November 30, 2007

Ratatouille

Luna and I have both wanted to watch Ratatouille since we first saw the trailer. This is Pixar's latest film, and was directed by Brad Bird. We watched it with my parents because they were here helping us fix up the backyard.

I really liked it. There was a lot of fun stuff in there, and of course it's a movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Although the main character of the story is a rat, the human characters also play a large role and look very similar to the style used in The Incredibles. I was sort of hoping the people would look more realistic, or have some more texture to them.

I always like to try and find the new technological advances that Pixar put into their films. Each film usually adds something new but subtle. I think there were two things they worked on specifically for Ratatouille: reflections and crowds. A lot of action takes place in the restaurant kitchen, and that means pots and pans and lots of shiny surfaces reflecting all over the place. It was not focused on, but I think a lot of attention went into making sure those reflections looked real and were accurate. And a lot of action involves lots and lots of rats. In previous films, the crowds were composed of individuals that pretty much did the same thing (e.g. A Bug's Life or Finding Nemo). In Ratatouille, each individual is doing something unique and independent. There was one scene that was particularly nice involving all of the rats in the kitchen.

Posted by josuah at November 30, 2007 7:04 AM UTC+00:00