, Larry Kenton, and Tim Simonec
(who also served as conductor for Ratatouille)
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
6
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
to finish the work before moving onto the recording process. His team that he works
with is generally a small group of people whom he trusts greatly and who have an
enormous amount of experience. This list includes (aside from his orchestrators): music
copyist Dave Wells, music editor Stephen M. Davis (imdb.com), and recording and
mixing engineer Dan Wallin, who has worked on everything from “Up” to “Robocop 2”
(imdb.com).
For the music of Ratatouille, Giacchino worked with a group of professional
musicians from Los Angeles. He has advertised that he has used a lot of the same
orchestral musicians for the last 10 years, and holds the opinion that they are some of the
very best in the world, and trusts fully that they can handle any style that he would write
for them (“Music by Michael Giacchino…” michaelgiacchinomusic.com). For this
particular project, he also worked with a number of extra non-orchestral musicians, such
as legendary accordionist and musette player, Frank Marrocco (Doctor Zhivago,
Schindler’s List, etc.), who Giacchino mentions helped a great deal in getting an overall
tone and sound for the accordion that he wanted for the film (Noyer). Other musicians
also included: Tommy Morgan on the harmonica, Abe Laboriel on electric bass, and
Harvey W. Mason playing drums and additional hand percussion (http://www.imdb.com)
For the recording of Ratatouille, this large group of musicians officially went by
the name of “Le Rat Band”, while the smaller group who recorded the song “Le Festin”
aptly named themselves, “La Bande de Le Festin” (“Ratatouille, Film Score”). Although
not opposed to the use of synthesizers and electronics, Giacchino chose to write solely for
live instruments. In his interview with animatedviews.com, he expressed how he felt that
the story of Ratatouille was about real things, real people and emotions, and so for him, it
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
7
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
needed real instrumentation to express those things. He goes on to discuss how he also
believes that recording instruments separately takes away from the natural energy and
performance that happens when all of the musicians are together in a room (Noyer). He
seems to be a bit of a purist when it comes to “true” orchestral sound when recording
orchestra, and loves the magic created when everyone is playing together, and thus, the
score for Ratatouille was recorded by live musicians playing in the same space (aside
from the song “Le Festin”).
Giacchino also wrote the music for the Ratatouille video game. He personally
likes to stay involved as much as he can when his projects move on to the videogame
world, as he feel it is important to have some sort of musical carryover in both versions of
the project. He even gained the rights from Disney to use some of the same themes from
the film, but not the original recordings. Instead, he used the same musicians to record
new music in the same style and with some of the same themes. (Noyer).
After the movie was released, Ratatouille won a Grammy and was later
nominated for an academy award. Michael Giacchino was not actually present at the
Grammies when he found out he had won. Instead, he was busy recording the soundtrack
for the movie Speed Racer with nearly the same group of musicians as recorded for
Ratatouille. When the news reached him, he got onto the loudspeaker in the studio and
announced to his orchestra, “Hey guys! You just won a Grammy!” (“Music by Michael
Giacchino”, www.michaelgiacchinomusic.com).
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
8
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
ORCHESTRATION:
As stated in an interview, Giacchino largely orchestrates while composing, which
means that most likely a lot of the choices about what instruments were playing and
when, were left up to our composer. However, he also mentions that he has worked with
the same orchestrator for years, one who he trusts very much: Jack Hayes, who was
nearly 90 at the time of this film (van der Lugt). Any way around it, one could actually
argue that what truly makes this score special and rather unique in its sound has a lot to
do with the orchestration.
The orchestration and instruments chosen for the film were rather unique and
slightly atypical for your run-of-the-mill Disney/Pixar movie. But most all of the
instruments and styles/genres heard throughout Ratatouille had a great deal to do with the
where it was set. Giacchino drew a lot of inspiration from how he felt about Paris. He
found that there were so many types of people there, along with numerous musical
movements from jazz, to orchestra, to a “café” sound. He used these concepts as well as
the emotions felt from the characters to select a diverse palette of tones that could be
combined with the traditional orchestra (Noyer).
Throughout the film, the various themes, melodies, and chord progressions are
passed to a multitude of instruments. Even if the melodic or harmonic progression
remains the same, the instruments playing it change often phrase by phrase, as if the
orchestra were playing catch with musical fragments. It ranges from groups of highs to
lows, to various woodwinds, brass, strings, pitched percussion, and modern instruments
not typical of the orchestra such as: electric, acoustic, and slide guitar, electric bass,
drumkit, saxophone, accordion, harmonica, mandolin, and even a ukulele.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
9
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Giacchino also changes and extends the colors of each of these groups of
instruments to give them a unique character at various points. He uses a lot of muted
brass (trumpets especially), flutter-tongued flute and trumpet, as well as a lot of doubletonguing in the flute, and a great deal of string techniques from pizzicato and staccato, to
portamento, sul ponticello, tremolo, and harmonics. He also experiments a lot with the
size of the group playing depending on the largeness of the scene, or the character we are
dealing with at that point.
All these groupings and techniques tend to create an elaborate dance, weaving
throughout the orchestra. Sounds, textures, and musical genres that are traditionally used
to represent characters, places, emotions, and even foods, all mix together seamlessly in
an incredibly eclectic style that somehow fits this story perfectly. The orchestration gives
such an interesting variance to the music, while subtly following what is happening in the
picture.
THE THEMES:
Ratatouille Main Theme and “Le Festin”
Giacchino mentioned in an interview with collider.com that when he begins
writing for a project, he waits until something from the project connects with him
emotionally, and then begins writing immediately after feeling this inspiration. As with
the TV series “Lost”, he says he many times does not even watch an episode all the way
through before beginning to write, and instead takes it bit by bit. With Ratatouille, the
scene that he felt portrayed the true meaning of the film and gave him the greatest
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
10
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
inspiration for the music, came during the “reveal” at the end of the story. During this
scene, the critic Ego has just met our rat chef and is narrating his critique out loud, re-
analyzing his views, his former opposition to the idea that “anyone” can cook now torn
asunder by having the best meal of his life created by the most unexpected of sources. It
is a quiet moment where our “evil” character is left dumbstruck and pensive, realizing
that the greatest creations can sometimes come from the smallest of sources (Frosty).
This cue, in the soundtrack, is entitled “Anyone Can Cook”, and during this scene
it takes the form of a quiet, and content, yet slightly wistful and romantic piece. It begins
with a solo piano, and gradually expands with soft strings and melodic accordion to give
it a more romantic Parisian feel. This emotional and soft theme eventually became the
main theme for the entire film, and is meant to represent the hopes and dreams of our
main character, Remy, while at the same time inspiring a feeling of romance in the “city
of love”.
This is one of two themes that are used for Remy; this one serving as both the main
theme for the film, and the theme used to portray Remy’s inner dreams and aspirations.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
11
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The second theme associated with Remy is quite a bit different as it relates more to his
“ratty” side, and will be discussed more later on.
The main theme is brought to life in many different places throughout the movie,
but is most commonly played in a romantic style featuring the string section. The very
first time it is heard is a bit more subtle in cue #4, as a light melody in the piano which
then hands itself off to a solo violin, all the while accompanied by a small legato string
section. It is heard here as Remy narrates how humans use food while watching his hero,
Chef Gusteau on the television.
The theme is often associated with appearances of Gusteau throughout the film as
he represents what Remy dreams of becoming. There is a subtle use of the chord
progression from the theme without melody during the cue “Wall Rat” (00:14:26) while
Remy converses with an imaginary Gusteau, who seems to be talking back. At the end of
this same cue, the theme is brought back in full force in the string orchestra, melody and
all, as Remy sees Paris for the first time and then turns to his left only to find Gusteau’s
restaurant close by (00:17:04). The melody remains the same in the violins while the rest
of the orchestra plays the chords in ascending lines to give a more “sweeping romantic”
feel.
The main theme is also brought in at points of where Remy has succeeded in
some way at accomplishing his dreams. It is brought about in one of its most altered
forms during the “Special Order” cue. At this point, Remy has just guided (forced, more
like) his new friend Linguini to break the rules and alter a recipe before the food went out
to a customer. After finding out that the customer loved it, the music changes to a fast
dance tune in 4/4 (rather than the usual slower ¾) with the accordion playing the theme in
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
12
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
staccato quarter notes, as opposed to its usually legato quality. This is one of the most
drastic changes heard to this theme in the movie. A couple of minutes later in the film, as
Remy lays back to enjoy his success, we hear the theme played in a fashion we are more
accustomed to by a romantic, legato harmonica accompanied by strings (00:52:52, Hello
Brother cue).
Le Festin:
It is nearly impossible to discuss the main theme of the movie without discussing
the song, “Le Festin”. For part of the telling of the film’s story, Giacchino was asked to
write a song that had more of an old-fashioned, typically French sound for a section of
the film (Noyer). However, Michael felt that this story in itself was very special, and
needed something unique that specifically fit the film and could last a long time. He also
hoped to avoid being overly cliché in terms of what Americans tend to associate with
being French. With these things in mind, Mr. Giacchino tried numerous ideas and
eventually chose to adapt his main theme for the film, which captures the feeling of an
aspiring dreamer, and turn that into the melody for the song, “Le Festin” (Noyer).
If one takes a close look at the melody and chord progression for the Main
Theme and Le Festin, it is easy see and hear the similarities, the main differences being
the keys they are in, slight alterations in rhythms found in the melody, the tempos used,
and of course the instrumentation varying from orchestral to small band with a vocalist.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
13
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The title “Le Festin”, according to Giacchino is a French phrase with the meaning
of getting together with your closest friends and family to have a great meal together, and
essentially celebrate all that is good in life (Movieweb). This idea ties in closely with the
theme of food carried throughout the film, while at the same time remaining true to the
original musical theme, expressing a celebration of having and pursuing dreams, as well
as an enjoyment of friendship and food.
For the song, Giacchino wished to find a female French vocalist and wound up
working with the singer, “Camille”. He actually found her by doing a Google search for
“female French vocalist”, and going through multiple websites. After hearing her music,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
14
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
he decided she was exactly what he was looking for and decided to simply call her out of
the blue. They then collaborated in a studio in Vancouver to record the song and come
up with the additional layered vocal harmonies heard throughout the second half of the
song. She also helped Mr. Giacchino in some lyrical phrasing that would better fit in the
song, as he not only wrote the music, but is credited on IMDB as the writer of the lyrics
as well (imdb.com). Camille appreciated the song and enjoyed the fact that the language
would remain the same even for audiences abroad. She later went on to act as the voice
of the character “Colette” in the French language version of Ratatouille (Noyer).
