News / Disney Movies

Since around the release of Chicken Little in 2005, Disneyland Resort Paris finally got back into some good cross-promotion with Disney’s movie releases. No doubt many fans’ earliest memories of “EuroDisney” come from the countless advertisements placed before films on Disney’s VHS releases of the early ’90s, and now a whole new generation is discovering the resort at its 15th Anniversary with Pixar’s latest smash-hit CGI tale.

Ratatouille is, according to Disney, “the best reviewed film of the Summer”. That’s not just marketing talk – on reviews database Rotten Tomatoes, it currently counts 158 positive reviews against just 6 negative, giving an overall score of 96% fresh and right up there with the best of Pixar’s greats.

“The characters are irresistible, the animation is astonishing and the film, a fantasy version of a foodie rhapsody, sustains a level of joyous invention that hasn’t been seen in family entertainment since The Incredibles,” says the Wall Street Journal.

“In this Michelin-starred confection, Brad Bird deserves an Oscar,” raves The Observer. Luckily for Disney (and the $ 7.4 billion hole in their pocket), it appears the studio may never make a bad film.

We know the two lead characters – Rémy and Émile – have been frequenting Toon Studio since late June, and now Disneyland Resort Paris have cooked up some promotion to make the most of the characters — afterall, where else on this continent can you meet the Pixar stars? No doubt the film’s location of a glowing, saccharine Paris will also play well to draw more eyes to the Disneyland just a few miles East…

On the official website, you can now find a special page with a surprising amount of photos (something Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally still lack) showing the furry pair of rats in front of their new photo location in Toon Studio. Of the international websites for the Ratatouille movie itself, the Dutch and English versions provide partner links to this page on Disneylandparis.com, as has been the case for recent releases such as Cars. The Dutch link, however, is unfortunately presenting a page error. Still, it’s an effort.

The characters themselves, despite being completely Pixar-produced, are 100% Disney. This is actually the first time Pixar have produced furry, hugable animal characters, and no doubt these two will be around for years to come…

What other treats, beyond a hug from Rémy and Émile? Well, if you’re a Shareholder or an Annual Passport Dream holder, you’re invited to a special, free screening of the film in Walt Disney Studios Park‘s CinéMagique theatre!

As has become the norm for every big animated Disney release, the park’s Disney Studio 2 will opens its doors after-hours for a private screening of the new film. The Annual Passport Dream showing takes place on 25th August 2007, though no doubt this will come as news to almost every passholder unless they’ve stopped by the Bureau Passeport Annuel recently and spotted the form. Apparently you’re not alone if you never received any notification via email or through the post.

Registration closes on 6th August, so if you’d like to fill one of the limited spaces available for the single screening (the theatre’s capacity is 1,100), you’d better… well, we’re not sure. They don’t seem to want anyone to go. The only spotting of the registration form is thanks to a member on Disney Central Plaza.

More successful, as always, is the Shareholders Club. Here you’ll find a proper online sign-up (click here) ready and waiting for your membership details and seat reservation for one of two screenings — Saturday 8th September 2007 or Sunday 9th September 2007, both beginning at 7pm. However, unlike several film screenings in the past, Ratatouille will be presented exclusively in French.

“We invite you to improve your French thanks to a screening in French version only (without any subtitles),” they boast. Well then, throw away your phrasebook!

Ratatouille is now showing in cinemas across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria since today. After a little time to mature, the fine French delicacy à la Pixar will arrive in Germany on 3rd October and the UK on 12th October.

Images © Disney/Pixar; by Photos Magiques and by Minnie Mouse on DCP.

It’s a rare and special event in the world of Disney parks, when a brand new pair of characters joins the meet ‘n’ greet schedule for the release of a new Walt Disney animated feature. The last time we saw such an event was way back in late 2005 with the release of Disney’s own Chicken Little. All cogs in the great synergy and marketing machine of The Walt Disney Company, for sure, but nobody is going to turn down the chance to meet a new Disney star, especially a Pixar creation – even when they’re rats!

First, meet Rémy. He’s the star of Ratatouille, the budding chef who isn’t content with eating garbage like his sewer system family. He has dreams and aspirations… and, after being caught by a untalented kitchen hand Linguini, cooking up a soup which goes on to be served to a delighted food critic, he must share his knowledge to create the greatest chef in all of Paris – without anyone even knowing of his work.

Rémy / Emile in their Pixar CG designs

The second character to be taken from CGI to reality is Emile, Rémy’s best friend and familiar from the film’s teaser trailers as the tubby brown rat who doesn’t particularly care what he eats, so long as it fills him up. No doubt when the film is released (initial US release due 29th June), we’ll find out even more about these two new furry faces.

Rémy & Emile debut at the inauguration ceremony / Fun and games at the Toon Town gate

Since opening in 2002, all of the new Disney characters have immediately arrived in Walt Disney Studios Park, from Monsters Inc and Treasure Planet to Narnia and Chicken Little. Rémy and Emile were given their first step into the spotlight during the inauguration ceremony earlier during the press event, before arriving on-stage at the Toon Town gate later, and fighting between themselves for the waiting cameras.

The plaza around the Toon Town gate of course features two dedicated photo locations for character meets, but guests attending the press event who’d already visited the park would have been surprised to see two brand new backdrops installed just for this event. Mickey’s Toon Town House, on the right of the gate, was replaced by a Toon Studio production stage setting, whilst especially for the arrival of Rémy and Emile, The Incredibles’ rather plain logo backdrop was replaced with a stunning view over Pixar’s glowing CGI recreation of Paris.

Emile poses in front of Pixar’s grand Paris backdrop / Up-close with Rémy, in perfect rat pose

The following day, however, guests would need to jump on the RER for 40 minutes to experience a view like this. Both backdrops had been reverted to their original designs, with no sight of Rémy or Emile making appearances, despite the heavy Ratatouille advertising introduced around the park. If you like the look of this rodent pair, however, don’t be too worried – the film isn’t due out in France for over a month, so it’s likely Rémy and Emile will be fully introduced at the next meet ‘n’ greet schedule shake-up in a couple of weeks.

The quick change of the photo location backdrops is also exciting to see for regular guests, showing that these two locations will now become frequently updated as each new Disney film hits cinemas. Perhaps, if Walt Disney Studios ever joins its neighbour in full seasonal events, we’ll see even more special backdrops created in the future.

Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille is due for release on 1st August 2007 in France, the Netherlands and Belgium, 2nd August 2007 in Austria and 3rd August 2007 in Spain. Then, later in the year, 3rd October 2007 in Germany, 5th October 2007 in the UK and 19th October 2007 in Italy. This creates quite a spread of dates across the key markets of Disneyland Resort Paris – one which is mirrored almost in reverse by Disney’s recent CG hit ‘Meet the Robinsons’.

Already released in March to the UK and most European markets, the film won’t reach the Netherlands until 10th October 2007 and France and Belgium until as late as 17th October 2007. Three characters from this film – Lewis, Wilbur and Bowler Hat Guy are due to begin appearances at Walt Disney Studios Park in the Autumn, following a preview during the press conference of 1st April 2007. Luckily, this will then tie into the DVD release in the earlier markets.

All photos by Photos Magiques; Ratatouille character visuals © Disney-Pixar.