The absolute chaos of 2020 practically shut down live theatre. But in the midst of all this chaos, a new musical was born where no one expected it to come from, TikTok. 

Ratatouille: The TikTok musical, is a musical that’s based on the 2007 movie of the same name. It follows the same plot with a rat named Remy ending up in Paris and after getting caught cooking. He helps the chef, Linguini, keep his job at Guestau’s restaurant. 

Like Remy, this musical also came from humble beginnings. It was spawned by a short TikTok song made by Emily Jacobsen. The rest of the songs in the concert were also made by other TikTok users. Eventually, the songs were all put together and made into a fundraising concert for the Actor’s Fund to help with COVID-19 relief. 

The cast is star-studded, including Tituss Burgess (Remy), Andrew Barth Feldman (Linguini), Kevin Chamberlin (Geustau) and Andre De Shields (Anton Ego). Everyone in the show was amazing, their voices are incredible, and the acting is superb. The most amazing thing is the fact that everyone only had 24 hours to learn everything, although sometimes you could tell that they were looking off to the side for lyrics or lines. The music is also well done. Besides the titular “Remy the Ratatouille,” songs like “Rats way of Life” and “Trash is our Treasure” stayed in my head long after the hour that it took to watch this show. 

While this online concert has a condensed story compared to the original, it still gives you the whole story and a couple of jokes and references to other musicals. It is also relatively light-hearted – a good thing to start off 2021. But if the concert ever does make it to the stage, I would appreciate it if the writers would use some of the sadder moments in the story. 

Another crucial component to an online show is the editing. The show was well put together and several scenes used TikTok filters which was a fun reference back to the roots of this musical. Due to the limitations of a short preparation time, there isn’t much in the way of costumes, and only Burgess has a set the whole time – a green screen. But that’s a minor detail that doesn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. 

Overall, the Ratatouille musical was excellent with catchy songs and an excellent cast. If it’s ever available to buy or stream again, I highly recommend checking it out.