The same sub-surface light scattering technique that was used on skin in The Incredibles was used on fruits and vegetables, while new programs gave an organic texture and movement to the food. For the film's climax Keller designed a fancy layered version of the title dish for the rat characters to cook, which he called 'confit biyaldi' in honor of the original Turkish name. Celebrity chef Thomas Keller allowed producer Brad Lewis to intern in his French Laundry kitchen. He also prepared dishes used by the Art, Shade/Paint, Effects and Sets Modeling Departments. Sets/Layout Dept Manager Michael Warch, a culinary-academy trained professional chef prior to working at Pixar, helped teach and consult animators as they worked.

Gourmet chefs in both the US and France were consulted, and animators attended cooking classes at San Francisco-area culinary schools, to understand the workings of a commercial kitchen. A Pixar employee (Shade/Paint Dept Coordinator Kesten Migdal) wearing a chef uniform and apron jumped into Pixar's swimming pool to see which parts of the suit stuck to his body and which became translucent from water absorption.Ī challenge for the filmmakers was creating computer-generated food animations that would appear delicious. One scene has Linguini wet after jumping into the Seine to fetch Rémy. There are also many water-based sequences in the film, one of which is set in the sewers and ten times more complex than the blue whale scene in Finding Nemo. He killed off Gusteau and gave larger roles to Skinner and Colette, and also changed the appearance of the rats to be less anthropomorphic.īecause Ratatouille is intended to be a romantic, lush vision of Paris, giving it an identity distinct from previous Pixar films, director Brad Bird, producer Brad Lewis and some of the crew spent a week in the city to properly understand its environment, taking a motorcycle tour and eating at five top restaurants. Bird rewrote the story, with a change in emphasis. Bird was also delighted that the film could be made a highly physical comedy, with the character of Linguini providing endless fun for the animators. Bird was attracted to the film because of the outlandishness of the concept and the conflict that drove it: that kitchens feared rats, yet a rat wanted to work in one. Pixar management replaced him with Bird in 2005. Jan Pinkava came up with the concept and directed the film from 2000, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline.

Skinner ratatouille