On the soundtrack, Le Festin is a single full-play song. However, in the movie, it
is fragmented into parts and edited into different sections, making multiple small
appearances, but never playing all the way through. This idea of using a song that
captured the identity of the movie that would play during the middle and ending portions
of the film came from director, Brad Bird. Initially it was meant only for the middle, and
then, according to Giacchino, Bird decided, “why don’t we start the song earlier, and then
finish it as a recap?” (movieweb). The editing of the song does seem to be in order, so
that we hear the intro early on, the middle during the middle of the movie, and the end of
it as the last scene closes into the credits. In fact, the very first thing the audience hears
as the Disney logo flies into screen is the voice of Camille, accompanied by an accordion,
singing the intro of “Le Festin”. This is just a small foretaste of the theme to come, as the
music suddenly changes when the animated picture comes in.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
15
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
On a slight side note from Le Festin, which leads us back to our main theme, the melody
of this little intro appears in different instruments as a portion of the main theme a few
other times in the film. The main example of this is at the beginning of the
aforementioned final scene that inspired Giacchino at 01:38:44 on a solo piano (Anyone
Can Cook cue), which leads into the ending summary of the film.
A woeful adaptation of it also comes in at 1:26:59 while Remi is trapped in a cage,
unable to help out in the kitchen, and uncertain of his fate.
As for the rest of the song of “Le Festin”, it waits to appear (words and all) until
the middle of the film. In fact, its first appearance is very subtle. It comes in as source
music, playing from the car radio as the temporary chef of Gusteau’s restaurant is driving
along (47:00). Later on, the majority of the song appears during a montage-like portion
of the film depicting how things are starting to work out for both Remy and his friend
Linguini (from 1:15:19 to 1:16:44); Linguini now owns the restaurant and has Colette as
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
16
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
his girlfriend and Remy is able to pursue his dreams, and has been re-united with his
family. This fits well with the song’s theme as they are sharing life and dreams with
those closest to them all the while making food. The song fades out nicely into a press
conference where dialogue continue and the story changes.
The last portion of “Le Festin” is saved until the very end of the film (at around
1:41:10), picking up where it left off, as Remy narrates, telling his story to a group of
rats. The camera changes to show how everything worked out and is dream has come
true. He is together with his family, his friends: Linguini, Colette, and now Anton Ego,
and his impossible dream of being a chef has come true. The happy song fades out to the
word “Fin”, concluding our tale of impossible dreams, and celebrating the best parts of
life with our loved ones and good food.
Remy, The Rat/Wall Rat:
One of the best-known themes from the movie would be Remy’s second theme,
which Giacchino uses to portray the more rat side of Remy. It is generally very quick,
light, and playful in ¾, like a rat with a great deal of curiosity scampering through the
walls to spy on humans and sneak food where he can. This theme, rather than being
represented melodically, tends to be recognizable by its chord progression, and largely by
its bass line. The main line of the progression moves down chromatically from tonic to
the major 6th of the scale, which is uses as the 3rd of the a IV chord in the scale. The
progression usually then moves back up by going between the ii and V chords of the
scale, before repeating the same idea with slight variations.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
17
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
That being said, there are a few variations on a melody that come in occasionally
overtop the chord progression to give it variance and a more melodic feel. The melody
during the first portion (the descending part of the bass line) of the progression often
changes but has a similar feel to it. However, these melodies generally share the same
second half during the ascending part of the chord progression before it repeats. Below
are two examples of melodies used in the same cue that start out with something different
from each other and end up playing the same thing during the second half of the chord
progression of this theme:
The Remy, the Rat theme appears in various forms quite frequently throughout
the movie, as it seems to represent everything from Remy’s curiosity in food and humans,
to him being a thieving rat. In an interview, Giacchino mentioned that this was more of a
“ratty” theme, representing who he was (a sneaky thief) rather than who he wanted to be,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
18
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
which was represented in the main/Le Festin theme (van der Lugt). That being said, the
theme’s first appearances happen to be when Remy is excitedly describing cooking and
various flavors to his brother Emille, making the theme feel like it represents Remy’s
general curiosity and excitement about food, rather than him being a rat and a thief.
Its very first appearance happens around 5:45 into the film, when Remy discovers
that his brother has found some good cheese and begins to run around, excitedly
pondering how to go about cooking this cheese with a mushroom. This first appearance
happens at a much slower pace and feels like slower jazz, but keeps that same bass line.
The theme returns again in pizzicato strings, gradually increasing in tempo and size of
orchestra (adding accordion, pitched percussion, electric bass, and saxophone) as Remy
grows exponentially more excited by his latest concoction.
Perhaps the most famous musical cue in this movie is entitled “Wall Rat”, and is
where Giacchino really explores this theme, featuring fast pizzicato and staccato string
quartet as the backdrop, over which a very fast solo flute double-tongues staccato notes.
This texture changes with the scene as Remy runs through the walls of a building, adding
clarinet counter melody, a glockenspiel part, and then changing to add a full string
section, electric bass, hand percussion, and acoustic guitar.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
19
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The sounds, textures, and playing styles Giacchino chose to use during this scene
seem to be very important and representative of our main character and what’s happening
during the scene. The fast tempo, use of pizzicato and staccato notes on a small ensemble
of strings, plus the extremely fast, short notes played on the flute seem to strongly
represent sounds associated with being a small, fast rat running through the walls of a
house undetected. It sounds like quick, scratchy scampering of feet, lightly moving with
great agility.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
20
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The orchestration also continually changes based both upon what Remy sees in
the building, and grows ever-larger the closer he gets to the top. For example, as he spies
a couple having a dramatic fight who then start kissing, he suddenly gives the melody to
a romantically played acoustic guitar, supported by legato strings. The original fast flute
returns as continues to run through the hall. As Remy finally approaches the rooftop, the
string section take a larger roll until the tempo slows down to give way to the main theme
of Ratatouille as he finally discovers he is in Paris, the city of his dreams.
Rat Pack/This is me:
One of the first recognizable themes in the entire film is in a cue entitled, “This is
Me”. It comes very early on in the film as an introduction to the rat pack as Remy
describes his present lifestyle and his family. The theme generally comes back into play
when multiple members of Remy’s rat family are present. It is otherwise associated with
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
21
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
concepts of sneakiness and thievery. The music of this theme is quirky, rhythmic, and
sneaky-sounding, and can be defined by 3 groups of slightly chromatic staccato bursts
(two 16th’s and an 8th note in each group). These are generally pre-cursed by a quick
group of four staccato sixteenth notes leading to the tonic of the scale (see example).
This theme’s melody is generally dominated by the woodwind family, with its first
appearance played in the bassoon, and second by the clarinet.
Generally the background of this theme is rather rhythmic, either with steady 8th
notes in either guitar or piano, or with emphasis on the off-beat, generally either by guitar
or brass. It also can be easily characterized by the use of muted trumpet and its low
register counter-melody, first heard in the piano, and later pizzicato upright bass. To add
to the percussive and slight sneaky element of this theme, it often includes percussion
instruments such as a shaker, guiro, and vibraphone.
This theme in particular is very interesting in the way that Giacchino chooses to
manipulate it. Its alterations in the film are sometimes so subtle that the average film
viewer may never notice that it has any connection to the original theme. In fact, during
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
22
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
“This is Me”, the cue changes keys, tempos, instrumentation, and even metric pulse as it
starts to swing rather than keep straight eighth-notes. The melody is then given to the
guitar as it lazily plays up the scale in a slow swing style. It sounds completely different,
though if one listens closely it sounds it still keeps the same general format at the mid
section of this theme (with the three 16th bursts). It only slows it down, and takes away
the chromatic fast notes, while still following a very general outline. It continues using
the same general thematic material since we are still learning about the lifestyle of these
rats, while changing mood entirely with the picture as it changes from sneaky, fast-paced
thieves, to Remy lethargically sniffing the entire pack’s food for poison.
Both iterations of this theme come back at points during the film. The original rat
theme with the same instrumentation of bassoon and clarinet melodies and piano lower
counter melody comes back at around 01:11:45 as Remy sneaks through the kitchen and
into the chef’s office (“Heist to See You). It then changes to the lazy swing version as
Remy frustratedly argues with imaginary versions of Gusteau in his head.
Another very interesting and subtle use of this theme comes much later in the film
during a giant party of the rat pack upon the safe return of Remy to the family. During
the scene a sort of rat “jug-band” is playing a swing piece in the background in the style
of Django Reinhardt. The chord progression sounds like a more typical fast swing song
one could boogie to, but the guitar’s melody is actually playing a rhythmically simplified
version of the theme, this time in a major key (Cue #29, 00:57:05).
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
23
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The Ratpack/This is Me theme enters again in a form very close to the original
during the cue “Remy’s Revenge” (01:20:46). During this scene, Remy leads his entire
family into the kitchen where he works to steal food, and thus is a perfect time for a
theme representing rats and thievery to come back in its full form. This cue is very
similar to the first appearance of this theme, and simply continues the idea.
Anton Ego:
An animated Disney/Pixar film would not be complete without a good villain, and
in this particular tale about the dreams of becoming a five-star chef, the ultimate villain is
Anton Ego, the renowned, yet extremely harsh, food critic. For this gaunt, dark
character, Giacchino chooses to construct an evil theme reminiscent of the sound John
Williams used to represent the Syth Lords in Star Wars (at least in terms of the chord
progression and orchestra voicing). Generally, there is a simple melody given to a reeded
woodwind instrument, such as bassoon or oboe. This is accompanied by a dark chord
progression usually in strings and other woodwinds.
The progression and melody often remains very similar within cues containing
this character. The main alterations tend to be changes in voicing, inversions, octaves,
and keys that it’s played in. Giacchino generally moves from a time through this theme
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
24
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
in low register instruments, (bassoon melody with low cello) to higher register
instruments (oboe melody with violins). Then a slightly altered version is played
combining mid and low range instruments (English horn melody accompanied by violas,
and low cello and bassoon). After running through different voicings of the same thing,
he modulates and repeats the same chord progression with extended techniques and
sometimes without the melody.
