EPCOT Remy's Ratatouille Adventure coming to Epcot

[DonaldDoleWhip]

dunno whether to do a or a . All good points made!

Ah, so if I enjoy the ride as is, I'm a big, fat, sloppy rat.

Okay by me!

For sure - it's not a judgment across any dimension besides curiosity sparked by the experience.

In Epcot of all parks, it feels weird to have such an easy, commonsense opportunity to support guests' intellectual curiosity, and shut it down because who cares. If that's what we're getting with Epcot 3.0, I have no hope for the park, but at least Guardians should be fun.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Half French dialogue is not what will keep people from understanding the ride. Half of the people in their Ratmobile talking the entire ride will do that.

Personally, I’m sick and tired of not understanding what the hell Donald is saying in PhilharMagic! Speak English, Man!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Speaking of curiosity to understand a language, I'm around 10-11 years out from my last French class (miss those days, I loved studying French and Italian in school), and it's definitely harder to maintain a language once you're in the real world.

This site has been a big help to me, as well as News in French (daily emails) and this podcast. Also, anything you watch on streaming (even Ratatouille on Disney+), you can change the language and throw on English subtitles.

As Gusteau would probably say, anyone can learn French! I'm hoping after riding Ratatouille, people are inspired to actually do so.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Let's just say there are going to be two different reactions to Ratatouille having ~50% French dialogue.

View attachment 581990

If you're an Emile, you're content with eating the slop presented to you and have no need to question anything. Of course it makes sense! There's enough context. Who cares what they're saying? Oh la la, it's in French so it's cultural! Where's my next sugary snack coming from?

View attachment 581991

If you're a Remy, on the other hand, you're curious and inspired by the experience, potentially well-versed in French already. If the latter isn't true, you'd still like to better understand what you heard, even if you're not exactly sure how to spell it.

It's really not a big ask for Disney to provide some phrase translations that satisfy the curious guests out there, but a plot-based attraction with around half of its dialogue in another language is new territory for WDW. O Canada or some throway lines on Maelstrom aren't comparable.

Again, if the language were a more challenging one (say Mandarin or Japanese), it would be really strange to bring it to WDW untranslated, and it's really a very minor courtesy to feed any curiosity the attraction sparks. To those who aren't particularly interested in learning what was said, good for you! Doesn't mean something like this would go unappreciated.

There’s far more French in Canada Far & Wide than Rat

 

[GimpYancIent]

Speaking of curiosity to understand a language, I'm around 10-11 years out from my last French class (miss those days, I loved studying French and Italian in school), and it's definitely harder to maintain a language once you're in the real world.

This site has been a big help to me, as well as News in French (daily emails) and this podcast. Also, anything you watch on streaming (even Ratatouille on Disney+), you can change the language and throw on English subtitles.

As Gusteau would probably say, anyone can learn French! I'm hoping after riding Ratatouille, people are inspired to actually do so.

Can always down load a translator app to your phone and Voila!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

There’s far more French in Canada Far & Wide than Rat

Yes, but most of it's in the background while Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara charm the audience. Ratatouille in WDW is pretty unprecedented as a fast-paced, plot-driven attraction.

Again, some people will have no desire to understand, and that's fine! The crêpes are that way. But others do, and I'd be significantly more impressed by Disney if they actually supported that curiosity. Not a big ask by any means.

Can always down load a translator app to your phone and Voila!

Actually not a great way to learn a language from scratch, especially with all the extraneous soundbites on something like Ratatouille. Plus you'd need to be able to spell what you heard, which is significantly harder when the speaking is quick and the language isn't phonetic.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Let's just say there are going to be two different reactions to Ratatouille having ~50% French dialogue.

View attachment 581990

If you're an Emile, you're content with eating the slop presented to you and have no need to question anything. Of course it makes sense! There's enough context. Who cares what they're saying? Oh la la, it's in French so it's cultural! Where's my next sugary snack coming from?

View attachment 581991

If you're a Remy, on the other hand, you're curious and inspired by the experience, potentially well-versed in French already. If the latter isn't true, you'd still like to better understand what you heard, even if you're not exactly sure how to spell it.

It's really not a big ask for Disney to provide some phrase translations that satisfy the curious guests out there, but a plot-based attraction with around half of its dialogue in another language is new territory for WDW. O Canada or some throway lines on Maelstrom aren't comparable.

