TikTok users collaborate to create a “Ratatouille” musical through quarantine

• TikTok users have collaborated to create a musical based on the 2007 Pixar film “Ratatouille” entirely through short 15–60 second videos.
• The hashtag “Ratatouille” is filled with thousands of videos of singers, choreographers and designers creating what they imagined the “Ratatouille” musical. The videos have amassed over 90 million views total.
• Broadway producer Ken Davenport has recently jumped on the trend, asking the creators if he could bring the show to Broadway post-pandemic.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, TikTok, an app for creating short 15–60 second videos, has surged in popularity. One of the most recent popular trends has been the inception of the “Ratatouille” musical, where creators have collaborated to write, choreograph, and design a full-fledged Broadway musical. Users have done everything, from writing ballads to designing costumes, sets, and even a mock Playbill.

The trend started with a video from 26-year old TikTokker Em Jaccs, who posts made-up songs about different Disney characters and movies. In August, Jaccs posted a video singing about Remy, the main character in the 2007 Pixar hit “Ratatouille”. The video quickly took off and has amassed over 100,000 likes. Videos under the “Ratatouille” hashtag have been viewed a total of 90 million times.

Members of the self-proclaimed TikTok “Theatre Community” quickly jumped on to the bandwagon, creating their own songs they imagined would be part of the “Ratatouille” musical. These include a tango number between two chefs, Remy’s ballad, and a jokester sidekick number. Along with songs, users have designed everything, from sets to costumes, and even a mock playbill for the imagined musical.

In later November, the trend really started to pick up. Disney on Broadway tweeted the lyrics from Jaccs original video. More recently Broadway actors and producers have begun to take notice, wanting to be part of the “Ratatouille” creation.

https://twitter.com/disneybroadway/status/1330566603109490696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1330566603109490696%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Fpop-culture%2Fpop-culture-news%2Fshow-must-go-line-broadway-dark-tiktok-creates-viral-ratatouille-n1248843

Ken Davenport is a Tony-award winning Broadway producer, famous for his work on Kinky Boots, Once on This Island, and Spring Awakening. Last Monday, Davenport joined the leagues of “Ratatouille” fans, pitching himself as a producer to take the show to Broadway once the coronavirus pandemic permits. In a video posted on TikTok, Davenport expressed his love for the work made by all the creators and talked about his interests in making the individual songs and designs into a full-fledged show.

This creative collaboration has been largely aided by nationwide stay-at-home orders and the closure of Broadway due to the raging coronavirus pandemic. Many users have expressed how they’ve been able to use TikTok as a creative outlet during these difficult times and it has helped them find the joy and entertainment that Broadway once provided.

The musical is only continuing to grow in popularity on TikTok, as creators get more inventive and add more elements to complete the show.