RATATOUILLE: A STUDY OF SHAPE

• 27 Feb 2023
• khushi maheshwari
• Education

Welcome to my case study blog, where I delve into the fascinating world of shapes and their impact on character representation. As creators, we often use shapes to visually communicate character traits and enhance the overall personality of a character. For example, circles are commonly used to represent cuteness, friendliness, harmlessness, and even emptiness, while rectangles convey a sense of support, strength, sturdiness, and stubbornness. Triangles, on the other hand, often represent power, sharpness, evil, and danger. By analyzing the use of shapes in character design, I've discovered that each shape conveys a unique meaning that adds depth and richness to the story. When we see a character with a circular shape, we immediately perceive them as cute and friendly, while a rectangular shape may make them appear supportive and strong. The use of shapes in character design is especially important in visual storytelling mediums like animation, comics, and graphic novels. By utilizing different shapes, creators can enhance the audience's emotional response to a character. Now let’s see how in the movie “Ratatouille” this shape theory was used.

MOVIE NAME: RATATOUILLE(2007)

He is dying to become a chef

Remy is a rat who is risking his life in an expensive French restaurant of Auguste Gusteaus, his role model because of his love for good food and to become a good chef. He becomes the guardian angel of helpless garbage boy Alfredo Linguini for a dish. However, Chef Skinner, Gusteaus's new owner, and Anton Ego want to see Linguini fail. But the question remains. Can anyone cook?

Remy is the protagonist of Ratatouille. He is an average blue-sized rat who simply adores food and its qualities. His circle-shaped Eyes, Ears, and Nose represent he is cute, friendly, innocent, harmless, and a positive character in the movie.

Auguste Gusteau:He is a renowned and talented chef who wrote the bestseller "Anyone Can Cook" book and founded the restaurant Gusteau's. His circle-shaped face represents he was an innocent, kind, and friendly character. His cap and eyebrows which are rectangle-shaped indicate he was supportive.

Alfredo Linguini:Linguini, at the beginning of the film, is a very unsure and clumsy individual. His rectangle-shaped dress and cap represent he is supportive of Remy. He also shows a strong, kind-hearted, and helping personality.

Colette Tatou:Colette is the only female cook in Skinner's kitchen at Gusteau's. Her triangle-shaped nose and eyes represent that she was fierce, strong, and sharp-minded.

Emile:He is a brown color rat (his mother's fur color) which indicates the enthusiasm and supportive trait of his personality. His circle-shaped body represents he is a friendly, understanding, kind, trustworthy, and approachable character. He has a positive nature.

Anton Ego:Ego is a commanding and sarcastic food critic, whose reviews have been known to ruin restaurants. His triangle-shaped appearance indicates he was unpredictable and a smart person.

CONCLUSION

Shapes play a very important role in defining one's personality, whether it is a circle, oval, rectangle, or triangle. Shapes allow designers to convey their characteristics and emotions in a nonverbal way whose meaning applies to the whole universe.

In this movie, we can see that Remy is a circled shape character which represents he was a friendly, innocent, cute, harmless, and positive character whereas, Skinner has a triangle-shaped body which indicated that he was a sharp-minded and evil character.

In this movie, the artist has designed the characters keeping the shapes and their characteristics in the mind.