Again, if the language were a more challenging one (say Mandarin or Japanese), it would be really strange to bring it to WDW untranslated, and it's really a very minor courtesy to feed any curiosity the attraction sparks. To those who aren't particularly interested in learning what was said, good for you! Doesn't mean something like this would go unappreciated.

I think a phrase book for the Ratatouille ride would be about a page long. It is not a dialogue-heavy ride.

But, sure, bring a phrase book and some reading glasses with you on the ride and perhaps even try out a phrase or two on the cartoon chefs if it helps you feel more erudite.

 

[dreday3]

I think a phrase book for the Ratatouille ride would be about a page long. It is not a dialogue-heavy ride.

But, sure, bring a phrase book and some reading glasses with you on the ride and perhaps even try out a phrase or two on the cartoon chefs if it helps you feel more erudite.

That's served with a side of ranch for dipping right?

Oh wait, that's crudité.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

That's served with a side of ranch for dipping right?

Oh wait, that's crudité.

You know what, the French will just be happy you made an effort!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I think a phrase book for the Ratatouille ride would be about a page long. It is not a dialogue-heavy ride.

But, sure, bring a phrase book and some reading glasses with you on the ride and perhaps even try out a phrase or two on the cartoon chefs if it helps you feel more erudite.

Exactly. All the more reason it would be completely low-effort, high-impact, for those who are actually interested.

Again, I don’t need it for myself, but if I spoke no French at all, I’d certainly appreciate it. There’s no way I’m alone there.

 

[ToTBellHop]

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

View attachment 581996

The ironic thing is I probably speak more French than most on the other side of this conversation. Just trying to have empathy for others who may want to learn something from what they heard.

(In retrospect, speaking French is very Karen. Now where’s the manager?)

 

[DisneyDodo]

If Disney were building Rat from scratch for WDW, there is 0 chance half would be in French. They're doing this for no reason other than that it's the easiest/cheapest route for them. They may try to pass it off as an attempt to make the ride more authentic or educational, but that is certainly not the motivation. The vast majority of guests riding this will not understand half the dialog, and nobody is learning a single word of French from it. Throwing in some well-known French words like "bonjour" can make it feel more authentically French. Repeating every line in two different languages OTOH is not productive unless you are dealing with a multilingual audience. To be clear, I'm not concerned that people won't know what's going on, given that the English more-or-less mirrors the French. The downside here is that in an attraction that is only X minutes long, X/2 minutes will be somewhat "wasted" (not completely, but not used to their maximum potential).

It's not the biggest deal, and I still look forward to riding, but I definitely see it as a negative.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

If Disney were building Rat from scratch for WDW, there is 0 chance half would be in French. They're doing this for no reason other than that it's the easiest/cheapest route for them. They may try to pass it off as an attempt to make the ride more authentic or educational, but that is certainly not the motivation. The vast majority of guests riding this will not understand half the dialog, and nobody is learning a single word of French from it. Throwing in some well-known French words like "bonjour" can make it feel more authentically French. Repeating every line in two different languages OTOH is not productive unless you are dealing with a multilingual audience. To be clear, I'm not concerned that people won't know what's going on, given that the English more-or-less mirrors the French. The downside here is that in an attraction that is only X minutes long, X/2 minutes will be somewhat "wasted" (not completely, but not used to their maximum potential).

It's not the biggest deal, and I still look forward to riding, but I definitely see it as a negative.

Exactly. There’s a clear difference between the “Luca” strategy (sprinkling in a few words for emotion, emphasis, and charm, which the movie did to great effect), and a near 50-50 split.

Again, doesn’t bother me, as I understand most of it! Plus the visual context certainly helps, and nobody’s truly in the dark for very long. Still, in Epcot of all parks, it wouldn’t take much at all to satisfy those whose curiosity is piqued. Not doing so will always be lazy.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Exactly. All the more reason it would be completely low-effort, high-impact, for those who are actually interested.

Again, I don’t need it for myself, but if I spoke no French at all, I’d certainly appreciate it. There’s no way I’m alone there.

But it's a little like creating an English language phrasebook for non-English speakers going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride: it wouldn't really help language acquisition or cross-cultural literacy as the attraction isn't designed for that. It may help non-English speakers understand the ride a little better, but that is completely unnecessary here because Ratatouille was designed so that English and French speakers could understand it simultaneously.

