Movies

‘Ratatouille’ Director Shuts Down Viral Fan Theory And Fans Aren’t Happy

If you’ve ever seen Ratatouille and you’re extremely observant, you may have picked up on what seems like a massive easter egg: the exact same kitchen equipment in the house belonging to the old woman that Remy sneaks into and Ego’s childhood home.

Here’s the old woman’s kitchen:

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And here’s the kitchen in the food critic’s flashback:

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Pixar is known for dropping these throughout their movies, so it’s not a big leap to assume connections between characters and locations that aren’t immediately obvious. 

One of the most popular fan theories surrounding the movie developed because of the above details: Remy’s ratatouille tastes familiar to Ego because the old woman is actually Ego’s mom and that’s how Remy learned to make it—by watching her! 

While fans of the movie have long held this theory close to their hearts, Ratatouille‘s director Brad Bird shut it down once and for all on Twitter on Tuesday, devastating pretty much everyone who wanted to believe that the similarities were intentional. 

“Well, I’d love to confirm that we were ultra-deep thinkers and that there was a narrative behind the narrative, but… When I took over the film we had a hellacious deadline and only 2 of the films many sets were built. Truth is we were just trying to reuse props where we could,” Bird wrote in reply to the @FilmEasterEggs account, which reposted the fan theory. 

Some people weren’t happy with Bird’s comments, insisting that fans should be allowed to interpret their favorite movies however they see fit and that the director didn’t need to debunk one of the most popular and touching theories out there. 

Others insisted that Bird’s comments didn’t matter and that fans should continue to find new meanings in movies because that’s the point of art. In other words, they’re going to stick their fingers in their ears and pretend they didn’t hear (or, you know, read) Bird’s comments. I’m with them.

More funny pictures, memes, and tweets:

Jennifer Still