The interesting part about this theme largely comes from the techniques and
changes in instruments used. There is a great deal of portamento used in the upper
strings between chords, sometimes with a sliding violin solo. At other moments he uses
some string harmonics, and an interesting combination of high string tremolo with a
quietly flutter-tongued flute, giving a peculiar sound that intentionally sounds like it’s
slightly out-of-tune or phase shifting. These high techniques combined with some close
intervals in very low-playing instruments, gives for a very eerie shimmer combined with
a dark, muddy low. Seen below is an example during the theme where it takes away the
melody after changing keys and uses an interesting combination of techniques to create a
high, shimmering, and eerie effect.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
25
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Linguini/Buddy theme:
The character of Linguini is that of an awkward, bumbling teenager who is just
coming into a life on his own as a young adult after the recent death of his only parent.
He happens upon Remy fixing the soup that he clumsily ruined and is charged with the
duty of killing the rat by his boss…until Linguini discovers that Remy can both
understand what he is saying and has a special talent for cooking. So instead, he takes
him to his studio apartment overlooking Paris and a rather unique partnership has begun.
The oddness of both Linguini and the peculiar relationship between himself and
Remy is stated musically in a theme that sounds like a tongue-in-cheek mixture of
something that could be found in an old western and a jazz piece from the big-band era.
The first appearance of this happens when Linguini first brings Remy back to his
apartment saying, “It’s not much but…it’s not much”. Giacchino captures the clumsiness
and humorous side of this new friend by playing a with a slightly-sauntering cowboy-like
swing in 4/4. He gives the melody to the accordion, while instruments like acoustic
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
26
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
guitar, softly-played drums (mostly hi-hat and rim clicks), electric bass, pizz. Cello and
viola, harmonica, and even a mouth-harp take the rhythm. To give the song more of a
jazzy feel, he has saxophones accent occasional syncopated off beats and double parts of
the melody, and later hands this same idea off to muted trumpets.
For the next appearance of this theme, Giacchino intentionally emphasizes his
comedic reference to western movies. He specifically chose to do this, because this is the
scene where Remy is learning how to steer and control Linguini’s actions by sitting on
his head and pulling his hair. He wanted to give the audience the feeling of “breaking in
your horse in”, since that is almost exactly what Remy was doing with Linguini (Noyer).
This cue begins with an obvious comedic reference of a solo guitar playing the notes of IV-I-VI-VII (and repeating), over the top of hi-hat. He then adds bass and rhythm ukulele
to thicken the “western” vibe, and occasionally uses a clopping cowbell to make it feel
like a horse plodding along.
The humorously cowboy-esque quality of the cue intensifies as soon as he brings in the
main melody with a whistler. The whistle was actually performed by the orchestra’s flute
player, who Giacchino had used before on a whistling piece for the TV show “Alias”
(Noyer). Later this melody is handed off to a solo harmonica.
The song continues to thicken and change texturally throughout to keep it very
interesting and entertaining. It gradually becomes a bit more swing and jazzy in style by
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
27
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
using more woodwinds, muted trumpets, and by changing the chord progressions lightly
to have more chromaticisms and 7ths. While doing this, he keeps it western by including
a dramatically played slide guitar. The song later changes to textures very traditional to
this story by giving the melody to the accordion and strings, but while adding some light
mandolin in the background.
During this scene the music generally flows like a song, with the exception of one
very obvious sync point. At 40:07, after seeing a blindfolded Linguini, whose actions are
being controlled by a rat in his hair, spill food and crash rampantly around his own
apartment, raise a knife in preparation to slice a tomato. As the shot pauses on the raised
knife, so does the music; a perfect use of silence to create a great deal of tension
suddenly. And as the knife comes down safely, the lighthearted sound of the music
resumes, allowing us to breathe again.
The Linguini/buddy theme generally feels much more like a song than a
traditional motif. He does not often use it throughout the film, and chooses not to
manipulate or alter the melody very much at all during the two main appearances of it.
However, the textures, styles, and orchestrations of the song change frequently, and
interweave very seamlessly to create a very unique and intentionally humorous sound,
adequately befitting the ridiculousness of the picture. Seen below is an example of the
melody of the theme, as heard in the “Remy Drives a Linguini” cue.
There is one exception to this in the film, during one scene where Linguini has
fallen asleep in the kitchen and Remy is frantically trying to wake him (01:00:55). In this
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
28
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
scene, he turns their theme into minor, seemingly using different instruments to represent
the two characters struggling against one another. The low bass clarinet seems to show
the weight of the sleeping Linguini, while the glockenspiel melody overtop appears to
represent the struggling Remy.
Colette:
The character of Colette also has a theme that feels much more like a song than a
motif. In order to represent the strong, confident, and very direct (and slightly
intimidating to Linguini, as he finds her rather attractive) side of Colette, Giacchino
chose to write a tango. He felt that this suited her as tango dancers have to be extremely
confident and sure of themselves while dancing (Noyer).
The main musical entrance of this theme happens during the cue “Colette Shows
Him ‘Le Ropes” (00:44:07). It sounds like a full-fledged tango song with guitars, drums,
and muted trumpets serving as the rhythm section, while the accordion and pitched
percussion take turns with the violins playing the melody. Overall, this cue feels very
rhythmic and strong, but there is a bridge section with an alternate melody given to the
strings, usually the viola section. This section, although still very tango-like, is meant to
represent the softer side of Colette, or rather, the more human qualities of who she is on
the inside. However, this could easily just be thought of as a melodic and sexy interlude
within a very danceable tango.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
29
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Colette’s theme returns during the scene where a customer requests a special
order and Linguini is put in charge of making what his boss knows is a terrible dish in
order to purposely make him look bad (“Special Order” 00:49:05). As Colette is taking
charge of having him make the recipe, her theme is playing in the background. Remy
happens to disagree and forces Linguini to change the recipe in a bit of a struggle with
Colette. It is as if Remy is (physically) pulling Linguini in one direction, while the
character of Colette is pulling him in another. In this sense, it is very appropriate that
Colette’s melody should remain very prolific to emphasize the physical versus emotional
tug-of-war going on for the character, Linguini. Much of the music remains the same in
this scene, but the instrumentation changes slightly, sounding a bit more like a live jazz
performance at times, including piano and vibraphone parts that sound very soloistic.
This all changes abruptly during what sounds like the middle of the vibraphone
solo upon the waiter bursting through the door to exclaim that the customer enjoyed
Remy/Linguini’s alteration of the meal. The music pauses briefly and resumes at the
same tempo, except in major playing a straight 4/4 version of the “Le Festin” theme, as
Remy has just created and served an original concoction to a very pleased customer.
The will:
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
30
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
There is a small motif that we hear only a couple of times during the film during
scenes where we hear about the will of Chef Gusteau and a letter from Linguini’s mother,
stating that Gusteau is Linguini’s biological father. The motif feels almost like a play on
the ratpack/this is me theme as it plays with similar chromatic intervals, simply without
any rhythmic spacing. It remains as a constant rhythm, either in very fast straight 16th
notes or in constant triplets
The first appearance of this motif happens during one of the shortest cues of the
movie (from 42:32 to 42:45), as our temporary chef-in-charge, Skinner, opens a letter
from Linguini’s mother, showing that Linguini is in fact the biological son of Chef
Gusteau. It starts as a single melody on the oboe, and adds clarinet, strings, and an
additional harmony as we see Skinner grow exponentially more stressed and frantic. .
Below is an example of “The Will” theme with an additional harmony.
The largest example of this motif can be found in two consecutive cues. The
motif begins to play in the middle of the “Heist To See You” cue at around 1:12:52, as
Remy discovers Gusteau’s will, along with the letter from Linguini’s mother explaining
their situation. The little motif gets played over and over, growing in dynamics, doing a
little hand-off between groups of woodwind instruments. The tempo slows down to sync
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
31
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
dramatically with him being discovered by our replacement chef upon which “The Paper
Chase” cue begins (1:13:26)
This cue plays a great deal with motifs from multiple themes, but mostly with
“The Will” motif. It could be argued, especially during this scene, that the “Will” motif
is indeed just a play on the “ratpack/this is me” theme, particularly because of the fact
that Remy the rat is currently stealing documents and running for his life with them
through the streets of Paris. This would remain consistent with the overall idea of rats
being talked about as thieves in the movie.
That being said, this particular motif is used as the main element of “The Paper
Chase” cue. It is played at a frantic tempo in 16th notes mostly in the violins, and
sometimes by flutes. It is the rhythmic backdrop of the scene, played frequently here and
there while other melodies and rhythmic emphasis play around it. At one point during
the cue, Remy leaps dramatically to temporary safety as the trumpet section triumphantly
sings out a 4/4 variation of the “Main/Le Festin” theme.
Food Tasting:
There is another part of the film that is not necessarily a musical theme, but is
definitely worth mentioning as it is a very unique musical and artistic collaboration
between the people working on this project. In general, director Brad Bird wanted
Giacchino to musically express the taste of food, instead of relying solely upon images.
He knew that it was a tricky film, since so much of it was about taste and smell, and the
audience would not be able to smell or taste anything. He ended up drawing a connection
between cooks experiencing texture, smell, and taste just the way a painter could
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
32
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
experience color and light. Thus, he decided to use sound and color to represent these
things, asking Giacchino, “What would cheese sound like versus fruit? You know?
Cheese is a rounder warmer sound, probably lower on the scale. Whereas fruit is
probably a lighter brighter clearer sound, you know?” (Barbagello).
So at two points in the film, while Remy enthusiastically describes the flavors of
different types of food, the background turns to black as he depicts the various
combinations between tastes. And as he bites into a type of food, a genre of music
suddenly bursts forth from the dark, accompanied by spirals of colorful animated
artwork, translating the flavors into sound and color (van der Lugt).
The first occurrence of this happens very early on as Remy talks about food
flavors being entirely unique. He first takes a bite of a piece of cheese, to which a light
and rhythmic bit of danceable (Latin) Jazz comes in slightly from the right. Afterwards
he takes a bite of a strawberry, which enters slightly from the left with a musical theme of
a quiet and romantic-sounding melody on accordion, accompanied by strings. When
Remy combines the flavors together, both musical elements come back in full force,
sounding like a full-fledged disco piece now that the melody has gained new life with
rhythm.
