Last time I talked about Remy’s journey in the movie Ratatouille. And although Remy is the dominate character in the film, I thought it would be interesting to see how Linguini’s journey stacked up in the film. I felt that the movie is really about two journeys and how they intertwine together. Remy has his ambitions to become a chef, and somehow, by circumstance, Linguini became a part of that journey. Linguini has a journey as well, in a way, it’s a story of self-discovery and realizing what he is good at and how to survive in the world. Each of these characters would not be successful without one another, however they also are learning to be strong and thrive on their own. Here is Linguini’s journey in the movie Ratatouille. It doesn’t exactly fit the mold of the hero’s journey, since he is not exactly the central character and his journey relies heavily on Remy.
THE ORDINARY WORLD
When Linguini shows up looking for a job at Gusteau’s restaurant, he is an awkward, clumsy, bumbling kid. He has been fired from many jobs and doesn’t seem to have coordination over his body or the ability to concentrate on one task. He is easily distracted and a bit of a nervous guy. We learn that his mother has recently passed away and that his mother was prior flame of Gusteau’s.
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
Linguini’s first call to adventure begins when Skinner discovers that Linguini has put ingredients into the soup, ultimately creating a soup that is better than the original. Upset at this, Skinner demands that Linguini recreate the soup. Something that Linguini believed to have been an accident.
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE #2
The second call to adventure is with Remy. Linguini has his own adventure in the kitchen, but he also has another one with Remy specifically. When Skinner makes Linguini dispose of the rat, Remy, who was found in the kitchen, Linguini takes Remy out to leave him in the water. Once he realizes that it was Remy who created the soup, he begins a quest to ask for Remy’s help in working together to recreate the soup.
REFUSAL OF THE CALL
Linguini never has much of a chance to refuse the call to adventure. The part that could be refusing the call is when he wakes up after bringing Remy home the night before, and realizes that Remy is not sleeping in his bed. Linguini believes that Remy left him high and dry and that he must now face this challenge alone. Not exactly a refusal in a traditional sense, but he does believe to himself that he can no longer do the task of creating the soup.
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
These next couple steps in the hero’s journey are in a scrambled order than the traditional layout. After being called to the adventure, twice, Linguini jumps full speed ahead into crossing the threshold. This is shown by his over eagerness when bursting through the door of the restaurant, ready to take on the task in the new world. He is armed with the knowledge that he has Remy to help him in the new world, but they are coming in unprepared with the rules of their new world, the world of them together as a team.
MEETING WITH THE MENTOR
Even though Remy is a form of a mentor to Linguini, the biggest mentor for him is Collette. She is the one who takes charge of Linguini and teaches him about the rules of the kitchen and how to be successful in this new world of cooking. She gives him the tools and knowledge both he and Remy need to be able to hack it in the kitchen.
TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES
Linguini is tested when the head chef Skinner gives Linguini the task of creating a different dish to please the customers. An enemy is Skinner is also developed as Skinner gives Linguini a recipe that was a complete failure. He finds a friend in Remy, who is always there to help him succeed and to help fix the awful recipe that Skinner made him prepare. Linguini also finds a friend and future love interest in Collette. She might be hard on the outside, but she has Linguini’s best interests at heart.
APPROACH TO THE INNER MOST CAVE
This is shown as Remy and Linguini master their teamwork and learn to cook as one. They are learning to trust one another and prepare to be successful in the kitchen.
THE ORDEAL
The central ordeal in the movie can be considered when Skinner gets Linguini drunk, trying to discover his secrets. Skinner knows there is something Linguini is not telling him and wants to know what Linguini’s “game” is. At this point, Skinner knows that Linguini is Gusteau’s son, even though Linguini is not aware of this at this time. In a way, Linguini’s greatest fear is being discovered as a fake and that he is merely a puppet for Remy. He defeats Skinner by not letting any information go and keeping his secrets to himself, even when drunk as a skunk.
THE ALTERNATE ORDEAL
I’m not exactly sure which category this fits into, however, it’s a key point in Linguini’s story, even though he is not directly involved in the story. Once Remy discovers the truth of what Skinner is up to and that Linguini is the rightful heir to Gusteau’s restaurant, he takes the evidence and escapes from Skinner, who is out to kill him. Even though this is a near death experience for Remy, it is Linguini that has a rebirth from this ordeal.
THE REWARD
In a way, there was teamwork that lead to the reward. The ordeal started with Linguini staying quiet about his little chef helping him cook, and continued with Remy discovering the truth about Linguini. In this team situation, Remy’s efforts in escaping from Skinner lead to Linguini’s reward. His reward was in inheriting the Gusteau restaurant and becoming the new boss. Another reward came as a romantic relationship with Collette.
THE ROAD BACK
The road back begins when Linguini is confronted by the critic Ego, and is threatened that he must make the best food ever. That Ego’s last reviewed words were that Gusteau’s was no longer a relevant place to eat. When Ego confronts Linguini, he tells him that he will give him a chance to prove himself, however, Ego knows that Linguini will fail. This in turn creates the need to once be sure to make the best food possible another time, and he would need Remy to accomplish this task. This task is heightened when Linguini and Remy have a falling out and Linguini is now faced with the challenge of forgoing this journey alone, something he cannot possibly do.
THE RESURRECTION
The resurrection is when Remy comes back to help Linguini at the restaurant and then Linguini faces the other chefs with the truth about who has been preparing the food. As a result, the entire kitchen quits and walks out leaving Linguini and Remy alone. With Remy’s help in the kitchen, Linguini steps up to become a waiter, and surprisingly a great and efficient waiter. This is the rebirth of a new career direction for Linguini.
RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR
Linguini’s journey ends when he sacrifices himself to the restaurant and to Remy. He has come full circle from being a bumbling clumsy garbage boy to a confident capable waiter. He allows Remy to shine in his cooking skills. This is the best outcome for everybody as he no longer has to pretend to be something he is not, nor does he have to keep a secret life from those around him. He is back in his ordinary world but as an improved version of himself after this journey.
Animated Storytelling 