The Ratatouille That Never Was

Most know something about the controversial development of Ratatouille. The film was conceived, originally developed by and, for years, being directed by Jan Pinkava. Then, after a screening of story reels and meetings about the direction Pinkava was heading with the film, he was replaced as director by Brad Bird. This had never happened before at Pixar, this removal of a project's instigator from the director's chair and many found it something of a shock. According to internet opinion, either they'd sold one of their artists down the river and squashed his personal vision or they'd rescued a failing film from indulgence and lack of focus because it was going nowhere, and expensively so. Or both.



Jim Hill Media have a look at the Art of Ratatouille book and have taken the time to single out material that relates to the aborted version of the film. Below you can see an early Remy, looking rather scrawny, and some original title designs - when the film had a different title, of course - but there's a good handful more, including a look at Remy's now non-existent mother.