This idea happens again later in the film as Remy tries to get his brother Emile to
savor the flavors of food. As he describes them to his brother, Remy’s “ratty” theme
comes first weakly in the bass, then grows stronger as Emile seems to begin to
understand until he states, “I think…you lost me”, and the musicians trail off, sliding
haphazardly out of tune.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
33
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
CONCLUSION:
Michael Giacchino’s score for Ratatouille is an incredible depiction of the story.
The extraordinarily active soundtrack plays nearly from start to finish totaling around 86
minutes in music which is a very impressive feat for such an active score. The variance
in musical styles and live instruments make for a very eclectic, expressive, and loveable
sound that is unique to this particular story. The use of thematic melodies and songs and
their alterations throughout prove to be an effective way to draw in the audience and
subtly bring them to the emotional state of the characters. Like the story, Giacchino’s
score is one that connects and resonates with all of us, attaching us to the characters, their
hopes, and dreams.
CUE SHEET:
CUE TIME
1
00:00:0100:00:24
2
00:00:2400:01:00
3
00:02:0300:03:44
4
00:04:0700:06:32
5
00:06:5300:08:31
6
00:08:4400:12:49
7
00:10:5900:12:49
8
00:13:370017:39
9
00:17:400019:34
10
00:19:3900:23:54
TITLE
Le Festin Intro*
NOTES
Disney Logo with “Le Festin” intro
“Welcome to
Gusteau’s”
“This is Me”
TV source music
In the Kitchen*
“Lightningy”*
Bits of main theme, first “Food Tasting” scene,
“Ratpack” theme, “Remy as a Rat” theme
Remy’s rat theme
“Granny Get Your
Gun”
“100 Rat Dash”
Completely different, action-packed, full
orchestra.
Still different, action-packed, plays with a motif.
“Wall Rat”
“Cast of Cooks”
Appearance of Main Theme, moves to largest
appearance of Remy’s Rat theme.
Classy kitchen jazz
“A Real Gourmet
Kitchen”
Remy as a rat theme intensified with full
orchestra and drama
“Ratpack” theme
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
34
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
00:24:0300:24:50
00:24:5600:26:17
00:28:5600:29:26
00:31:1200:33:06
00:33:1400:34:03
00:34:2300:34:52
00:34:5700:36:02
00:36:2600:38:13
00:38:1300:40:36
00:42:3200:42:45
00:44:0700:46:59
00:47:0000:47:12
00:47:1200:47:31
00:49:0500:51:30
00:51:3100:52:21
00:52:5200:53:17
00:53:4300:54:09
00:55:1000:55:55
00:57:0500:59:01
00:59:3001:00:55
01:00:5501:03:42
01:05:3001:07:20
01:08:03-
“Souped Up”
Remy’s rat theme in full happiness/jazzy style.
“Is it Soup Yet”
Remy’s rat theme altered to sound foreboding
To Kill or Not To
Kill*
“A New Deal”
Dramatic orchestral
Good Morning*
A contintuation of the “Linguini/Buddy” theme
Get In My Shirt*
A little dramatic intro into the next scene
A Rat in the Shirt*
A comedic, song-like cue featuring tuba,
clarinet, and accordion, and pizz. strings
A childlike, yet jazzy interlude to show the
smallness of Remy
This biggest and most comedic (western)
entrance of “Linguini/Buddy” theme
First entrance of “The Will” theme
In The Fridge*
“Remy Drives a
Linguini”
The Will*
“Colette Shows
Him ‘Le Ropes”
Le Festin source
music*
Restaurant Piano
Music*
“Special Order”
Invited to a Talk*
Hello Brother*
Light Thievery*
Emile Taste-Test*
Rat Party*
Dead Rats*
Asleep in the
Kitchen*
“Kiss and
Vinegar”
“Losing Control”
First appearance of “Linguini/Buddy” theme
The first appearance of Colette’s main theme,
showing her confident side via tango.
“Le Festin” comes in as source music from the
car radio
Piano source music
A version of Colette’s theme. Main theme
enters at 50:37 upon success
General animated music going with picture
Main theme temporarily before the music
becomes frightening and orchestral
A subtle alteration of the “Ratpack” theme
The second appearance of the “Food Tasting”
concept. Plays with Remy’s Rat theme
Jug-band style swing that changes the key of the
“Ratpack” theme.
Dark dramatic orchestral bits. Non-thematic
Plays with the Linguini/Buddy theme in minor.
Romantic orchestra leading into the Anton Ego
theme
Colette’s second theme in a danceable tune
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
35
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
01:10:12
01:10:1301:10:49
01:11:2501:13:13
01:13:2601:15:11
01:15:1901:16:44
01:18:0901:19:17
01:19:1801:20:04
01:20:4601:23:36
01:24:3701:25:35
01:25:3501:26:50
01:25:5001:28:17
01:28:1701:28:54
01:29:0601:32:24
01:32:4601:37:45
01:37:5001:40:56
Rat on the Street*
Dramatic orchestra as Remy is frightened on the
street
“Heist to See You” “Ratpack” theme leading into the “Will” theme
“The Paper Chase” A chase scene using “The Will” as a background
“Le Festin” Pt.1
The first main entrance of “Le Festin”
Enter Mr. Ego*
Theme for Anton Ego
Take a Break
Little Chef*
“Remy’s
Revenge”
Trapped in a
Cage*
Piano Source
Music*
Freedom*
Dramatic orchestra with the emotion
Chaos in the
Restaurant*
“Abandoning
Ship”
“Dinner Rush”
Dramatic orchestra
“Anyone Can
Cook”
“Ratpack” theme in full force
Dramatic orchestra with the scene
Restaurant piano music
Alterations on the “Main” theme and more
Hopeful, yet sad melody building
Plays with “Linguini/Buddy” theme, “Colette’s”
theme, and the “Main” theme (01:36:30)
Main Theme here. This is the first theme
Giacchino wrote and based the rest of the film
on this.
Le Festin returns for the rest of the song
01:40:56“Le Festin” Pt.2
01:42:59
49
01:42:59“End
End credits using a variance of most of the
01:50:32
Creditouilles”
themes, allowing room for jazz improvisation.
-Anything marked with an asterisk* is not the official title from the score. Titles in
quotation marks are known to be the official titles used in the score.
-The total amount of music in the film is 86 minutes and 57 seconds.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
36
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
WORKS CITED:
Van Der Lugt, Peter. "An interview with Michael Giacchino." Twitch. N.p., 11 Aug.
2009. Web. 30 June 2014. .
'Ratatouille' Michael Giacchino Interview. Movieweb. Michael Giacchino. , 2007. Film.
"Ratatouille - Behind the music with Michael Giacchino." YouTube. YouTube, 5 Apr.
2009. Web. 30 June 2014. .
Frosty. "Michael Giacchino Exclusive Video Interview |5917." Michael Giacchino
Exclusive Video Interview |5917. Collider, 30 Oct. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
"Music By Michael Giacchino - Features - Interviews & Articles - The Overture
Newspaper." Music By Michael Giacchino - Features - Interviews & Articles - The
Overture Newspaper. The Overture, 7 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
37
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Cooke, Emmett. "Michael Giacchino - Scoring Music For Pixar." . Film & Game
Composers, 20 July 2012. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Barbagello, Ron. "The Art of Making Pixar's Ratatouille." Animation Art Conservation |
INSIDE ANIMATION ART. Animation Art Conservation, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 30 June
2014. .
"Ratatouille - Production Notes." Pixar Talk. Disney/Pixar, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 30 June
2014. .
"Full Cast & Crew." IMDb. IMDb.com, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Noyer, Jérémie. "Michael Giacchino cooks up tasty tunes for Ratatouille! - Animated
Views." Animated Views RSS. Animated Views, 25 Feb. 2008. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
"Ratatouille, film score - Michael Giacchino | Credits | AllMusic." AllMusic. All Music, 1
Nov. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014. .
Score
Analysis
of:
Written
By,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
For
the
Culminating
Experience
of
the
2014
Masters
in
Scoring
for
Film,
Television,
and
Video
Games
at
The
Berklee
College
of
Music,
Valencia,
Spain
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
2
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Intro – 3
Story Synopsis – 3
Background Information – 4
Orchestration – 8
Main Themes – 9
Main Theme – 9
Le Festin – 12
Remy the Rat – 16
Ratpack/This is Me – 20
Anton Ego – 23
Linguini/Buddy – 25
Colette – 27
The Will - 29
Food Tasting – 31
Conclusion – 32
Cue Sheet – 33
Works Cited - 36
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
3
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
INTRO:
The musical score of Ratatouille, by Michael Giacchino, is a Grammy-winning,
Academy Award nominee with a unique and eclectic sound that perfectly compliments
the heartwarmingly peculiar story of Remy the Rat, who dreams of becoming a chef in
Paris. The music takes on a great variety of styles and instruments, ranging from jazz, to
orchestral, to the tango, and takes us on a musical journey alongside of the main character
and his hopes and dreams. Throughout the musical telling of this story, Mr. Giacchino
uses a number of different musical themes to represent certain characters and their
emotions. He alters and manipulates these themes in a great deal of subtle ways to bring
the audience into the emotional state of the characters on screen. This paper hopes shed
some light on the creation of the music, its musical themes and instruments, and how they
are used to tell the story of Remy the rat in Ratatouille.
STORY SYNOPSIS:
Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is the story of a rat named Remy who has an uncanny
sense of smell, a natural talent for cooking, and big dreams of being a chef in a five-star
restaurant. Yet despite Remy’s dreams, the fact remains that he is indeed simply a rat
living amongst his pack in the roof of a house of an elderly woman somewhere in the
countryside of France. Yet the unexpected happens, and his pack is discovered by the
elderly woman, and as they flee from their home, Remy is separated from the group and
left stranded and alone in the sewer, with his only friend being an imaginary ghost of his
hero, Chef Gusteau, whose slogan is “Anyone can cook”. We follow our protagonist as
life leads him in an unexpected direction where, after he makes his way out of the sewer,
he finds himself at the restaurant of his hero. Peering anxiously through the rooftop
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
4
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
window of the restaurant, Remy spies a bumbling garbage boy, Linguini, who happens to
be accidentally ruining the soup of the day. In angst, Remy leans too far in, slips, and
falls into the kitchen. This is where his adventure begins, leading him to a unique
friendship with Linguini who he guides around the kitchen, and the chance to pursue his
dream of becoming a chef in Gusteau’s restaurant.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Ratatouille is a Disney/Pixar film released in June of 2007. The story was by Jan
Pinkava, with direction and screenwriting by Brad Bird, who worked to make the absurdsounding tale of a rat cook into one we can all relate to. He did this by creating
characters with real, human emotions that we all share, despite their comedic animated
form. “This film is personal to me in a way, because I think that we all have sort of
impossible dreams and do what we can to pursue them. And this is the ultimate
impossible dream” (movieweb). His choice in composers worked in his favor,
heightening and enhancing these emotions throughout the story. Brad personally asked
Michael Giacchino to score the project, as they had previously worked together on
Pixar’s “The Incredibles”, and both came away feeling it was a very positive
collaboration. According Giacchino, Brad, “is one of my best friends…and I had a great
time working with him on the Incredibles” (Noyer).
