ratatouille

Theater TikTok Created An Elaborate DIY “Ratatouille” Musical, And Pixar Has Taken Notice

Disney has adapted a number of its animated films for Broadway over the years, such as Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, The Lion King, and so on. These theatrical productions tend to be based on the company’s blockbusters, so it stands to reason that the 2007 Disney-Pixar film Ratatouille has not made it into consideration.

Yet, the plucky film about a Parisian rat named Remy, who has big dreams about one day becoming a chef, has picked up a cult following over the years. So with theater doors closed indefinitely due to the pandemic, a group of out-of-work performers and musical theater students have collaborated to make Ratatouille: The Musical (also referred to as the “Ratatousical”) as reality on TikTok.

According to PaperMag, Ratatouille: The Musical was born over the summer when TikTok user Emily Jacobsen posted a sixteen-second “Ode to Remy” on the platform, which quickly went viral. However, the tune really took off when theater composer Daniel Mertzlufft arranged Jacobsen’s tune into a big musical number, complete with instrumental choir voices. And that’s when the thing really took off!

@danieljmertzlufft

Remy: The Musical OG Song @e_jaccs add. Vocals @cjaskier #remy #ratatouille #musicaltheatre #broadway #singer #musical #disney #fyp #disneymusicals

♬ original sound – danieljmertzlufft

From there, dozens of other theater geeks began contributing their scores until Ratatouille: The Musical was cobbled together into a full two-act musical with a grand finale. The hashtag #ratatouillethemusical now has a combined 17 million views on TikTok and counting, as well as a regularly updated viral Twitter thread.

They even have a playbill:

@tinymallet

You can see some of the more popular offerings, below:

@fettuccinefettuqueen

Reply to @arisenanew alright THIS IS THE LAST ONE. #HappyHalloween #ratatouille #ratatouillemusical #FYP #WellDone #austok #theatrekid

♬ Djangos Reprise – Gabbi Bolt

https://www.tiktok.com/@rjthecomposer/video/6887296694573190406

@jackgwood

I may have gone too far… 😬#ratatouillemusical #ratatouillethemusical #ratatouille #ratatouillechoreo

♬ The Rats way of Life – Yay Blake Rouse!!

@alexachalnick

#Songwritingchallenge x @ratatouillemusical πŸ€πŸ§€πŸ‘©β€πŸ³ (I’m playing Colette here!πŸ’™) #theatrekid#broadway#piano#songwriting#ratatouillethemusical

♬ SongWriting Challenge Ratatouille Edition – AlexaChalnick

@emersonbrophy

Here’s my song for the ratatouillemusical, I hope nobody’s done this one yet #broadway #theatrekid @ratatouillemusical

♬ Waltz With Me Remy or Ill Be Hair For You – Emerson Brophy

Director and choreographer Brandon Powers even described in detail how he’d direct the project:

@brandon_powers

i ❀️ image research @ratatouillemusical #ratatouillemusical #ratatouillethemusical

♬ original sound – Brandon Powers

And just last week, Jacobsen updated that Pixar was indeed aware of the DIY project, and even gave her OG Remy video a low-key shoutout on Instagram.

https://www.tiktok.com/@e_jaccs/video/6897645794854227206

Who knows? Maybe after this pandemic is over, Disney On Broadway will finally go ahead with an official Ratatouille: The Musical. Goodness knows they’ve got plenty of eager talent to work with!

More from TikTok:

Stacey Ritzen

Stacey is an amateur cat hoarder who lives in West Philadelphia. No really, your Fresh Prince joke is super original please let me hear it.