The Art of Ratatouille

by John Lasseter (Foreword), Brad Bird (Introduction)

Pixar Animation Studios, the Academy Award-winning creator of the Toy Story films; A Bug's Life; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; and Cars, presents its latest feature, Ratatouille. In this charming story, Remy, a lovable rat (yes, a rat!) with a fine sense of smell and love for gourmet French food, rises to become a chef in the most famous restaurant in Paris - against all odds and with plenty of madcap adventures along the way. The Art of Ratatouille collects more than 200 of the artistic ingredients that went into making this heartwarming film: storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, sculpts, and more. With an introduction by executive producer John Lasseter, a forward by director/screenwriter Brad Bird, and extensive quotes from the artists, animators, and production tea, The Art of Ratatouille is a feast for the eyes, not to be missed.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Film, Reference, Media Tie In, Design, Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2007

About the author

John Lasseter is an American animator, film director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Reviews

[Gretel Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de las mejores películas de Pixar, con una moraleja muy poco usual en el cine; ya que las moralejas en el cine, tienden a ser mucho menos realistas; disfruté mucho viendo el arte de este gran filme.

[Anthony McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the film and I love this wonderful tribute to the production of the movie just as much.
The artwork is simply amazing!
And the team behind this superb edition deserve praise upon praise for their effort.

This 160-page gem features all the storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, scripts and loads more of the artistic ingredients that made "Ratatouille" such a charming delight.

I had no hesitation in awarding it top marks, but my cat can smell a rat and wasn't impressed one bit.
Are those claw marks in my copy?

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro de arte precioso e inspirador que me ha hecho llorar tanto como la película.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

er det virkelig noget chok at jeg, personen som så filmen 47 gange sidste år, har givet den her fem stjerner

[Ant Tellez · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.6/5.0

A film that felt like it was way ahead of its time, the adventures of Remy and his exuberant joy for food is a story that is unique on many levels for the Disney company that ultimately has provided a glimpse of just how wide the range can be for sharing stories that cater to a larger audience. From the detail of the Paris location to the ambiance of the scents and tastes of France, this is surely one of Pixar's finest moments.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

WARNING! There are big, hairy rodents in this book! But don't worry, they won't bite... and the art is great.

[calamity (katherine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best secret santa present to date! My ratatouille-lover heart is ever more growing.

[callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot to log I finished it a while back. Not really a book that takes long to read. Just quite fascinating dive into the intricate process of making the movie and the many stages they took while designing the world, even how the characters would move in it and the looks of each character. One that I’ll definitely drop back into every now and then - such a peak movie.

[Mireille Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe this book was on my to-read shelf since Christmas 2009, but there we are! Had to literally dust it off before I started it.

It's a really beautiful book, obviously. It's split into three main sections, basically rats, food and Paris, and food was my favorite, because, well, food. Rats were interesting too, with info about how they worked hard to make rats appealing and also differentiate them from one another. Paris is obviously beautiful but I did feel that this art was a little less original - it's shorter than the rest, though, so it was all good. I also felt like there was enough written info - some of these Art of books are all art and no text, and I like a good balance of both.

My favorite piece of art was a pencil and marker very detailed layout of the kitchen (page 78), with an honorable mention to the Nutcracker-like art of Remy amongst the cakes with powdered sugar-snow falling on him (page 102).

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le doy tan solo tres estrellas de cinco, no porque no me haya gustado. Sinceramente estos libros del arte en las películas Disney me encantan y los disfruto muchísimo, sino más bien porque pienso que en cuanto a la información artística y documental, la inspiración, creo que se queda bastante corto con respecto a otros libros de Chronicle Books, por lo menos desde mi punto de vista.

Positivo: las ilustraciones por encima de todo.
Negativo: escasa información. Me hubiese gustado que ahondase más en el trabajo de documentación y representación de la ciudad de París.

Nota: hay que tener en cuenta que Ratatouille se lanzó en 2007 por lo que este libro tiene ya más de 10 años, lo que hace bastante normal que la composición del mismo sea basado más en la muestra de los bocetos iniciales, que en narrar el trabajo de campo realizado (como por ejemplo con libros como The Art of Frozen o The Art of Coco).

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It was pretty much exactly what you'd expect, and it didn't seem like the movie had too many huge changes throughout production, so it was pretty straight forward as far as the story aspect goes. I found it really interesting because of how old the film is, being a film made in the early 2000s, the artists and animators talked a lot about their struggles due to lack of technology, or learning to use the technology they had, which isn't something any of the other "Art Of" books I've read had to do. Overall, a good book. I'd definitely recommend for fans of the movie who want to see some behind the scenes.

[Galy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una vez más esta colección de libros me maravilla.

