| Your Friend the Rat | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Jim Capobianco |
| Written by | Jim Capobianco |
| Story by |
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| Produced by | Ann Brilz |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Tony Russel |
| Edited by | Steve Bloom |
| Music by | Alex Mandel(score) James G. Dashe(song) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
Release date | |
Running time | 11 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Your Friend the Rat is a 2007 American animated short film byPixar, written and directed byJim Capobianco. The special takes on the form of aneducational film and stars rats Remy and Emile, the main protagonists ofRatatouille, who argue for the reconciliation of humans and rats. They use historical facts presented via various styles of animation in a style similar to theAdventures in Music shorts,Melody andToot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom.
This isPixar's only special to featuretraditional animation; at eleven minutes, it is also the 3rd longest Pixar special to date. Along with2D animation, the short also includesstop-motion animation,computer-generated imagery (CGI) andlive-action, much like the children's television show,A Little Curious.[1]
LikeRatatouille,Your Friend the Rat also features a musical sequence. This is also Pixar's only special to have a cameo of a protagonist of a film that would be released a year later, which was a cameo ofWALL-E.Your Friend the Rat won the category of Best Animated Short Subject at the 35th AnnualAnnie Awards.[2][3]
The short was not released in Japan due to the short containing comedic use of live-action footage of theAtomic Bomb.[citation needed]
The special starts in with Remy introducing himself and his brother Emile to the audience and speaking on behalf of oppressed rats everywhere. Emile starts frowning about having to speak out, while Remy pulls a scroll and a two-dimensional animation starts by presenting the relation between a human and a rat in contrast with human/dog and human/cat relationships.
Remy points out that humans regarded rats in former times as sacred and luck-bringing. He mentions their sacredness inIndia for being the transport vehicle of the Hindu godGanesh. He also says that duringthe Roman Empire, it was believed that a white rat crossing your path would bring good luck, while a black rat crossing your path would bring bad luck.
He moves on to discussingblack rats (Rattus rattus) and their connection to theBlack Death, pointing out that it was caused byfleas instead of rats, resulting in the death of one third of Europe's population, and just as many rats. Remy further presents thebrown rat's (Rattus norvegicus) history, mentioning their part in ending the Black Death and their honorableposition in theChinese zodiac.
Thesymbiotic relationship between rats and humans is introduced before the second appearance of Remy and Emile in 3D animation. Emile pulls a scroll from the side and presents, through 2D animation all the interesting things rats could do and the benefits of rats for humans. He says thatJack Black was a rat catcher forQueen Victoria and that he kept the rats he captured aspets.
Their use for laboratory testing and as pets show that they can have a good relationship with humans. Concluding the presentation, Emile and Remy sing “Plan B” (a song about the relationship between rats and humans).
At the film's end, Remy attempts to ask the audience if rats and humans can make peace with each other. However, he is interrupted when a long and drawn-out (mostlysatirical) disclaimer is shown asking children to stay away from rats, while Remy and Emile stand in front of it and try to remove it, urging the audience to ignore the warning and complaining about freedom of speech and lack of food.
The idea of a 2D short was initiated byJim Capobianco after Brad Lewis sent an email asking for extras for the DVD. Capobianco thought of an educational film bringing together all the information they gathered about rats in a funny way to the audience. The production of the short started during the last year of theRatatouille production time and was finished in less than a year.[4]
The animation is a mixture of CGI and 2D animation. Emile and Remy appear in CGI while their presentation is in 2D, which encompasses most of the short movie. The 2D animation in most scenes was done through traditional paper-based animation with digital ink and paint while a few scenes such as theCanada vs. Rats video game were done inToon Boom. There is also a snippet of live-action film, a clip showing anOriental rat flea.
During the production, a book calledYour Friend the Rat: ALittle Golden Book, which includes the music and lyrics to the song "Plan B," was created by Jim Capobianco.[5]
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