In 2020, TikTok users managed to put together a collectively-produced Ratatouille: The Musical, aping the style of popular Disney musicals and applying it to one of Pixar’s least-talked-about movies. It was one of a number of pieces of collective art created during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped artists stay sane and kept audiences glued to their computer screens. Originally pieced together from various disparate TikTok creators, a filmed version of the musical was released to benefit The Actors Fund.
The cool, strange, surreal project generated a lot of enthusiasm in 2020, and during a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Ratatouille star Patton Oswalt praised the musical, although when asked whether it sparked any enthusiasm for either a Broadway show, or more Ratatouille content at Disney, he admitted he hadn’t heard anything.
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“I love those spontaneous, kind of viral group total strangers getting together and building something out like that,” Oswalt said. “These are clearly Broadway nerds that nailed every aspect. So, including one guy, one of the videos, and they didn’t include it in the final cut, and they should have, it’s a guy and it’s the Denny’s waiter at midnight with, when all the theater kids have just come from the show and they’re singing the main song and he’s just standing there with his coffee, like looking so tired and angry, which is what happens after every, all the theater kids go out and they’re all jazzed up and they’re drinking coffee and they’re singing the show and the waiters are like, ‘Oh my God, would you shut up?’”
You can see the clip below.
“The love for the performing arts shines through in the Ratatouille-inspired TikToks from theater lovers around the world,” Actors Fund President & CEO Joseph P. Benincasa said back when the benefit performance was announced. “We’re truly honored that producer Greg Nobile and Seaview will be bringing that love and collaborative spirit to this creative project, which is sure to bring joy to arts lovers far and wide this holiday season, while at the same time will help raise much-needed funds for those in need in our entertainment and performing arts community.”
Ratatouille, released in 2007, centered on a rat who had a much more discerning palate than his fellow rodents, and who took up residence in a fancy restaurant, hoping to become a chef. With the restaurant’s master chef having recently passed away and its fate hanging in the balance, the rat figures out a way to ream up with a young, not-very-talented sous chef to save the restaurant and make his dreams come true.
You can watch the movie on Disney+.
