As is well known by now, this year’s lockdown has had major impacts on entertainment industries all over the world. Concerts were cancelled, cinemas were closed and almost all sporting events were shut down. Another form of entertainment that was greatly affected by these changes, but was unfortunately overlooked by most people, was the closing of many large theatre chains worldwide. All of the 41 theatres that make up America’s Broadway were closed, as well as 39 in London’s West End. As a result, theatre fans were left longing for a new show or release during this time. Luckily, Gen Z had the perfect solution: to make their own musical themed around the movie Ratatouille.
The trend started in August with primary school teacher Emily Jacobsen wrote and then posted a short theme song based on the 2007 Pixar Film, Ratatouille. An avid fan of musicals and Disney movies, Jacobsen has said that the idea for a Ratatouille musical came after Disney announced a ride themed around the movie would be coming to Epcot in 2021. After hearing about the new ride, she came up with a short melody about the main character in the movie, Remy the rat, and posted it to social media app TikTok. Shortly after, Daniel Mertzlufft, another TikTok user who works in musical theatre, made his own spin on the song and also posted it to the app, causing the trend to fully take off.
Since then, the idea of a Ratatouille musical has only grown in popularity with more and more users taking part in the project. There are countless new songs posted daily that are getting thousands of views, and some users have even started to create duets and remixes of other people’s tracks. Some of the most popular songs so far include a tango style solo for character Colette by user @blakeyrouse, a song for Chef Skinner by @sophiajamesmusic, and a villain song for antagonist Anton Ego by @rjthecomposer. Other users have stepped in and helped with the more technical sides of musical theatre, with a full costume design by @ardellyfoshelly, make up by @morgainemade and a Playbill (musical theatre magazine) created by @siswij. There is no shortage of people willing to lend a hand in order to make this project a success.
One thing that a lot of people have, however, is why this trend is so popular. In the past users on various social media sites have tried pitching their ideas for new musicals and adaptations, but none have ever involved as many people as Ratatouille. Mertzlufft, who is often credited as the main composer behind this project, was asked this question in an interview with CBS news. He said ‘The movie itself is an underdog story, Remy and Linguini should not get this done and there’s no reason that this should work’. He then went on to explain that the movie’s main theme of never giving up and working hard to achieve what you want appeals to a lot of young people, and parallels the effort that users are putting in to the project to make it work.
Even though no one knows what the future holds for the trend, currently it looks very bright. Interest in the project is growing day by day and currently there is little chance of it quickly fading out like similar ideas have in the past. Some well-known celebrities are even started to get involved, with actor Kevin Chamberlin writing his own song for the musical. The project is also starting to gain mainstream attention from the media, with it having its own coverage on CBS news. Disney adaptations have become hits both on and off Broadway over the last decade, with Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King becoming huge hits worldwide, so who’s to say that a Ratatouille musical wouldn’t work out? Whether or not anything actually happens with the project is still undecided but one thing is for sure: the talent, creativity and divergent thinking of those involved is above and beyond.
If you are interested in checking out the musical yourself, linked below is a soundtrack made from the most popular songs posted for the project. It's definitely worth a listen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0pjjV5kbq4
