There was a veritable mini-media blitz today on Rotten Tomatoes. First, we updated over a dozen galleries to upcoming flicks (including the marvelous "Rescue Dawn"). Then we uploaded the just released trailer to "No Country for Old Men." And now Pixar has given IGN — and by association, us! — an exclusive progression reel to "Ratatouille."
What exactly is a progression reel? It starts out like an animatic, a jumble of rough storyboards with the final voice recordings overlaying the scenes. As it progresses, more completed footage is inserted, pronouncing the craft and effort that goes into animating a movie. Helloooo, future DVD bonus feature.
This two-and-a-half-minute "Ratatouille" reel is a completely new scene, presenting the human hero, Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano), in the kitchen with Colette (Janeane Garofalo). She’s rapidly schooling Linguini on tricks of the gourmet trade whilst revealing the humorously dark histories of the kitchen’s other chefs. It’s a cute and snappy scene (rapid editing looks to be order du jour from what we’ve seen of "Ratatouille"), bouncing Linguini and Colette personalities back and forth to fine effect.
For people who want something a lot heavier, might we suggest the "No Country for Old Men" trailer? Early buzz (abroad and here at RT) has hailed it as a return to roots and form for the Coen brothers.
Based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, the film stars Josh Brolin as an old imp on the run after finding a load of cash in the desert. The trailer prominently features Javier Bardem as the bad guy, who’s been called the "creepiest movie psycho this side of Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’" Yeah, I can see that.
Woody Harrelson co-stars, playing, well, a Woody Harrelson character. Tommy Lee Jones is also along for the ride as a hapless but philosophical sheriff. Nice to see him, 12 years after "Batman Forever," on the receiving end of the "evil psychopath with a coin flipping habit" gimmick.
"Ratatouille" will be out in theaters June 29. Check out the progression reel here. "No Country for Old Men" opens wide on November 29. Watch the trailer here.