Me ha gustado mucho ver los bocetos de los personajes, los escenarios de París en los que se inspiraron y las ideas que les fueron surgiendo para crear esta preciosa película.

Desde los humanos hasta las ratas de la historia tienen muchas ideas pensadas en su diseño.

Le doy cuatro estrellas porque me habría gustado saber aún más de la idea de la historia y cómo fue evolucionando.

[malu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 if I could

This book is a beautiful collection of the art and visual development of one of Pixar’s best movies.

However, the breakdown/organization of the book feels random at times, and it doesn’t help that most of the text is quotes and tidbits rather than behind the scenes storytelling.

There’s a few paragraphs that give more insight, I just wish there was more! I also wish they covered more areas of the filmmaking process. Visual development is my favorite, but I think covering the score, the cast, the internal production journey, etc is so enriching in art-of animation books, so I really missed this here.

Beautiful vis dev tho!

[Cecily Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratatouille is one of my favorite Pixar movies, and this book gives great insight into the film. The concept art is beautiful, and I especially loved the quotes from the artists about the film, plus the entire chapter devoted to their research in Paris. Wonderful.

[Negar · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're pirates, we're artists... We are cooks!

[Alyssa DeLeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was put together so well. Every corner has something interesting. There is good info, but not tons of reading, which I always appreciate in an art book. It's nice to know background, but I'm not looking for a novel! Really neat to see the creative process take place. This is a great book just for casual reading or to serve as a coffee table book.

[Arie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still the best book on concept art that I've seen (and the film is utterly lovely of course)

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

See, I always knew Pixar did a great job with their movies, but hooey! This book was such a delight.

Ratatouille has a vast range of atmospheres ranging from the rich warmth of French kitchens to its rat-infested sewers. This book goes into all of that. From the way they put extra care into the detail of the floors to account for the low view point of the rats to the way they caricatured the city of Paris itself, every choice of this movie was filled with intentionality and ingenuity. I adored the character sketches and the storyboards. And I loved their approaches to food and atmosphere. There was so much TALENT in this book. Ugh I loved it. Ok I just put on Ratatouille, so I gotta go. Highly recommend!!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely stunning, Ratatouille is my favourite Disney Pixar film and seeing the art behind the film was amazing. It is split into three parts: A rats life, Anyone can cook, and Paris. As someone who has pet rats I loved seeing the creators' process and designs behind the rats in the film and I loved seeing all the original drawings for each character.

There isn't anything I disliked about this book and I will definitely flick through it again in the future, If you like the film Ratatouille, you will enjoy this book! You don't even need to know anything about art or filmmaking to enjoy it.

[Sil_entre_libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro magnífico, lo que más me ha gustado es como fueron a París y ver la ciudad con los ojos de una rata como lo miraría Remy también me ha gustado como fueron a restaurantes parisinos para crear esta magnífica película y como querían conseguir que la gente al ver esta peli salieran del cine muriéndose de hambre la verdad para mi es un libro súper bonito y con muchísima información aparte de bocetos y fotografías reales de lugares donde fueron los creadores para luego transpasarlas a la película, me ha encantado de principio a fin ❤❤❤

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022: At the time of this review, Ratatouille is my favorite Pixar film, so naturally, I’m biased. The artwork is stunning and all the little details put into the project are incredible. What really gets me is the choice of adjectives used to describe the characters, whether in design or personality. Such examples would include describing Skinner and Linguini as a “Little tornado” and a “weak noodle” to describing Ego as “the Grim Eater”; those little elements had me cracking up!

[Lauren Burridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the film/animation, and behind-the-scenes stuff interests you, then I highly recommend this book. Not only does it show the incredible thought and effort put into creating this film, but it shows just how visionary and dedicated the people at Pixar are at what they do with their projects.

[Armonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quel plaisir de plonger dans les coulisses de mon Pixar préféré !! Le livre, à l'image du film, est magnifique. J'ai trouvé qu'il y avait un bon équilibre entre texte et illustrations. C'est un "art of" essentiellement centré sur la création des personnages, plus de détails sur la nourriture et les plats n'auraient pas été de trop.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book, seeing the inside thinking of the movies is amazing and how it evolved is just lovely. The only thing I would is that the design of the book itslef could be better, but that's just me being picky.

[Hannah Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything I wanted out of an art book.

Absolutely stunning art bracketed by quotes from the countless people who brought one of my favorite stories to life. The love and dedication that went into this movie is insurmountable.

[Diogo Saraiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belo livro, mas esperava mais informações das pesquisas de campo e decisões de direção de arte.

[Niko Hyppönen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahtavaa taidetta mahtavasta elokuvasta.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Irene (mercurybooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especial como la película.✨

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

635 - 2020