In a number of interviews, Giacchino talks of Brad with a great deal of respect,
mentioning that he only wants to do something if it’s original and can tell a story in a
slightly different way. His method is to be inspired by something you love and make
something new and creative from that inspiration, which works well with Giaccino’s
style, who enjoys trying to do something different stylistically with each story he scores
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
5
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
(Cooke). According to Giacchino, Brad Bird does a great job of energizing his team,
and tends to bring out their creative best. As for the music of Ratatouille, he wanted the
same from Giacchino, giving him basic ideas and explaining what he wanted, while
allowing a lot of room for creativity in the compositional process. “He really leaves the
construction of it (the music) up to me, which is really nice.”(Noyer).
There was also next to no temp score when Giacchino received the movie. This
was partially due to the speed in which they were working, and partially because Mr.
Bird did not know what the film should sound like (Noyer). It is a very unique story and
thus required an original sound, musically speaking. This led to Michael drawing on his
many personal influences which range from classical to jazz as well as elements of the
film including Paris, rats, food, animation, and some very human emotions. He crafted
an eclectic sound including all of these elements, and created a score leaning towards the
side of jazz for a great deal of it. Giacchino reminisced in an interview, comparing jazz
to cooking in the sense that in both, “you’re just kind of throwing in different things and
seeing what works. It’s all about that experimentation and the film’s score was very
much like that.” (Noyer)
For the composing process of Ratatouille, it was initially all done digitally.
According to Giacchino, the last film he composed “traditionally”, with pen and paper
was “The Incredibles”. He composes at a keyboard while watching the film, and makes
sketches where he composes and orchestrates simultaneously. He then sends these nearly
completed sketches off to his orchestrators, Jack Hayes, Larry Kenton, and Tim Simonec
(who also served as conductor for Ratatouille)
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
6
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
to finish the work before moving onto the recording process. His team that he works
with is generally a small group of people whom he trusts greatly and who have an
enormous amount of experience. This list includes (aside from his orchestrators): music
copyist Dave Wells, music editor Stephen M. Davis (imdb.com), and recording and
mixing engineer Dan Wallin, who has worked on everything from “Up” to “Robocop 2”
(imdb.com).
For the music of Ratatouille, Giacchino worked with a group of professional
musicians from Los Angeles. He has advertised that he has used a lot of the same
orchestral musicians for the last 10 years, and holds the opinion that they are some of the
very best in the world, and trusts fully that they can handle any style that he would write
for them (“Music by Michael Giacchino…” michaelgiacchinomusic.com). For this
particular project, he also worked with a number of extra non-orchestral musicians, such
as legendary accordionist and musette player, Frank Marrocco (Doctor Zhivago,
Schindler’s List, etc.), who Giacchino mentions helped a great deal in getting an overall
tone and sound for the accordion that he wanted for the film (Noyer). Other musicians
also included: Tommy Morgan on the harmonica, Abe Laboriel on electric bass, and
Harvey W. Mason playing drums and additional hand percussion (http://www.imdb.com)
For the recording of Ratatouille, this large group of musicians officially went by
the name of “Le Rat Band”, while the smaller group who recorded the song “Le Festin”
aptly named themselves, “La Bande de Le Festin” (“Ratatouille, Film Score”). Although
not opposed to the use of synthesizers and electronics, Giacchino chose to write solely for
live instruments. In his interview with animatedviews.com, he expressed how he felt that
the story of Ratatouille was about real things, real people and emotions, and so for him, it
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
7
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
needed real instrumentation to express those things. He goes on to discuss how he also
believes that recording instruments separately takes away from the natural energy and
performance that happens when all of the musicians are together in a room (Noyer). He
seems to be a bit of a purist when it comes to “true” orchestral sound when recording
orchestra, and loves the magic created when everyone is playing together, and thus, the
score for Ratatouille was recorded by live musicians playing in the same space (aside
from the song “Le Festin”).
Giacchino also wrote the music for the Ratatouille video game. He personally
likes to stay involved as much as he can when his projects move on to the videogame
world, as he feel it is important to have some sort of musical carryover in both versions of
the project. He even gained the rights from Disney to use some of the same themes from
the film, but not the original recordings. Instead, he used the same musicians to record
new music in the same style and with some of the same themes. (Noyer).
After the movie was released, Ratatouille won a Grammy and was later
nominated for an academy award. Michael Giacchino was not actually present at the
Grammies when he found out he had won. Instead, he was busy recording the soundtrack
for the movie Speed Racer with nearly the same group of musicians as recorded for
Ratatouille. When the news reached him, he got onto the loudspeaker in the studio and
announced to his orchestra, “Hey guys! You just won a Grammy!” (“Music by Michael
Giacchino”, www.michaelgiacchinomusic.com).
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
8
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
ORCHESTRATION:
As stated in an interview, Giacchino largely orchestrates while composing, which
means that most likely a lot of the choices about what instruments were playing and
when, were left up to our composer. However, he also mentions that he has worked with
the same orchestrator for years, one who he trusts very much: Jack Hayes, who was
nearly 90 at the time of this film (van der Lugt). Any way around it, one could actually
argue that what truly makes this score special and rather unique in its sound has a lot to
do with the orchestration.
The orchestration and instruments chosen for the film were rather unique and
slightly atypical for your run-of-the-mill Disney/Pixar movie. But most all of the
instruments and styles/genres heard throughout Ratatouille had a great deal to do with the
where it was set. Giacchino drew a lot of inspiration from how he felt about Paris. He
found that there were so many types of people there, along with numerous musical
movements from jazz, to orchestra, to a “café” sound. He used these concepts as well as
the emotions felt from the characters to select a diverse palette of tones that could be
combined with the traditional orchestra (Noyer).
Throughout the film, the various themes, melodies, and chord progressions are
passed to a multitude of instruments. Even if the melodic or harmonic progression
remains the same, the instruments playing it change often phrase by phrase, as if the
orchestra were playing catch with musical fragments. It ranges from groups of highs to
lows, to various woodwinds, brass, strings, pitched percussion, and modern instruments
not typical of the orchestra such as: electric, acoustic, and slide guitar, electric bass,
drumkit, saxophone, accordion, harmonica, mandolin, and even a ukulele.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
9
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Giacchino also changes and extends the colors of each of these groups of
instruments to give them a unique character at various points. He uses a lot of muted
brass (trumpets especially), flutter-tongued flute and trumpet, as well as a lot of doubletonguing in the flute, and a great deal of string techniques from pizzicato and staccato, to
portamento, sul ponticello, tremolo, and harmonics. He also experiments a lot with the
size of the group playing depending on the largeness of the scene, or the character we are
dealing with at that point.
All these groupings and techniques tend to create an elaborate dance, weaving
throughout the orchestra. Sounds, textures, and musical genres that are traditionally used
to represent characters, places, emotions, and even foods, all mix together seamlessly in
an incredibly eclectic style that somehow fits this story perfectly. The orchestration gives
such an interesting variance to the music, while subtly following what is happening in the
picture.
THE THEMES:
Ratatouille Main Theme and “Le Festin”
Giacchino mentioned in an interview with collider.com that when he begins
writing for a project, he waits until something from the project connects with him
emotionally, and then begins writing immediately after feeling this inspiration. As with
the TV series “Lost”, he says he many times does not even watch an episode all the way
through before beginning to write, and instead takes it bit by bit. With Ratatouille, the
scene that he felt portrayed the true meaning of the film and gave him the greatest
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
10
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
inspiration for the music, came during the “reveal” at the end of the story. During this
scene, the critic Ego has just met our rat chef and is narrating his critique out loud, re-
analyzing his views, his former opposition to the idea that “anyone” can cook now torn
asunder by having the best meal of his life created by the most unexpected of sources. It
is a quiet moment where our “evil” character is left dumbstruck and pensive, realizing
that the greatest creations can sometimes come from the smallest of sources (Frosty).
This cue, in the soundtrack, is entitled “Anyone Can Cook”, and during this scene
it takes the form of a quiet, and content, yet slightly wistful and romantic piece. It begins
with a solo piano, and gradually expands with soft strings and melodic accordion to give
it a more romantic Parisian feel. This emotional and soft theme eventually became the
main theme for the entire film, and is meant to represent the hopes and dreams of our
main character, Remy, while at the same time inspiring a feeling of romance in the “city
of love”.
This is one of two themes that are used for Remy; this one serving as both the main
theme for the film, and the theme used to portray Remy’s inner dreams and aspirations.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
11
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The second theme associated with Remy is quite a bit different as it relates more to his
“ratty” side, and will be discussed more later on.
The main theme is brought to life in many different places throughout the movie,
but is most commonly played in a romantic style featuring the string section. The very
first time it is heard is a bit more subtle in cue #4, as a light melody in the piano which
then hands itself off to a solo violin, all the while accompanied by a small legato string
section. It is heard here as Remy narrates how humans use food while watching his hero,
Chef Gusteau on the television.
The theme is often associated with appearances of Gusteau throughout the film as
he represents what Remy dreams of becoming. There is a subtle use of the chord
progression from the theme without melody during the cue “Wall Rat” (00:14:26) while
Remy converses with an imaginary Gusteau, who seems to be talking back. At the end of
this same cue, the theme is brought back in full force in the string orchestra, melody and
all, as Remy sees Paris for the first time and then turns to his left only to find Gusteau’s
restaurant close by (00:17:04). The melody remains the same in the violins while the rest
of the orchestra plays the chords in ascending lines to give a more “sweeping romantic”
feel.
