Ratatouille director Brad Bird offers a very refreshing take in the reboot and sequel world we live in. According to an interview with Collider, he shuts down any hope for a sequel with “No, that story’s been told.”
A filmmaker showing this kind of restraint in a world where every other movie coming out is a remake or a sequel is relieving. Knowing that there are still big industry names capable of not taking advantage of a nostalgia-baiting money-grab movie allows me to hold out hope for a film renaissance in the near future.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Ratatouille. It’s a heartwarming tale about a rat longing to be a chef, his relationship with a high-end restaurant’s garbage boy, and their rise to culinary stardom. It was an integral part of my childhood. However, the movie had its happy ending. It came to a close. The concept hadn’t been done before, and it won’t be done again, and that is what makes it special.
During his interview, Bird mentioned that people often ask for sequels to his other movies.
“Any time you do something that ends up connecting with people, they automatically think, ‘How about another?’ People have mentioned it about The Iron Giant, which is hilarious to me because the film didn’t succeed at all in its initial release,” Bird said. “It’s caught up in time, but what would you do to follow that up? He’s lumbering around, still undiscovered? In other words, to me, that story is told.”
We live in a world of abundance. We can see it in everything from product over-consumption to the rise of on-demand streaming over movie theater attendance. The internet doesn’t help, delivering endless content with every scroll. If people want more of something, it is easy to get it. There is no line drawn, nobody asks themselves if they should get more of something.
Especially with Disney, it’s common to see the company beating a story to death. Personally, I could have been perfectly happy stopping at Toy Story 3 or even 4. Unfortunately, Toy Story 5 dropped this month with an ending that hints at a sixth movie. Personally, I have no inclination to see it. I cried my eyes out in the theater watching Toy Story 4; it felt like the end of an era. In my mind, and in the words of Bird, that story is over.
That was all very negative, so on the brighter side, there are some amazing original stories coming out now. Obsession and Project Hail Mary (yes, I know it was based on a book) are incredible examples of recent movies that proved audiences still want to see original stories on the big screen. Shows like Widow’s Bay and The Pitt did the same. There is hope yet. Thank you, Mr. Bird!