28 July 2007
Ratatouille in Japan - Rats!
Posted by kathy under: Uncategorized .
I was really looking forward to watching the latest animated movie from Pixar, Ratatouille, at Cineplex here in Tsukuba. I know that the movie opening was on July 28 - yesterday. But when I checked out the schedules, to my dismay I found that there are no English-subtitled (字幕版) versions, only the Japanese-dubbed (日本語吹替版) version.
Curiously, the title of Ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee) here has been changed to “Remy’s Delicious Restaurant” (レミーのおいしいレストラン). I won’t blame the producers for changing to title to something more digestible - what the heck does “ratatouille” mean, anyway? You can watch the trailer here.
I had so much fun watching “The Incredibles,” I wanted to see this new offering from the same director, Brad Bird. A rat who wants to be a chef? It’s so far out, so out of this world. But Pixar has a knack for pulling off otherworldly, impossible stories like these.
In Japan, not all animated movies are shown in both dubbed and subtitled versions. Most, if not all, Disney-produced movies are exclusively shown in the dubbed version. It definitely caters to the younger Japanese generation, but it invariably leaves out foreigners like me who still love wholesome entertainment and will forever be children at heart. ;) As far as I can remember, only Finding Nemo was shown in both original and dubbed versions. That was the only Disney-animated movie that I was able to watch at the movie theatre. As for the rest, I had no choice but to wait for the DVD to come out.
Sigh. Looks like I have to wait for Ratatouille on DVD instead.
Has anyone else seen it already? Any thoughts? Was it as good as the earlier Pixar movies (with the exception of Cars, of course). But don’t give out any spoilers. 
“Now shut up and eat your garbage!”
Update, 31 July 2007: Many thanks to Egay for the info about the meaning of “ratatouille.” Only then did I look it up in the dictionary and found that it refers to “a vegetable stew, usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and onions, seasoned with herbs and garlic.” Hmm, what do you know?!! Egay, at least you got the zucchini part.
8 Comments so far...
Gina Says:
29 July 2007 at 8:26 pm.
I’ve only seen the trailer of Ratatouille in the theater and it looks like it’s a fun movie. I am definitely waiting for the dvd . I loved Cars and The Incredibles !
Gypsy Says:
29 July 2007 at 11:20 pm.
Just saw it yesterday…lakas ng cringe factor for me…takot kasi ako sa daga, so half the time, I put my feet up kasi na-iimagine kong may daga mam’ya sa ilalim ng movie seats…hehehe..i enjoyed it pero…not going to watch it again…ngiiii
kaoko Says:
30 July 2007 at 12:33 am.
I loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. Sure, there were some queasy moments, I mean, rats?! Still, it was a nice, heartwarming film. Hope you get to watch the original version.
Egay Says:
30 July 2007 at 3:07 am.
Kate,
Ratatouille (ratatuy hehe) is a veggie side dish; it’s basically just cut-up zucchini, and other stuff hahaha.. sorry that description just about sums up the extent of my culinary expertise
nakatulog ako dun sa the simpson’s.. palabas din ba dyan?
kathy Says:
31 July 2007 at 5:43 am.
Me too, I can’t wait till the DVD comes out. We’ve got DVDs of ALL Pixar movies. 
kathy Says:
31 July 2007 at 5:46 am.
Ehhh? Si Gypsy akot sa daga? lol
I guess that also means na maganda talaga yung pagkakaexecute ng characters, dagang-daga ang dating hehe.
kathy Says:
31 July 2007 at 5:48 am.
Watched it already? I envy you!
I’m waiting for the DVD…which would probably come out in half a year. Bummer. 
kathy Says:
31 July 2007 at 5:56 am.
Thanks for the info Egay! At least alam ko na ano ang ibig sabihin. I’ve included an update in my post to include this, btw. Muchos gracias.
Hey, I didn’t even know that there’s a movie about The Simpsons. I guess the buzz hasn’t reached Japan yet. Or am I really that out of touch? 
