It is a huge collaborative effort where the film’s production designer Harley Jessup and many other artists experiment with designs and color by creating both hand-made and computerized concept art. Getting to that point starts at the beginning of the filmmaking process while the characters and their environments are being conceived. It adds a layer of believability, a greater sense of gravity to the situations scripted in the film.

This approach to make the appearance of the film look like it was photographed by a cinematographer rather than colored by someone filling in shapes with a Wacom tablet and pen is key to final aesthetic in Ratatouille. Like all the Pixar films before it, it avoids the overtly saturated and segregated coloring, or unnaturally elastic character movements sometimes associated with computer-animated films, and instead boasts a visual look that resembles a well-photographed live action-film. Ratatouille also excels in the area of color and design. As unusual a setup as having a rat prepare food might seem, under director/writer Brad Bird’s care, the film moves with real conviction and contains something rather innovative - a screenplay that blends live-action storytelling and animated characters. With a premise that often defies convention, Ratatouille tells the tale of a full-grown rat named Remy whose passions in life take him from his family’s home in the French countryside to the kitchen of a fine Parisian restaurant where he becomes, of all things, a Master Chef. That Pixar’s Ratatouille, like the tale of artistry it tells, produces great art in unexpected places.

While the film delivered everything the fans were waiting for, there was something else they got, something many film critics picked up on immediately. The eighth feature film from Pixar, the industry’s leading computer animation studio, was immediately embraced by kids, parents and moviegoers alike as one of the best films of the year. Brad Bird’s highly anticipated second effort for Pixar, Ratatouille opened wide on June 29, 2007.

Ratatouille remy