Book Review: Art of Ratatouille

June 8, 2007 by Parka

This is my fifth art book from Pixar.

In typical Pixar art book fashion, the pages are filled with concept drawings, visualizations and the thought process that went behind the production of Ratatouille. Through these pages, you'll come to a realization that their success is no fluke.

The creators travelled to France to research on the restaurants, food and the people. The effort and level of detail they put into the research can be clearly seen from the artwork from the book. The concept art and renders of the food in 3D made me imagine how they will taste if they were actually real.

You'll be able to see a lot of character designs for the humans as well as the rats. Sculpted models are also provided in photos. The storyboards, as you'll see plenty, are followed strictly in the movie. The compositions and lighting are the art form itself.

This book is filled with life and food, just like the movie. It makes for a perfect coffee table book.

Stocks do run out for art books, even from amazon.com. So if you're into buying artbooks, do so fast. You really don't want to miss this, especially if you're a Pixar fan.

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If you buy from any links on the blog, I get a little commission that helps me get more art books to feature.

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Comments

We have this book and The Art

Jay Bell (not verified)
September 15, 2009,
50 weeks 2 days ago
Comment id: 691

We have this book and The Art of Wall-E. Out of the other "art of" Pixar books, which would you say is the best that we don't have? They all look so good that it's hard to choose. I really appreciate your reviews, by the way!

@Jay Bell You should check

Parka
September 15, 2009,
50 weeks 2 days ago
Comment id: 692

@Jay Bell
You should check out To Infinity And Beyond which is my favourite. If you just have to get one, get this one. It has art, film stills and the history of Pixar.

Toy Story's art book just got reprinted. That one's pretty good as well. Lots of sketches art created with traditional medium.

And The Art of Finding Nemo. I love Ralph Eggleston's pastel drawings, like the one on the cover.

Hi Parka, I live in the UK

Anonymous (not verified)
February 21, 2010,
27 weeks 5 days ago
Comment id: 1400

Hi Parka,

I live in the UK and I am looking for a copy of 'The Art of Ratatouille'. It seems to be out of stock everywhere.

Do you know where I could get a copy?

Thanks

@Anonymous Amazon Canada

Parka
February 21, 2010,
27 weeks 5 days ago
Comment id: 1401

@Anonymous
Amazon Canada still have a few copies left.

Or you can try searching with its ISBN 0811858340 online.

You should check your local bookshops to see if they still have any leftover stocks.

Thanks that's great. I will

Anonymous (not verified)
February 21, 2010,
27 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 1402

Thanks that's great.
I will probably check a few shops etc and then will probably buy from Canada.

Parka, is there more

Leirin (not verified)
February 25, 2010,
27 weeks 16 hours ago
Comment id: 1421

Parka, is there more traditional art in this book in comparison to "The Art of Up"? While I really enjoyed that book I must say there was a lack of pastels and paintings, and I'd like to know if "The Art of Ratatouille" has more of those. Thank you!

@leirin It's a mixture of

Parka
February 25, 2010,
27 weeks 15 hours ago
Comment id: 1422

@leirin
It's a mixture of digital art and traditional stuff. Dominique Louis does the pastels for the art, some traditional, some digital over set renders. I would say it's one of the better Pixar art books I enjoy reading, together with The Art of Monsters Inc and The Art of Finding Nemo.