During lockdown, TikTok users have created ‘Ratatouille the musical’, and it is an incredible show of creativity, technology and talent.

TikTok is a video sharing platform where users post videos up to a minute long, and it has gained much popularity with young people. The platform is accessible to all, allowing people to post whatever they want - TikTok is, therefore, a firm favourite of many Gen Zs, as well as people of all other ages. TikTok has prevailed through its numerous conflicts, not only because of the catchy dances or popular creators, but because it is simply a lot of fun!

This kind of accessibility and collaboration allowed for the creation of a Ratatouille Musical on TikTok. It all began when teacher Em Jaccs posted ‘Ode to Remy’ in August of this year - a love ballad to Remy the rat, which gained popularity and unintentionally prompted others to create something themselves, creating a whole new corner of TikTok. Thousands posted their own additions to the musical as the concept gained traction. 

People from all walks of life provided their submissions, uploading songs, choreography, costume designs or even set models. Some notable songs include a kitchen tango between Colette and linguini, from users @blakeyrouse and @aaacacia, a ballad about the life of a rat (‘Trash is our Treasure’), from @fettucinefettuqueen, and a heartfelt song proclaiming ‘Anyone can cook’, sung by @rjthecomposer. As well as this, there have been many other additions, such as choreography from @christianmichaelmcintyre, puppets by @brandon.hardy.art, and even an official playbill from @siswij. So many people have come together to create this musical, and it is really incredible to see the TikTok platform used for such a unified and creative effort through the difficult times this year has brought.

Like much else this year, this was prompted by the Coronavirus lockdown. While most theatres and theatre-related industries have been unable open fully this year, many people have been out of work or working virtually - it is no surprise then, that people have taken to the internet to be inspired and share their efforts while stuck at home. 

This has not gone unnoticed - Playbill themselves have acknowledged the playbill created on TikTok as ‘The Official (Fake) Ratatouille playbill’, and Pixar also gave a nod to the musical, tweeting “The rat of all our dreams” in November. This is worthy recognition for such an amazing musical, which I’m sure we’ll be seeing on Broadway sometime in the future!