
The Ratatouille film poster is a picture of a rat, a red-haired boy, a little man and a tall woman. The boy and the rat are cooking something together. The film is produced by Pixar, which is owned by Disney, and this is addressed on the film cover.  The entirety of these main components of the cover is placed in a room overlooking Paris, which is represented by the Eiffel tower. Each one of these main components, including the background, help develop an atmosphere or a certain feeling that Pixar wants to impose on the audience, hoping they will go view the film.

First and foremost, the Pixar logo needs to be addressed. When speaking of animated movies, Disney and their lovechild Pixar practically have a monopoly in the industry. Not to say that they are the only companies which are allowed to create animated films, but their films gain credibility simply because of their brand. In the Ratatouille film poster, the “Pixar Disney” logo is placed almost directly in the center of the picture, alongside the title. The logo’s placement causes it to be a literal central theme in the picture, which is important as it functions as a strong selling point. A large, notable “Pixar Disney” logo is going to give the audience the pretense that the movie is accredited and worth watching. 

There are four characters on the poster. The rat is atop the sign that says “Ratatouille” and bears the “Pixar Disney” logo. The boy is below him and is cooking. These two characters are in the foreground. In the background you have the little man off to the right and the tall woman over to the left. The rat and the boy have large smiles on their faces and are looking at each other. The fact that the boy and the rat are in the foreground, are looking at each other, and both smiling help develop one of the biggest themes of the film cover and in the movie: preconceived notions in any industry limit the industry’s ability to be professional and its ability to grow. Ratatouille is a story about cooking, illustrated by the characters all cooking and wearing chef’s clothes on the cover. Whereas the story might be written about the cooking industry, it thematically is not limited to that. Any industry applies. As with many industries, age is viewed as a determining factor for applicants. Age doesn’t affect an applicant’s ability to do the job though. The ability to cook, for example, has no correlation with age. Someone aged 18, a legal adult, is just as capable of understanding the dynamics of cooking as a 50-year-old man. In fact, the younger boy is shown actively cooking, whereas the old man in the back is just standing and looking displeased. The old man is an antithesis to what the young boy represents.

The old man is shown with an ugly, discontented look on his face. Scoffing at the characters in the foreground, the man looks at them with disdain. He represents the problem of unaccepting industries. Not only is he the only character not cooking, but he is standing with his arms crossed. Crossing one’s arms is an incredibly ineffective way to cook, unsurprisingly. Also, he is shorter than every other character (well, excluding the rat, which I’m sure is quite a healthy size for his species). Placing him in the background looking angry, small, and idle makes him seem useless. He appears significantly older than the rest of the characters, which means nothing since he’s contributing nothing to the cooking that’s occurring in the photo. The character’s uselessness goes to show that age, among other factors, should not be a discriminating factor in any industry.

Whereas the old man functions as an antithesis to the young boy, the rat functions as a gross exaggeration of why discrimination is unhelpful within an industry. Rats are notorious for being dirty, disease-harboring creatures (See: bubonic plague). Obviously, rats don’t belong anywhere near food or equipment used to prepare food. Fortunately, Ratatouille is an animated film and no one is going to die due to a disease spread via rats. Showing the rat in the foreground, smiling and cooking with the young boy shows that he is a beneficial factor to the cooking industry. If a rat can function well within the cooking industry, anybody should be allowed within any industry regardless of race, gender, disability, or any other discriminating factor. 

The woman in the background also helps defend the theme of acceptance that the rat and young boy develop. She is cooking and smiling, much like the other two. The only difference is that she is in the background as opposed to the foreground, which is probably due to her role in the movie. She probably serves a minor role, as opposed to the major roles the foreground characters play. She is taller than the small, angry man, which goes to show that she is more significant to the restaurant industry.

The city of Paris, France is even further in the background, behind the two characters in the background. The background is depicted as Paris by showing the Eiffel tower, the Seine river and a big, modern city. France is historically significant in many ways, and it is very important within the restaurant industry. France is known for its pasta dishes, like rigatoni and ratatouille. It is also known for its baked goods, like croissants. France’s significance in the cooking industry makes it a fitting scene for a culinary-themed movie. Where the country of France is significant due to its importance within the cooking industry, setting it within the city of Paris is more important. Paris, being a big city, is full of modern architecture and has a progressive standard. Big cities like Paris are where industry grows the most and where acceptance within industries is the most needed. A movie about two characters proving their worth within an industry works well within a progressive city like Paris. 

So, the film poster functions as an advertisement to try to convince the audience to watch the film Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a film about acceptance within industry, specifically the restaurant industry. Regardless of the film’s restaurant industry setting, any audience is going to be able to relate to its theme of acceptance. Everyone has had a “Ratatouille” moment, when they’ve found some activity or group they love but have difficulty fitting in. Not feeling accepted is a problem for everyone at some point, but it’s a nice thing to feel accepted.  The smiling boy and rat on the front are appealing and are contributing something to the action occurring on the cover. They’ve found purpose and they are happy. Maybe rats actually belong in the kitchen. 

