Pixar Era Analysis – Ratatouille
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 27 of Pixar’s animated feature films and their film making eras.
The second era is the Merger Era, which ran from 2006 to 2010 and started with Cars. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Merger Era is known as the first Era after Disney purchased Pixar in early-to-mid 2006. The Merger Era is known for films that continued to tell imaginative and original stories (with the exception of Toy Story 3), showing further development of computer generated animation, and focusing on more mature and darker themes, as well as realism.
So how did Ratatouille measure up to the above features of the Merger Era?
Continuing to tell imaginative and original stories (with the exception of Toy Story 3):
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, Jan Pinkava came up with the film’s concept in 2000, creating the design, sets, characters and core plot. After Pinkava left Pixar in 2005, Brad Bird was hired to direct the film and was apparently attracted to working on it because of the outlandish concept and the central conflict in the core plot: that rats feared kitchens, yet a rat wanted to work in one. Bird also rewrote the story: changing the emphasis, killing off Gusteau, giving larger roles to Skinner and Colette, and changed the appearance of the rats to be less anthropomorphic.
Showing further development of computer generated animation:
According to the film’s IMDb page, pet rats were kept at the studio in the hallway for more than a year so that the animators could study the movement of their fur, nose, ears, paws, and tails. Pixar also dressed someone in a chef suit and put them in a swimming pool to see which parts of the clothing stuck to their body and which parts could be seen through, so the animators could accurately and realistically animate the scene where the Head Chef is wet.
The film’s IMDb page also states that the animation team worked alongside chef, Thomas Keller, at his restaurant, French Laundry, to learn the art of cooking. Similarly, to create a realistic-looking compost pile, artists photographed and researched the way real produce rots. The research included leaving fifteen different kinds of produce to rot and then be photographed. The filmmakers ended up creating over 270 pieces of food in their computers.
The film’s IMDb page also states that to save time and memory when animating, human characters were designed and animated without toes.
One interesting element of the animation were the moments where Remy was tasting or describing the taste of food. The background goes black and the tastes are shown with colourful, neon-like drawings, which reminded me of the surrealism-esque animation of Disney’s early films.
Focusing on more mature and darker themes, as well as realism:
I personally found the beginning of the film to be a little grim due to the immediate conflict shown between rats and humans – rats are wary of the humans because of the human’s instinct to kill rats. I also believe that the muted colour scheme contributed to this feeling.
One very obvious mature theme present was illegitimate children and inheritance, especially as Ratatouille is the first Disney/Pixar film to feature a main character of illegitimate parentage. According to the film’s IMDb page, all other main characters were either orphaned, had both parents married and living, or had one living widowed parent. Another mature and darker theme present is selling out, with Skinner trying to make money off Gusteau’s name by having him appear on different types of inferior food products, like frozen foods, or foods of different cultures that Gusteau is not a part of. Linguini briefly appears to sell out a little when he lets the fame and riches of inheriting Gusteau’s and its increasing popularity go to his head, which culminates in taking credit for Remy’s work and briefly falling out with him.
There are some minor realism elements at play, such as the role of the health inspector, greed through Skinner, the real city setting, and the nostalgia and joys of home-cooked meals, through Anton tasting the ratatouille.
My overall thoughts:
Even though this is the second film of the Merger Era, it’s the first film produced after Disney bought Pixar. I feel that this is obvious through the muted colour palette, more obvious mature and darker themes, minor elements of realism, and grim feeling at the start of the film and its more comedic tone towards the end of it.
Ratatouille did share some elements with its predecessor, Cars, with main characters trying to make their dreams come true, and both films starting with a black screen and narration, as well as both main characters living somewhat of a double life.
Overall, I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would, and I did appreciate the darker elements and tone shift within the film.
The next part of the Pixar Era Analysis series to be released will focus on WALL-E.
Fun Facts and Trivia:
- Marketing tie-ins proved problematic for this film, as no food product company wanted to be associated with a rat.
- Veteran Disney animator, Victor Haboush, who worked on Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, and 101 Dalmatians, called this film “the best animated film since Pinocchio.”
- The room in which Anton Ego writes his review is coffin-shaped and the back of his typewriter resembles a skull face, because he writes “killer” reviews.
- This is the first Disney/Pixar film to be produced by Disney after they bought Pixar for $7.4 billion.
- The ratatouille that Remy prepares was designed by Thomas Keller, it’s a real recipe that takes at least four hours to make.
- Linguini is the first Pixar character to get drunk.
- The first Pixar film not to be released on VHS.
- Despite being the head chef of Gusteau’s, Skinner is never seen cooking in the film, preferring to bark orders to his employees and stay in his office instead.
- This is the third Pixar film after A Bug’s Life and Finding Nemo to display “The End” at the end. However, it is shown in French. This is the first Disney/Pixar film to show “The End” in another language.
- This is the third Pixar film to feature Brad Garrett after A Bug’s Life and Finding Nemo, as well as the only one where he voices a character with an accent.
- Whenever possible, Brad Bird had mainly female animators working on the character of Colette.
References:
Loveday Writing 