Remy Voice Actor Patton Oswalt Wants to Do ‘Ratatouille 2’ but It Can’t Be a ‘Money Grab’: A Lot of Sequels Are ‘Inorganic’
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Patton Oswalt told The Daily Beast's 'Obsessed' podcast he'd love to do a 'Ratatouille' sequel, but stressed it depends entirely on original director Brad Bird returning with a great idea, not on him pitching one himself.
- Oswalt rejected the 'legal pads and let's break down a sequel' approach common to many follow-ups, calling those efforts 'inorganic,' and said he wants an idea that happens 'that you cannot get away from.'
- Oswalt compared his ideal sequel to 'Terminator 2' or 'Aliens' — an expansion of the story with 'whole new dimensions' — while acknowledging, 'yes, by the way, we love the money, and we're gonna grab it.'
- Pixar is in theaters this month with 'Toy Story 5' and is in development on 'Incredibles 3,' 'Monsters Inc. 3,' and 'Coco 2,' with 'Ratatouille' notably absent from that sequel pipeline.
- 'Ratatouille' (2007), directed by Brad Bird, won the Oscar for best animated feature and grossed $623 million worldwide (~$1 billion adjusted for inflation), making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 2007.
- 'Ratatouille' also earned Oscar nominations for original score, sound editing, sound mixing, and original screenplay; it was Brad Bird's follow-up to 'The Incredibles,' with both films winning best animated feature.
Why it matters: Oswalt's public insistence on a Brad Bird-driven creative spark puts 'Ratatouille' in a different lane from Pixar's active sequel pipeline (Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, Monsters Inc 3, Coco 2). For Disney/Pixar, that means the studio either greenlights a Bird-directed follow-up to a $623M Oscar winner or leaves one of its most acclaimed titles permanently dormant while every other 2000s-era hit gets a new installment.
Ask SkimNews
