A fan theory is (re-)circulating online, essentially implying that the big third-act about-face made by Anton Ego in Ratatouille has an explanation baked subtly into the film itself.
Sharing a number of screen grabs from the movie, a Facebook account dedicated to Disney memes suggests that the reason Ego was so taken with Remy’s ratatouille is that the old woman whose kitchen Remy had lived in, and through whom he learned how to cook, is in fact Ego’s own mother.
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The claim is backed up by a number of items found in both houses, including some furniture and fixtures. Everything from the stove and the faucet to the fireplace and chairs.
The first scene is the one in which Remy is chased out of an aged woman’s home, as she fires on the rat with a shotgun after catching him cooking in her kitchen; the second is Ego’s flashback to his childhood.
The other side of that? One of the top comments arguing that it could just as likely be something more mundane: reusing animation elements because it saves time and money. Without a commentary track of other explanation from the filmmakers, it is difficult to make a definite determination.
You can check out the images in the attached gallery.
