You know how, when you reach a certain age, you begin to realize things about not only yourself but your favorite characters when your perspective of the world starts to really shift and change? Yeah, that’s how I’ve felt recently with the movie Ratatouille, one of the best Pixar films.
Now, before I get into this, I want say that this is most certainly not going to be an article where I dunk on this film, because I absolutely love this movie. I first wrote about how it’s one of the best underrated Pixar films years ago, and recently I wrote about how it made me cry as an adult and really inspired me, as a cook, and how it’s continued to shape my life. I love this movie.
I’m not going to talk about why I love it today. I’m actually going to talk about the villain. No, not Ego, even if Ego is a great Pixar villain, but the second one that we all seem to forget about, but vehemently hate – Skinner – and how…he actually wasn’t really a villain. Let me explain.
Skinner Wasn't A Great Guy, But He Also Wasn't The Villain We All Saw Him As
So first off, I want to say that Skinner himself wasn’t a great guy. In fact, for lack of a better word, he was a jerk.
From the moment that we meet him, we can see that he’s not the kind of boss that anyone would really want to have. He was stingy with his money, profited off of others’ misery, and pretty much yelled to the point where you wondered if he was going to lose his voice. The way he treats Alfredo cemented the fact that he’s not the greatest person.
Is he really a villain, though? I would argue he’s not. Sure, he’s not a great person, as we’ll get into in the following sections, but I don’t think he’s as bad as some other Pixar villains. He wasn’t trying to send anyone into a massive ball of fire to burn to death like Lotso in the Toy Story movies, or literally remove a child from existence like de la Cruz in Coco.
Skinner was just…a businessman. Which, I suppose, in this day and age, can be villainous, but in comparison to many other Disney villains? He’s just doing his job.
Truthfully, He Was Trying To Maximize Profits, Something Most Restaurants Do Nowadays
I think one of the most significant instances that people point to for Skinner being a villain is that he’s selling out Gustave’s name in Ratatouille after he passed, and creating these frozen meals in order to turn a profit. Yeah. And?
I’m not saying that I necessarily agree with the practice – I think the moment that most chefs tend to do that, you’ve officially put your name on something that is, no doubt, going to be of lesser quality than anything you could ever make yourself. However, this is what many chefs and restaurants do nowadays.
I can think of two prominent examples that happened in real life. One would be Rao’s. The restaurant chain had a few storefronts in the United States, with the New York one being the most exclusive, and the restaurant was known for its sauce. At some point, the company was bought by Campbell's, and all of a sudden, we’re seeing all different kinds of Rao’s sauces and also branded dried pasta, and meals in the freezer section – you name it.
Another big one is from one of the most prominent chefs alive, Gordon Ramsay. While I’m just as much of a fan of all the Gordon Ramsay Fox shows as anyone else, I’m also aware of the fact that he released a whole line of frozen foods a little over two years ago that mimic his most famous dishes. This is not a new thing. This is something that is becoming the new normal.
Also, a bigger thing is that I don’t think Skinner did it just for financial gain. Sure, he would have made a killing if all those deals went through, but it’s also the fact that these do bring in a lot of money and, as we heard at the beginning of Ratatouille, the restaurant was in trouble. They were losing money. They had already lost a star.
This could have helped them at least get back on their feet financially and helped rebuild their reputation. Still, it's a pretty big thing.
Let's Be Honest — If We Found Out Rats Cooked In Our Restaurants, We'd Want To Expose Them Too
I think we also need to acknowledge the elephant in the room – that if we all saw those rats, we would freak out too.
Out of everything Skinner did, trying to get the health inspector to shut down the place isn’t a heinous crime. If anything, I would think we would be thankful that someone would care so much that they would make sure rats did not infest the food that we made.
The same premise of the movie stands – that anyone can cook, and I do believe that. Really looking at the reality of the situation, though, there were hundreds of rats cooking in that kitchen, and no matter how many times they washed their little paws, they were carrying bacteria that could have been carried over to the guests.
At the end of the day, as much as we hate to admit it, what Skinner did was ultimately right and what most people should do. But, because this film paints Remy in a good light and him as the villain, he is left with the short end of the stick.
I Still Love The Movie; However, We All Owe Skinner An Apology
Look, again, Skinner isn’t a great person. I don’t think he’s even a decent person. I’d say he’s about an average greedy businessman, but I don’t think he should have gotten the hate he's received over the years.
Skinner was looking out for himself, for his money, and at the end of it all, for the restaurant that made the money. We’ve all just been crapping on him for years because of that. He’s not the best, but he’s also not the worst, and I think it’s time we really acknowledged that.
With any upcoming Pixar film, I’m always curious to see where they go with the villains. For now, I’ll stick to my guns on how I feel about Skinner.