The main theme is also brought in at points of where Remy has succeeded in
some way at accomplishing his dreams. It is brought about in one of its most altered
forms during the “Special Order” cue. At this point, Remy has just guided (forced, more
like) his new friend Linguini to break the rules and alter a recipe before the food went out
to a customer. After finding out that the customer loved it, the music changes to a fast
dance tune in 4/4 (rather than the usual slower ¾) with the accordion playing the theme in
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
12
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
staccato quarter notes, as opposed to its usually legato quality. This is one of the most
drastic changes heard to this theme in the movie. A couple of minutes later in the film, as
Remy lays back to enjoy his success, we hear the theme played in a fashion we are more
accustomed to by a romantic, legato harmonica accompanied by strings (00:52:52, Hello
Brother cue).
Le Festin:
It is nearly impossible to discuss the main theme of the movie without discussing
the song, “Le Festin”. For part of the telling of the film’s story, Giacchino was asked to
write a song that had more of an old-fashioned, typically French sound for a section of
the film (Noyer). However, Michael felt that this story in itself was very special, and
needed something unique that specifically fit the film and could last a long time. He also
hoped to avoid being overly cliché in terms of what Americans tend to associate with
being French. With these things in mind, Mr. Giacchino tried numerous ideas and
eventually chose to adapt his main theme for the film, which captures the feeling of an
aspiring dreamer, and turn that into the melody for the song, “Le Festin” (Noyer).
If one takes a close look at the melody and chord progression for the Main
Theme and Le Festin, it is easy see and hear the similarities, the main differences being
the keys they are in, slight alterations in rhythms found in the melody, the tempos used,
and of course the instrumentation varying from orchestral to small band with a vocalist.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
13
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The title “Le Festin”, according to Giacchino is a French phrase with the meaning
of getting together with your closest friends and family to have a great meal together, and
essentially celebrate all that is good in life (Movieweb). This idea ties in closely with the
theme of food carried throughout the film, while at the same time remaining true to the
original musical theme, expressing a celebration of having and pursuing dreams, as well
as an enjoyment of friendship and food.
For the song, Giacchino wished to find a female French vocalist and wound up
working with the singer, “Camille”. He actually found her by doing a Google search for
“female French vocalist”, and going through multiple websites. After hearing her music,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
14
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
he decided she was exactly what he was looking for and decided to simply call her out of
the blue. They then collaborated in a studio in Vancouver to record the song and come
up with the additional layered vocal harmonies heard throughout the second half of the
song. She also helped Mr. Giacchino in some lyrical phrasing that would better fit in the
song, as he not only wrote the music, but is credited on IMDB as the writer of the lyrics
as well (imdb.com). Camille appreciated the song and enjoyed the fact that the language
would remain the same even for audiences abroad. She later went on to act as the voice
of the character “Colette” in the French language version of Ratatouille (Noyer).
On the soundtrack, Le Festin is a single full-play song. However, in the movie, it
is fragmented into parts and edited into different sections, making multiple small
appearances, but never playing all the way through. This idea of using a song that
captured the identity of the movie that would play during the middle and ending portions
of the film came from director, Brad Bird. Initially it was meant only for the middle, and
then, according to Giacchino, Bird decided, “why don’t we start the song earlier, and then
finish it as a recap?” (movieweb). The editing of the song does seem to be in order, so
that we hear the intro early on, the middle during the middle of the movie, and the end of
it as the last scene closes into the credits. In fact, the very first thing the audience hears
as the Disney logo flies into screen is the voice of Camille, accompanied by an accordion,
singing the intro of “Le Festin”. This is just a small foretaste of the theme to come, as the
music suddenly changes when the animated picture comes in.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
15
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
On a slight side note from Le Festin, which leads us back to our main theme, the melody
of this little intro appears in different instruments as a portion of the main theme a few
other times in the film. The main example of this is at the beginning of the
aforementioned final scene that inspired Giacchino at 01:38:44 on a solo piano (Anyone
Can Cook cue), which leads into the ending summary of the film.
A woeful adaptation of it also comes in at 1:26:59 while Remi is trapped in a cage,
unable to help out in the kitchen, and uncertain of his fate.
As for the rest of the song of “Le Festin”, it waits to appear (words and all) until
the middle of the film. In fact, its first appearance is very subtle. It comes in as source
music, playing from the car radio as the temporary chef of Gusteau’s restaurant is driving
along (47:00). Later on, the majority of the song appears during a montage-like portion
of the film depicting how things are starting to work out for both Remy and his friend
Linguini (from 1:15:19 to 1:16:44); Linguini now owns the restaurant and has Colette as
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
16
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
his girlfriend and Remy is able to pursue his dreams, and has been re-united with his
family. This fits well with the song’s theme as they are sharing life and dreams with
those closest to them all the while making food. The song fades out nicely into a press
conference where dialogue continue and the story changes.
The last portion of “Le Festin” is saved until the very end of the film (at around
1:41:10), picking up where it left off, as Remy narrates, telling his story to a group of
rats. The camera changes to show how everything worked out and is dream has come
true. He is together with his family, his friends: Linguini, Colette, and now Anton Ego,
and his impossible dream of being a chef has come true. The happy song fades out to the
word “Fin”, concluding our tale of impossible dreams, and celebrating the best parts of
life with our loved ones and good food.
Remy, The Rat/Wall Rat:
One of the best-known themes from the movie would be Remy’s second theme,
which Giacchino uses to portray the more rat side of Remy. It is generally very quick,
light, and playful in ¾, like a rat with a great deal of curiosity scampering through the
walls to spy on humans and sneak food where he can. This theme, rather than being
represented melodically, tends to be recognizable by its chord progression, and largely by
its bass line. The main line of the progression moves down chromatically from tonic to
the major 6th of the scale, which is uses as the 3rd of the a IV chord in the scale. The
progression usually then moves back up by going between the ii and V chords of the
scale, before repeating the same idea with slight variations.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
17
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
That being said, there are a few variations on a melody that come in occasionally
overtop the chord progression to give it variance and a more melodic feel. The melody
during the first portion (the descending part of the bass line) of the progression often
changes but has a similar feel to it. However, these melodies generally share the same
second half during the ascending part of the chord progression before it repeats. Below
are two examples of melodies used in the same cue that start out with something different
from each other and end up playing the same thing during the second half of the chord
progression of this theme:
The Remy, the Rat theme appears in various forms quite frequently throughout
the movie, as it seems to represent everything from Remy’s curiosity in food and humans,
to him being a thieving rat. In an interview, Giacchino mentioned that this was more of a
“ratty” theme, representing who he was (a sneaky thief) rather than who he wanted to be,
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
18
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
which was represented in the main/Le Festin theme (van der Lugt). That being said, the
theme’s first appearances happen to be when Remy is excitedly describing cooking and
various flavors to his brother Emille, making the theme feel like it represents Remy’s
general curiosity and excitement about food, rather than him being a rat and a thief.
Its very first appearance happens around 5:45 into the film, when Remy discovers
that his brother has found some good cheese and begins to run around, excitedly
pondering how to go about cooking this cheese with a mushroom. This first appearance
happens at a much slower pace and feels like slower jazz, but keeps that same bass line.
The theme returns again in pizzicato strings, gradually increasing in tempo and size of
orchestra (adding accordion, pitched percussion, electric bass, and saxophone) as Remy
grows exponentially more excited by his latest concoction.
Perhaps the most famous musical cue in this movie is entitled “Wall Rat”, and is
where Giacchino really explores this theme, featuring fast pizzicato and staccato string
quartet as the backdrop, over which a very fast solo flute double-tongues staccato notes.
This texture changes with the scene as Remy runs through the walls of a building, adding
clarinet counter melody, a glockenspiel part, and then changing to add a full string
section, electric bass, hand percussion, and acoustic guitar.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
19
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The sounds, textures, and playing styles Giacchino chose to use during this scene
seem to be very important and representative of our main character and what’s happening
during the scene. The fast tempo, use of pizzicato and staccato notes on a small ensemble
of strings, plus the extremely fast, short notes played on the flute seem to strongly
represent sounds associated with being a small, fast rat running through the walls of a
house undetected. It sounds like quick, scratchy scampering of feet, lightly moving with
great agility.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
20
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The orchestration also continually changes based both upon what Remy sees in
the building, and grows ever-larger the closer he gets to the top. For example, as he spies
a couple having a dramatic fight who then start kissing, he suddenly gives the melody to
a romantically played acoustic guitar, supported by legato strings. The original fast flute
returns as continues to run through the hall. As Remy finally approaches the rooftop, the
string section take a larger roll until the tempo slows down to give way to the main theme
of Ratatouille as he finally discovers he is in Paris, the city of his dreams.
Rat Pack/This is me:
One of the first recognizable themes in the entire film is in a cue entitled, “This is
Me”. It comes very early on in the film as an introduction to the rat pack as Remy
describes his present lifestyle and his family. The theme generally comes back into play
when multiple members of Remy’s rat family are present. It is otherwise associated with
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
21
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
concepts of sneakiness and thievery. The music of this theme is quirky, rhythmic, and
sneaky-sounding, and can be defined by 3 groups of slightly chromatic staccato bursts
(two 16th’s and an 8th note in each group). These are generally pre-cursed by a quick
group of four staccato sixteenth notes leading to the tonic of the scale (see example).
This theme’s melody is generally dominated by the woodwind family, with its first
appearance played in the bassoon, and second by the clarinet.
Generally the background of this theme is rather rhythmic, either with steady 8th
notes in either guitar or piano, or with emphasis on the off-beat, generally either by guitar
or brass. It also can be easily characterized by the use of muted trumpet and its low
register counter-melody, first heard in the piano, and later pizzicato upright bass. To add
to the percussive and slight sneaky element of this theme, it often includes percussion
instruments such as a shaker, guiro, and vibraphone.
This theme in particular is very interesting in the way that Giacchino chooses to
manipulate it. Its alterations in the film are sometimes so subtle that the average film
viewer may never notice that it has any connection to the original theme. In fact, during
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
22
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
“This is Me”, the cue changes keys, tempos, instrumentation, and even metric pulse as it
starts to swing rather than keep straight eighth-notes. The melody is then given to the
guitar as it lazily plays up the scale in a slow swing style. It sounds completely different,
though if one listens closely it sounds it still keeps the same general format at the mid
section of this theme (with the three 16th bursts). It only slows it down, and takes away
the chromatic fast notes, while still following a very general outline. It continues using
the same general thematic material since we are still learning about the lifestyle of these
rats, while changing mood entirely with the picture as it changes from sneaky, fast-paced
thieves, to Remy lethargically sniffing the entire pack’s food for poison.
