Jad Pinkava actually wrote the original ideas in 2001, but in 2005 Brad Bird was asked to direct the movie instead. He and some crew members also visited France to get some new ideas. The crew consulted (took advice of) chefs from France and the United States. It premiered on June 22, 2007 at the Kodak Theater. It was generally shown in other theaters on June 29 2007. It earned $623.7 million at the box office and got good reviews. It later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature