Landreth stated that an individual's arm should be slightly in front of the body, at 30 degrees with respect to the "scapular plane of the skeleton". Cords are used to animate coloured threads that wrap themselves around the character's heads, and are used metaphorically in the film to represent Landreth's fear of failure and Larkin's loss of creativity. The use of coloured threads is explained by Landreth's character in first-person narrative at the beginning of the film as metaphorically representing emotional scars and frustrations. Landreth's character is rendered so that a halo appears above his head "when he gets too sanctimonious". Other characters appear when mentioned by Larkin, rendered as three-dimensional interpretations of Larkin's sketches. Soundtrack The soundtrack consists of audio from previously recorded interviews, and uses a technique employed in the development of Aardman Animation's 1989 film Creature Comforts. It uses character action to reveal "the half-truths and self-deceptions of the dialogue". Throughout, Landreth narrates the story based on information obtained from the interviews and the archives. Landreth did not remove Larkin's stutter, a condition resultant from Larkin's cocaine use. Reception Ryan debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2004, where it was well received. Its Canadian debut was at the Worldwide Short Film Festival, and it was later shown at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, for which Robinson arranged to screen Walking in the Friday night competition as a special event and for publicity. Its US premiere was at SIGGRAPH 2004 in Los Angeles. Roger Ebert reviewed the film in his coverage of Academy Award nominees, stating that the "animation technique is dramatic, striking and wholly original" and that the "effect is hard to describe, impossible to forget". The Toronto Film Critics' Association stated that Ryan was "an historic achievement in Canadian animation". David Kehr stated in an article in The New York Times that Ryan is a "work of art that exists on its own highly original terms". F.C. Luz stated that Ryan is an example of the "new visual and narrative forms" enabled by computer-generated imagery. Rick Baumgartner of Animation World Network described Ryan as a "3D hand-animated symphony of creativity and color" with a "visceral graphic style". M.J. Stone of The Globe and Mail stated that the film has "astonishing imagery". Ellen Besen stated that "breaking away from the one gesture per accent standard is a hallmark of Landreths approach". Larkin had a