Both iterations of this theme come back at points during the film. The original rat
theme with the same instrumentation of bassoon and clarinet melodies and piano lower
counter melody comes back at around 01:11:45 as Remy sneaks through the kitchen and
into the chef’s office (“Heist to See You). It then changes to the lazy swing version as
Remy frustratedly argues with imaginary versions of Gusteau in his head.
Another very interesting and subtle use of this theme comes much later in the film
during a giant party of the rat pack upon the safe return of Remy to the family. During
the scene a sort of rat “jug-band” is playing a swing piece in the background in the style
of Django Reinhardt. The chord progression sounds like a more typical fast swing song
one could boogie to, but the guitar’s melody is actually playing a rhythmically simplified
version of the theme, this time in a major key (Cue #29, 00:57:05).
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
23
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
The Ratpack/This is Me theme enters again in a form very close to the original
during the cue “Remy’s Revenge” (01:20:46). During this scene, Remy leads his entire
family into the kitchen where he works to steal food, and thus is a perfect time for a
theme representing rats and thievery to come back in its full form. This cue is very
similar to the first appearance of this theme, and simply continues the idea.
Anton Ego:
An animated Disney/Pixar film would not be complete without a good villain, and
in this particular tale about the dreams of becoming a five-star chef, the ultimate villain is
Anton Ego, the renowned, yet extremely harsh, food critic. For this gaunt, dark
character, Giacchino chooses to construct an evil theme reminiscent of the sound John
Williams used to represent the Syth Lords in Star Wars (at least in terms of the chord
progression and orchestra voicing). Generally, there is a simple melody given to a reeded
woodwind instrument, such as bassoon or oboe. This is accompanied by a dark chord
progression usually in strings and other woodwinds.
The progression and melody often remains very similar within cues containing
this character. The main alterations tend to be changes in voicing, inversions, octaves,
and keys that it’s played in. Giacchino generally moves from a time through this theme
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
24
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
in low register instruments, (bassoon melody with low cello) to higher register
instruments (oboe melody with violins). Then a slightly altered version is played
combining mid and low range instruments (English horn melody accompanied by violas,
and low cello and bassoon). After running through different voicings of the same thing,
he modulates and repeats the same chord progression with extended techniques and
sometimes without the melody.
The interesting part about this theme largely comes from the techniques and
changes in instruments used. There is a great deal of portamento used in the upper
strings between chords, sometimes with a sliding violin solo. At other moments he uses
some string harmonics, and an interesting combination of high string tremolo with a
quietly flutter-tongued flute, giving a peculiar sound that intentionally sounds like it’s
slightly out-of-tune or phase shifting. These high techniques combined with some close
intervals in very low-playing instruments, gives for a very eerie shimmer combined with
a dark, muddy low. Seen below is an example during the theme where it takes away the
melody after changing keys and uses an interesting combination of techniques to create a
high, shimmering, and eerie effect.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
25
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Linguini/Buddy theme:
The character of Linguini is that of an awkward, bumbling teenager who is just
coming into a life on his own as a young adult after the recent death of his only parent.
He happens upon Remy fixing the soup that he clumsily ruined and is charged with the
duty of killing the rat by his boss…until Linguini discovers that Remy can both
understand what he is saying and has a special talent for cooking. So instead, he takes
him to his studio apartment overlooking Paris and a rather unique partnership has begun.
The oddness of both Linguini and the peculiar relationship between himself and
Remy is stated musically in a theme that sounds like a tongue-in-cheek mixture of
something that could be found in an old western and a jazz piece from the big-band era.
The first appearance of this happens when Linguini first brings Remy back to his
apartment saying, “It’s not much but…it’s not much”. Giacchino captures the clumsiness
and humorous side of this new friend by playing a with a slightly-sauntering cowboy-like
swing in 4/4. He gives the melody to the accordion, while instruments like acoustic
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
26
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
guitar, softly-played drums (mostly hi-hat and rim clicks), electric bass, pizz. Cello and
viola, harmonica, and even a mouth-harp take the rhythm. To give the song more of a
jazzy feel, he has saxophones accent occasional syncopated off beats and double parts of
the melody, and later hands this same idea off to muted trumpets.
For the next appearance of this theme, Giacchino intentionally emphasizes his
comedic reference to western movies. He specifically chose to do this, because this is the
scene where Remy is learning how to steer and control Linguini’s actions by sitting on
his head and pulling his hair. He wanted to give the audience the feeling of “breaking in
your horse in”, since that is almost exactly what Remy was doing with Linguini (Noyer).
This cue begins with an obvious comedic reference of a solo guitar playing the notes of IV-I-VI-VII (and repeating), over the top of hi-hat. He then adds bass and rhythm ukulele
to thicken the “western” vibe, and occasionally uses a clopping cowbell to make it feel
like a horse plodding along.
The humorously cowboy-esque quality of the cue intensifies as soon as he brings in the
main melody with a whistler. The whistle was actually performed by the orchestra’s flute
player, who Giacchino had used before on a whistling piece for the TV show “Alias”
(Noyer). Later this melody is handed off to a solo harmonica.
The song continues to thicken and change texturally throughout to keep it very
interesting and entertaining. It gradually becomes a bit more swing and jazzy in style by
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
27
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
using more woodwinds, muted trumpets, and by changing the chord progressions lightly
to have more chromaticisms and 7ths. While doing this, he keeps it western by including
a dramatically played slide guitar. The song later changes to textures very traditional to
this story by giving the melody to the accordion and strings, but while adding some light
mandolin in the background.
During this scene the music generally flows like a song, with the exception of one
very obvious sync point. At 40:07, after seeing a blindfolded Linguini, whose actions are
being controlled by a rat in his hair, spill food and crash rampantly around his own
apartment, raise a knife in preparation to slice a tomato. As the shot pauses on the raised
knife, so does the music; a perfect use of silence to create a great deal of tension
suddenly. And as the knife comes down safely, the lighthearted sound of the music
resumes, allowing us to breathe again.
The Linguini/buddy theme generally feels much more like a song than a
traditional motif. He does not often use it throughout the film, and chooses not to
manipulate or alter the melody very much at all during the two main appearances of it.
However, the textures, styles, and orchestrations of the song change frequently, and
interweave very seamlessly to create a very unique and intentionally humorous sound,
adequately befitting the ridiculousness of the picture. Seen below is an example of the
melody of the theme, as heard in the “Remy Drives a Linguini” cue.
There is one exception to this in the film, during one scene where Linguini has
fallen asleep in the kitchen and Remy is frantically trying to wake him (01:00:55). In this
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
28
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
scene, he turns their theme into minor, seemingly using different instruments to represent
the two characters struggling against one another. The low bass clarinet seems to show
the weight of the sleeping Linguini, while the glockenspiel melody overtop appears to
represent the struggling Remy.
Colette:
The character of Colette also has a theme that feels much more like a song than a
motif. In order to represent the strong, confident, and very direct (and slightly
intimidating to Linguini, as he finds her rather attractive) side of Colette, Giacchino
chose to write a tango. He felt that this suited her as tango dancers have to be extremely
confident and sure of themselves while dancing (Noyer).
The main musical entrance of this theme happens during the cue “Colette Shows
Him ‘Le Ropes” (00:44:07). It sounds like a full-fledged tango song with guitars, drums,
and muted trumpets serving as the rhythm section, while the accordion and pitched
percussion take turns with the violins playing the melody. Overall, this cue feels very
rhythmic and strong, but there is a bridge section with an alternate melody given to the
strings, usually the viola section. This section, although still very tango-like, is meant to
represent the softer side of Colette, or rather, the more human qualities of who she is on
the inside. However, this could easily just be thought of as a melodic and sexy interlude
within a very danceable tango.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
29
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Colette’s theme returns during the scene where a customer requests a special
order and Linguini is put in charge of making what his boss knows is a terrible dish in
order to purposely make him look bad (“Special Order” 00:49:05). As Colette is taking
charge of having him make the recipe, her theme is playing in the background. Remy
happens to disagree and forces Linguini to change the recipe in a bit of a struggle with
Colette. It is as if Remy is (physically) pulling Linguini in one direction, while the
character of Colette is pulling him in another. In this sense, it is very appropriate that
Colette’s melody should remain very prolific to emphasize the physical versus emotional
tug-of-war going on for the character, Linguini. Much of the music remains the same in
this scene, but the instrumentation changes slightly, sounding a bit more like a live jazz
performance at times, including piano and vibraphone parts that sound very soloistic.
This all changes abruptly during what sounds like the middle of the vibraphone
solo upon the waiter bursting through the door to exclaim that the customer enjoyed
Remy/Linguini’s alteration of the meal. The music pauses briefly and resumes at the
same tempo, except in major playing a straight 4/4 version of the “Le Festin” theme, as
Remy has just created and served an original concoction to a very pleased customer.
The will:
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
30
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
There is a small motif that we hear only a couple of times during the film during
scenes where we hear about the will of Chef Gusteau and a letter from Linguini’s mother,
stating that Gusteau is Linguini’s biological father. The motif feels almost like a play on
the ratpack/this is me theme as it plays with similar chromatic intervals, simply without
any rhythmic spacing. It remains as a constant rhythm, either in very fast straight 16th
notes or in constant triplets
The first appearance of this motif happens during one of the shortest cues of the
movie (from 42:32 to 42:45), as our temporary chef-in-charge, Skinner, opens a letter
from Linguini’s mother, showing that Linguini is in fact the biological son of Chef
Gusteau. It starts as a single melody on the oboe, and adds clarinet, strings, and an
additional harmony as we see Skinner grow exponentially more stressed and frantic. .
Below is an example of “The Will” theme with an additional harmony.
The largest example of this motif can be found in two consecutive cues. The
motif begins to play in the middle of the “Heist To See You” cue at around 1:12:52, as
Remy discovers Gusteau’s will, along with the letter from Linguini’s mother explaining
their situation. The little motif gets played over and over, growing in dynamics, doing a
little hand-off between groups of woodwind instruments. The tempo slows down to sync
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
31
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
dramatically with him being discovered by our replacement chef upon which “The Paper
Chase” cue begins (1:13:26)
This cue plays a great deal with motifs from multiple themes, but mostly with
“The Will” motif. It could be argued, especially during this scene, that the “Will” motif
is indeed just a play on the “ratpack/this is me” theme, particularly because of the fact
that Remy the rat is currently stealing documents and running for his life with them
through the streets of Paris. This would remain consistent with the overall idea of rats
being talked about as thieves in the movie.