Not to mention that the whole attraction relies on people looking at screens wearing 3D glasses. Handing out sheets or booklets with phrases used in the ride for people to read risks them doing just that through the attraction and missing the whole experience.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

But it's a little like creating an English language phrasebook for non-English speakers going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride: it wouldn't really help language acquisition or cross-cultural literacy as the attraction isn't designed for that. It may help non-English speakers understand the ride a little better, but that is completely unnecessary here because Ratatouille was designed so that English and French speakers could understand it simultaneously.

Not to mention that the whole attraction relies on people looking at screens wearing 3D glasses. Handing out sheets or booklets with phrases used in the ride for people to read risks them doing just that through the attraction and missing the whole experience.

The solution I’m envisioning would be phrases people can look up either before or after riding (e.g. a simple extension of either MDE or Play Disney Parks).

Would hate for people to be buried in their phones or a phrase book during the attraction, completely agreed there.

Come to think of it, this feels like something Disney should be doing anyway for each pavilion in World Showcase. Just some basic phrases or greetings - I imagine many would love it! Would certainly be more interesting and engaging than Dumbo trivia or making a light flicker in the Peter Pan queue.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Come to think of it, this feels like something Disney should be doing anyway for each pavilion in World Showcase. Just some basic phrases or greetings - I imagine many would love it! Would certainly be more interesting and engaging than Dumbo trivia or making a light flicker in the Peter Pan queue.

That would actually be a great addition to World Showcase. Particularly once they get all the cultural representatives back.

I could, for example, imagine having a little booth or table where people could try out some phrases and responses and each country and get stamps in a passport or something that way. As you say, far better that most of the interactive stuff they've come up with the apps and they can still use the apps to provide phrases, responses, pronunciation, etc. Maybe even do some kind of promotion with some kind of language app or learning service.

I am completely on board with you on this!

 

[ToTBellHop]

The solution I’m envisioning would be phrases people can look up either before or after riding (e.g. a simple extension of either MDE or Play Disney Parks).

Would hate for people to be buried in their phones or a phrase book during the attraction, completely agreed there.

Come to think of it, this feels like something Disney should be doing anyway for each pavilion in World Showcase. Just some basic phrases or greetings - I imagine many would love it! Would certainly be more interesting and engaging than Dumbo trivia or making a light flicker in the Peter Pan queue.

Whenever I took my kids to Kidcot stops (back when the Cultural Exchange staffed them), they’d learn a few phrases in the language. We stopped by every country on Christmas Day 2019 and it was a wonderful experience.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

That would actually be a great addition to World Showcase. Particularly once they get all the cultural representatives back.

I could, for example, imagine having a little booth or table where people could try out some phrases and responses and each country and get stamps in a passport or something that way. As you say, far better that most of the interactive stuff they've come up with the apps and they can still use the apps to provide phrases, responses, pronunciation, etc. Maybe even do some kind of promotion with some kind of language app or learning service.

I am completely on board with you on this!

Thank you - I promise I’m not trying to be a total Karen or protest the use of another language in the parks!

On the contrary, it would be so very Epcot to support guests who have that initial spark to learn more, rather than shrug and say, “you’re on your own, have you tried Google Translate?”

Shouldn’t be limited to the kids, either - plenty of adults missed their chance to learn another language (or it’s been decades since their last Spanish class), and I can’t imagine this would go unappreciated.

I like the idea so much, I may even suggest it at Guest Relations when I’m next in the park. Don’t expect anything to happen from there, but frankly it seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[TikibirdLand]

Thank you - I promise I’m not trying to be a total Karen or protest the use of another language in the parks!

On the contrary, it would be so very Epcot to support guests who have that initial spark to learn more, rather than shrug and say, “you’re on your own, have you tried Google Translate?”

Shouldn’t be limited to the kids, either - plenty of adults missed their chance to learn another language (or it’s been decades since their last Spanish class), and I can’t imagine this would go unappreciated.

I like the idea so much, I may even suggest it at Guest Relations when I’m next in the park. Don’t expect anything to happen from there, but frankly it seems like a no-brainer to me.

had to FORCE my kids to take Spanish in HS. You'd thought I punished them! I so wished I learned it when I was in school. But, learning BASIC counted as a language so I got out of my language requirement!