The Art of Ratatouille - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
From the hit-makers at Pixar Animation Studios who brought us Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, and Mr. Incredible, now comes Remy, the furry star of Ratatouille. A lovable rat (yes, a rat!), Remy is driven by his passion for fine cuisine to become a chef against all odds and with madcap adventures along the way at the most famous restaurant in Paris. The Art of Ratatouille includes more than 200 of the artistic ingredients in this heartwarming film: storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, maquettes, and more. In this exclusive movie tie-in book for adults, effusive quotes from the director, artists, animators, and production team reveal the genius at work inside the studio that changed cartoon heroes forever.

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

One of PIXAR's best July 8, 2007
13 out of 24 found this review helpful

Ratatouille was one of the more sophisticated films PIXAR has done so far. While at first the story seems simple about a protagonist who is different, the film eventually moves beyond this and involves multiple secondary protagonists each with their own set of problems, and conflicts. Remy and his desire to cook is very similar to the ant in Antz, or Nemo in Finding Nemo. Each of the characters from those two films is different and goes against the grain. This theme is very common in kids films and has been done to death. Ratatouille starts with this theme but quickly moves past it, almost discards it. Eventually Linguini brings his own set of backwards awkward problems to the film. These are more akin to something the average viewer can relate to. I could relate to him more than any character in the film. Each character either consciously or inadvertently helps or hinders the characters around them. this scenario goes back and forth a few time and is very amusing as it happens.

Finally when the film has taken every conceivable avenue of humor, miscommunication, and character arcs possible it delivers a great ending. The food critic Ego, who had the most amazing designs in the film surrounding him, from the coffin shaped room to the skull styled typewriter, comes in as the final antagonist up against just about every character save Skinner and the health inspector. All the dialogue he delivers in his final review sums up everything I feel about critics in general. How the Ratatouille dish, which until then seemed to be nothing more than just a clever title, finally comes into play as Ego's review dish which awakens his peasant upbringing is pure brilliance. The film is basically critic proof, since any critic being harsh on this film will come across as ignorant, unintelligent and uncaring.

In the end all is lost, or so it would seem. Finally we see that what seems like bad luck and unfortunate events delivers all the characters into new situations that they are all far more happy in, rather than the old high pressure situations they were working so hard to maintain. This is good advice for all of us in life. Move towards what you want and what you want to do. Staying in uncomfortable situations and trying to make it work year after year must be just pure torture. Colette, Linguini, Remy all wind up happy. Even Ego has a change of heart and turns to the good side. As far as Skinner goes, well not everyone is capible of change. Too bad for Skinner.

The art in this film was amazing, hence the art in this book is amazing, ergo, buy this book and be amazed. I did and I am the better for it.

Happy viewing everyone.

carbonadam

2 out of 5 stars

Just O.K. July 28, 2007
11 out of 16 found this review helpful

I think some reviewers are confusing the movie with the book. The film is amazingly brilliant. The book is not. At least not compared to a book like "The Art of The Incredibles". I just don't feel like I learned much or was shown the wide variety of possible character designs like in the previous Incredibles book. Sorry, just nothing exciting here.

5 out of 5 stars

A Wonderful Book... June 26, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a wonderful book with great pre-production work to pour over. From traditional animator's drawings, to maquette sculptures, to pastel scene layouts, as well as digital efforts, you can find plenty to be impressed with.

Unlike some "art of" books, this one does not disappoint.

5 out of 5 stars

Great! June 14, 2007
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

Lots of preproduction art, just as great as the other PIXAr-Art of-books...a Must-Have!

4 out of 5 stars

Worth the investment July 15, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I will allow you to form your own opinion of the film and simply focus on this book. Overall, it is what you would expect. Everything from rough pose and character design sketches to chalk and pastel color tests that are rich and lavish and as beautifully executed as we have all come to expect from Pixar. Whether you simply love the movie, are an aspiring animator or storyboard artist or just like pretty pictures, I feel you could enjoy and be inspired by the work and the descriptions in this book. In the end, I always want to see more or even have a more linear exploration of the process and the inspriation and development along the way. However, I am an animator and artist, so my perception and expectation is quite biased. Either way, the closest comparison of quality and of content would the Art of the Incredibles so if you cannot simply find this in a Barnes and Noble or local book seller, you can look at the Art of the Incredibles and set you expectations with that benchmark.

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