This article originally appeared in the Food print issue, in stands February 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
Food is a powerful form of ethos. The smell of chicken noodle soup is reminiscent of a warm feeling in your stomach on a cold day. One bite of your mom’s pumpkin bread recipe brings homesickness to the forefront of your mind.
In the world of cinema, filmmakers use every technique at their disposal. From character interaction to score, they pour emotion out of the screen and into the hearts of their audience. However, the aspect of on-screen performance that is often overlooked is one of the most effective.
Directors have been known to use food to evoke emotional responses from their characters and viewers.
Food is often used as a prop in the film industry, a way to keep characters busy during scenes. Unless the camera lingers on it for more than a second or two, the audience might not pay attention to it. However, there is much to be said about the cultural histories and emotions attached to cuisine. Food can highlight underlying emotions coursing through a character’s mind without explicitly stating them. It could be considered one of the great storytellers in cinema.
The Heart is in the Stomach
“Ratatouille,” a Pixar Animation film directed by Brad Bird, is one of the most celebrated food-centered films of all time. The film follows Remy the rat on his journey to becoming a professional chef in Paris.
As a hidden marionettist, Remy transforms Linguini, the restaurant’s garbage boy, into a culinary success that attracts the attention of the media. Anton Ego is a brooding French food critic known for his harsh reviews. He notices the ratatouille dish Remy (Linguini) is famous for and comes in for a taste.
With one bite, Ego’s cold, hard shell cracks as the dish reminds him of the familiar taste of his childhood. Although this scene is only one of several that centers around food, it seems to be the most memorable. The director humanized a character who was meant to be seen as a villain with a single frame and almost no script at all.
The story of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has been adapted into many cinematic versions over the years. No matter the rendition, the films all use magical candy as a metaphor for karmic consequences.
As the children embark on a tour of the factory, their bad habits have them removed from the tour with a taste of candy. The story spotlights the fluctuating innocence of childhood and the candy serves as a reminder of the consequences of delinquency.
The driving force of Tiana’s ambition in “The Princess and the Frog” is her desire to open a restaurant. Her sale of beignets to buy her building depicts how food can be used as a plot catapult. However, her family’s gumbo recipe is at the precipice of her desire to own a place where cultural cuisine can shine. The whole plot line of the film erupted from her passion for her family and the connection that they share through food.
Tastes Like Laughter
Food not only carries emotional baggage, but it can also help release it. Food can also be used as a form of slapstick comedy in film. “Alice in Wonderland” is a recognizable example of this technique, as it uses cake to make Alice grow to the size of a giant and a drinkable treat to shrink her down to miniature. The visual is so silly, yet for some reason, it works.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” is one example, outside of animation, in which this works in a generationally memorable way. Mrs. Doubtfire, a film directed by Chris Columbus, engages with the idea of cross-dressing as a form of disguise. Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) uses a female disguise in order to spend time with his children and win back the heart of his estranged ex-wife.
In one scene, when a social worker almost discovers Williams’ identity, he dunks his face into the top of a pie to mask his features. The absurdity of the situation and the chaos that ensues as Williams attempts to maintain his disguise and keep decorum with his guest are what make the scene effective. It is almost cringeworthy when some of the pie filling drips off of his chin and into the social worker’s tea. It is comedy gold, and food is at its center.
