Longtime WonderCon exhibitor Keith Knight chats with fans.

After a screening of the already-released trailer, Ibrahim introduced the film's director, Brad Bird, who received an enthusiastic ovation from the nearly 3,000 attendees in the crowded Esplanade Ballroom. Addressing the stiff competition that his film faces this summer from film sequels like Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Bird stated, "We're thinking of re-titling it, Ratatouille 1. It's the prequel to the sequel. That's the best way to get attention for the film. I’ve heard that the fifth Alien movie is going to fight the third Predator movie this year, too, so there’s a lot of good stuff coming out this summer."

Bird continued with his own synopsis of Ratatouille. "It's all about a rat who aspires to the higher echelon of fine cooking. The other rats just want to eat as much food as possible, but Remy's a gourmet. He's the one skinny rat in the movie."

The audience was then treated to a slideshow of behind-the-scenes material, including character sketches, pencil roughs, maquettes and other pre-production artwork. The first images focused on Remy, who is voiced by stand-up comedian/actor/writer Patton Oswalt. "Remy's very volatile and excitable, just like Patton," said Bird. “We heard one of Patton’s stand-up routines about steakhouses, and with that as our soundtrack, we knew we’d found the right actor for the part."

The other characters include Remy's brother Emile, voiced by Pixar animator Pete Sohn; Remy's father, Django, voiced by veteran character actor Brian Dennehy; Chef Skinner, voiced by British actor Ian Holm; a restaurant critic voiced by Peter O'Toole; and Linguini, a hapless garbage boy-turned chef, voiced by Pixar artist Lou Romano. Brad Garrett and Janeane Garofalo round out the primary cast.

"The key to this movie is the relationship between Remy and Linguini," said Bird. "Remy wants to be a chef, but he can't go into kitchens. A rat in a kitchen equals death in the restaurant business, so rats are dealt with very harshly."

Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell and Cartoon Art Museum founder Malcolm Whyte at the Cartoon Art Museum's booth.

The second clip of the afternoon featured Remy receiving guidance from the spirit of Chef Auguste Gusteau, his culinary hero. Accidental entry into a restaurant kitchen provides Remy with his big break, allowing him to prepare a meal for one of the city's most esteemed restaurant critics -- although Linguini mistakenly receives all of the credit. When Linguini discovers that Remy is indeed a master chef, the two realize that they need each other, and a bond is formed.

After the clip, Bird introduced Oswalt, who arrived to a loud and spirited ovation. Bird then opened the discussion to questions from the audience.

Audience Question: Will John Ratzenberger have a role in this film?

Brad Bird: Hmm… We’ve had seven hit movies in a row from Pixar, all with John Ratzenberger in them… What do the rest of you think? Should we mess with that formula?

Patton Oswalt: Come on, the first syllable in his last name is "rat." How can he not be in it?

Audience Question: Is Randy Newman doing the music this time?

BB: No. Michael Giacchino, from The Incredibles is doing the score (loud applause from the audience.)

Audience Question: What did you like least and what did you like the most about working on this movie?

PO: I'd have to say that what I liked the least was Brad Bird (laughter). Actually, I loved everything about this movie. Even the audition, just interviewing for the part, was better than most jobs that I've had. And the studio’s great. It's like Willy Wonka's factory without the creepiness (laughter)

BB: My least favorite thing is the short schedule that we were given to work on the film. It's taken a lot of long hours to get everything ready for the summer release date, but I think you guys will like it.

Brad Bird (left) and Patton Oswalt opened "Big Movie Saturday" with a presentation on their upcoming feature, Ratatouille. Courtesy of WonderCon (left).

PO: Did we keep the scene I pitched with all the ninjas and the robot attack (laughter)? (Bird shakes his head.) They never use any of my ideas.

Audience Question: Where did you get the concept for this movie?

BB: Jan Pinkava, who created the Pixar short Geri's Game, came up with the concept.

PO: (in a "nerd voice"): Ahem. The old man from Geri's Game was actually in Toy Story 2, as the toy repairman who was hired by Al, of Al's Toy Barn, to repair Woody (laughter).