That being said, this particular motif is used as the main element of “The Paper
Chase” cue. It is played at a frantic tempo in 16th notes mostly in the violins, and
sometimes by flutes. It is the rhythmic backdrop of the scene, played frequently here and
there while other melodies and rhythmic emphasis play around it. At one point during
the cue, Remy leaps dramatically to temporary safety as the trumpet section triumphantly
sings out a 4/4 variation of the “Main/Le Festin” theme.
Food Tasting:
There is another part of the film that is not necessarily a musical theme, but is
definitely worth mentioning as it is a very unique musical and artistic collaboration
between the people working on this project. In general, director Brad Bird wanted
Giacchino to musically express the taste of food, instead of relying solely upon images.
He knew that it was a tricky film, since so much of it was about taste and smell, and the
audience would not be able to smell or taste anything. He ended up drawing a connection
between cooks experiencing texture, smell, and taste just the way a painter could
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
32
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
experience color and light. Thus, he decided to use sound and color to represent these
things, asking Giacchino, “What would cheese sound like versus fruit? You know?
Cheese is a rounder warmer sound, probably lower on the scale. Whereas fruit is
probably a lighter brighter clearer sound, you know?” (Barbagello).
So at two points in the film, while Remy enthusiastically describes the flavors of
different types of food, the background turns to black as he depicts the various
combinations between tastes. And as he bites into a type of food, a genre of music
suddenly bursts forth from the dark, accompanied by spirals of colorful animated
artwork, translating the flavors into sound and color (van der Lugt).
The first occurrence of this happens very early on as Remy talks about food
flavors being entirely unique. He first takes a bite of a piece of cheese, to which a light
and rhythmic bit of danceable (Latin) Jazz comes in slightly from the right. Afterwards
he takes a bite of a strawberry, which enters slightly from the left with a musical theme of
a quiet and romantic-sounding melody on accordion, accompanied by strings. When
Remy combines the flavors together, both musical elements come back in full force,
sounding like a full-fledged disco piece now that the melody has gained new life with
rhythm.
This idea happens again later in the film as Remy tries to get his brother Emile to
savor the flavors of food. As he describes them to his brother, Remy’s “ratty” theme
comes first weakly in the bass, then grows stronger as Emile seems to begin to
understand until he states, “I think…you lost me”, and the musicians trail off, sliding
haphazardly out of tune.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
33
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
CONCLUSION:
Michael Giacchino’s score for Ratatouille is an incredible depiction of the story.
The extraordinarily active soundtrack plays nearly from start to finish totaling around 86
minutes in music which is a very impressive feat for such an active score. The variance
in musical styles and live instruments make for a very eclectic, expressive, and loveable
sound that is unique to this particular story. The use of thematic melodies and songs and
their alterations throughout prove to be an effective way to draw in the audience and
subtly bring them to the emotional state of the characters. Like the story, Giacchino’s
score is one that connects and resonates with all of us, attaching us to the characters, their
hopes, and dreams.
CUE SHEET:
CUE TIME
1
00:00:0100:00:24
2
00:00:2400:01:00
3
00:02:0300:03:44
4
00:04:0700:06:32
5
00:06:5300:08:31
6
00:08:4400:12:49
7
00:10:5900:12:49
8
00:13:370017:39
9
00:17:400019:34
10
00:19:3900:23:54
TITLE
Le Festin Intro*
NOTES
Disney Logo with “Le Festin” intro
“Welcome to
Gusteau’s”
“This is Me”
TV source music
In the Kitchen*
“Lightningy”*
Bits of main theme, first “Food Tasting” scene,
“Ratpack” theme, “Remy as a Rat” theme
Remy’s rat theme
“Granny Get Your
Gun”
“100 Rat Dash”
Completely different, action-packed, full
orchestra.
Still different, action-packed, plays with a motif.
“Wall Rat”
“Cast of Cooks”
Appearance of Main Theme, moves to largest
appearance of Remy’s Rat theme.
Classy kitchen jazz
“A Real Gourmet
Kitchen”
Remy as a rat theme intensified with full
orchestra and drama
“Ratpack” theme
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
34
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
00:24:0300:24:50
00:24:5600:26:17
00:28:5600:29:26
00:31:1200:33:06
00:33:1400:34:03
00:34:2300:34:52
00:34:5700:36:02
00:36:2600:38:13
00:38:1300:40:36
00:42:3200:42:45
00:44:0700:46:59
00:47:0000:47:12
00:47:1200:47:31
00:49:0500:51:30
00:51:3100:52:21
00:52:5200:53:17
00:53:4300:54:09
00:55:1000:55:55
00:57:0500:59:01
00:59:3001:00:55
01:00:5501:03:42
01:05:3001:07:20
01:08:03-
“Souped Up”
Remy’s rat theme in full happiness/jazzy style.
“Is it Soup Yet”
Remy’s rat theme altered to sound foreboding
To Kill or Not To
Kill*
“A New Deal”
Dramatic orchestral
Good Morning*
A contintuation of the “Linguini/Buddy” theme
Get In My Shirt*
A little dramatic intro into the next scene
A Rat in the Shirt*
A comedic, song-like cue featuring tuba,
clarinet, and accordion, and pizz. strings
A childlike, yet jazzy interlude to show the
smallness of Remy
This biggest and most comedic (western)
entrance of “Linguini/Buddy” theme
First entrance of “The Will” theme
In The Fridge*
“Remy Drives a
Linguini”
The Will*
“Colette Shows
Him ‘Le Ropes”
Le Festin source
music*
Restaurant Piano
Music*
“Special Order”
Invited to a Talk*
Hello Brother*
Light Thievery*
Emile Taste-Test*
Rat Party*
Dead Rats*
Asleep in the
Kitchen*
“Kiss and
Vinegar”
“Losing Control”
First appearance of “Linguini/Buddy” theme
The first appearance of Colette’s main theme,
showing her confident side via tango.
“Le Festin” comes in as source music from the
car radio
Piano source music
A version of Colette’s theme. Main theme
enters at 50:37 upon success
General animated music going with picture
Main theme temporarily before the music
becomes frightening and orchestral
A subtle alteration of the “Ratpack” theme
The second appearance of the “Food Tasting”
concept. Plays with Remy’s Rat theme
Jug-band style swing that changes the key of the
“Ratpack” theme.
Dark dramatic orchestral bits. Non-thematic
Plays with the Linguini/Buddy theme in minor.
Romantic orchestra leading into the Anton Ego
theme
Colette’s second theme in a danceable tune
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
35
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
01:10:12
01:10:1301:10:49
01:11:2501:13:13
01:13:2601:15:11
01:15:1901:16:44
01:18:0901:19:17
01:19:1801:20:04
01:20:4601:23:36
01:24:3701:25:35
01:25:3501:26:50
01:25:5001:28:17
01:28:1701:28:54
01:29:0601:32:24
01:32:4601:37:45
01:37:5001:40:56
Rat on the Street*
Dramatic orchestra as Remy is frightened on the
street
“Heist to See You” “Ratpack” theme leading into the “Will” theme
“The Paper Chase” A chase scene using “The Will” as a background
“Le Festin” Pt.1
The first main entrance of “Le Festin”
Enter Mr. Ego*
Theme for Anton Ego
Take a Break
Little Chef*
“Remy’s
Revenge”
Trapped in a
Cage*
Piano Source
Music*
Freedom*
Dramatic orchestra with the emotion
Chaos in the
Restaurant*
“Abandoning
Ship”
“Dinner Rush”
Dramatic orchestra
“Anyone Can
Cook”
“Ratpack” theme in full force
Dramatic orchestra with the scene
Restaurant piano music
Alterations on the “Main” theme and more
Hopeful, yet sad melody building
Plays with “Linguini/Buddy” theme, “Colette’s”
theme, and the “Main” theme (01:36:30)
Main Theme here. This is the first theme
Giacchino wrote and based the rest of the film
on this.
Le Festin returns for the rest of the song
01:40:56“Le Festin” Pt.2
01:42:59
49
01:42:59“End
End credits using a variance of most of the
01:50:32
Creditouilles”
themes, allowing room for jazz improvisation.
-Anything marked with an asterisk* is not the official title from the score. Titles in
quotation marks are known to be the official titles used in the score.
-The total amount of music in the film is 86 minutes and 57 seconds.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
36
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
WORKS CITED:
Van Der Lugt, Peter. "An interview with Michael Giacchino." Twitch. N.p., 11 Aug.
2009. Web. 30 June 2014. .
'Ratatouille' Michael Giacchino Interview. Movieweb. Michael Giacchino. , 2007. Film.
"Ratatouille - Behind the music with Michael Giacchino." YouTube. YouTube, 5 Apr.
2009. Web. 30 June 2014. .
Frosty. "Michael Giacchino Exclusive Video Interview |5917." Michael Giacchino
Exclusive Video Interview |5917. Collider, 30 Oct. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
"Music By Michael Giacchino - Features - Interviews & Articles - The Overture
Newspaper." Music By Michael Giacchino - Features - Interviews & Articles - The
Overture Newspaper. The Overture, 7 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Obadiah
Brown-‐Beach
37
Score
Analysis
of
Ratatouille
Cooke, Emmett. "Michael Giacchino - Scoring Music For Pixar." . Film & Game
Composers, 20 July 2012. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Barbagello, Ron. "The Art of Making Pixar's Ratatouille." Animation Art Conservation |
INSIDE ANIMATION ART. Animation Art Conservation, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 30 June
2014. .
"Ratatouille - Production Notes." Pixar Talk. Disney/Pixar, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 30 June
2014. .
"Full Cast & Crew." IMDb. IMDb.com, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
Noyer, Jérémie. "Michael Giacchino cooks up tasty tunes for Ratatouille! - Animated
Views." Animated Views RSS. Animated Views, 25 Feb. 2008. Web. 30 June 2014.
.
"Ratatouille, film score - Michael Giacchino | Credits | AllMusic." AllMusic. All Music, 1
Nov. 2007. Web. 30 June 2014. .
