Not all Pixar movies deserve a remake, but a 2023 hit comedy film proves that a 16-year-old Pixar flick should finally be considered for a live-action adaptation. Although Disney’s strategy of traversing age-old animated films to the live-action medium was initially met with criticism and skepticism, live-action Jungle Book‘s critical and commercial success established that it was not a bad idea after all. After The Jungle Book paved the way for live-action adaptations of classic animated films, many movies like The Lion King, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid followed its lead.
Unfortunately, not all of these movies proved as financially lucrative for Disney as The Jungle Book and The Lion King, indicating that not every animated film needs a live-action remake. On the bright side, the early success of some of these adaptations showed that a few selected animated films might just have the potential to work well as live-action movies if executed well. A hit 2023 raunchy comedy movie that stars Jennifer Lawrence has, in some ways, proven this by giving a glimpse of how a classic Pixar film would actually work well as a live-action remake.
No Hard Feelings Proves A Live-Action Ratatouille Remake Starring Andrew Barth Feldman Needs To Happen
Although relatively lesser known than Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman has been an accomplished actor for quite some time and received immense appreciation for playing the titular character in his 2019 Broadway debut in Dear Evan Hansen. Even in No Hard Feelings, although Jennifer Lawrence got most of the credit for the film’s success (and rightfully so), Andrew Barth Feldman gave an incredible performance that completely sold his character’s weird but heartwarming dynamic with Lawrence’s Maddie. Feldman’s performance in No Hard Feelings proves that he could take on bigger roles, perhaps even in a Pixar live-action movie.
In 2020, Andrew Barth Feldman was cast as Linguini in an internet-funded Ratatouille musical (via Playbill). The musical met with a lot of praise upon release, and many critics also commended Andrew Barth Feldman, claiming (via The New York Times) that he “animated his face to match Pixar’s version.” Given how Feldman has convincingly portrayed a version of Ratatouille‘s Linguini and has also established that he has the acting range to play comical characters like No Hard Feelings‘ Percy, he would be the perfect casting choice for Linguini in a live-action Ratatouille remake. His performance in both the musical and the comedy movie proves that Disney should consider a live-action Ratatouille remake with him as one of the leads.
Ratatouille Could Perfectly Kick Off Disney Remaking Pixar Movies In Live-Action
Disney, so far, has avoided making any live-action remakes of Pixar movies. Given how no Pixar live-action movies have been announced so far, the studio seemingly does not even plan to make them in the near future. However, Ratatouille could be the perfect springboard if Disney steps into that realm with Pixar films. Unlike most Pixar films, Ratatouille is set in a more realistic high-end restaurant setting, which could seamlessly traverse into the live-action medium. Apart from that, a live-action Ratatouille movie could also avoid creating the uncanny valley effect since only its central rat character, Remy, would require CGI.
A Ratatouille live-action movie would also arguably have an advantage over the original animated film because it will be able to portray visuals of real food. This, in turn, would make the Little Chef’s tale of the transformative power of food all the more emotionally stirring and palette pleasing, allowing audiences to savor every ingredient Remy puts into his soul-nurturing food. Not to mention, since Andrew Barth Feldman will do justice to his role as Linguini if he gets to play him in the live-action, Ratatouille will likely pave the way for Disney to traverse other Pixar films to the live-action medium.
Everything Everywhere All At Once Already Teased That A Live-Action Ratatouille Remake Can Work
Everything Everywhere All At Once brims with pop-culture references. However, in all of its nods and easter eggs, the one that stands out is its parallel universe reimagining of Ratatouille as “Raccacoonie” because of how absurdly hilarious it gets. Although the movie does not take its “Raccacoonie” narrative too seriously and intentionally lampoons the original Ratatouille, the parallel universe sub-plot has revived viewers’ interest in the classic Pixar movie and also seeded a deep-seated desire for a genuine live-action version of Pixar’s Ratatouille. Whether the Ratatouille live-action remake will see the light of day is yet to be seen, but the mere prospect of it happening someday is exciting.
