Still, it never got the same long-term traction as some of its franchise-driven Pixar siblings, and the buzz it’s currently receiving feels akin to when a cult classic takes off. Great content can come from anywhere, and particularly when so much of the world is shut down and Broadway itself sits with empty theaters, Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, a seemingly absurd concept, is an example of not only the vibrancy of the theater community but also of the extra layer of purpose that quarantine-era media production has to bring joy to people in a time of sadness.Īs a movie, Ratatouille was never really overlooked it got rave reviews, performed well at the box office, and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. That has certainly never been truer than the past 10 months, a hell-ridden dystopia when some of the brightest moments of everyday life have been found in the ways creators think inside the box to share with the world content that brings us that spark of joy we’re currently missing from in-person connection. Therein lies the true radiance of Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical it exists as an embodiment of Ratatouille‘s famous adage, as spoken by Chef Gusteau: “anyone can cook.” We learned quite a long time ago that great content can emerge all by itself on the Internet without the backing of a major studio or company.
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Frankly, this show pulls off the “remote production” vibe better than most primetime televised events do, with appreciation for it heightening all the more when remembering this all started from a single, seemingly “ordinary” person, one TikTok user –– and that this entire collection of songs began as user-generated content.
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Costumes are minimal (save for Wayne Brady who went all-out as Remy’s dad) and, yes, it’s clear that this was produced from home, but we’re used to that by this point in the pandemic. There have been a handful of times a non-musical animated film has been adapted as a musical stage show, and this feels just as genuine as any of those. The production embraces its limitations and takes itself seriously, a risky approach when parody may have been easier or even expected but nonetheless the right decision because the end result is fantastic.
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When Remy, played by Titus Burgess ( Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), sits on a Parisian rooftop and sings of his longing for the world to remember him, it’s as authentic of an “I want” ballad as Ariel singing “Part Of Your World.” The moment Andrew Barth Feldman ( Dear Evan Hansen) becomes Linguini, it’s clear to all this was the role he was born to play. We’re talking Broadway-caliber talent, all performed fully committed to the role without a hint of irony. The production, clocking in at just under an hour, is essentially the entire story of the movie, with the signature songs that TikTok users by now know and love, accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra and produced in partnership with Seaview Productions and TodayTix.