On Tiktok, fans are making their own ‘ Ratatouille’ musical

With Broadway and theaters across the country idle because of the coronavirus, some actors, producers and prop designers have found an unlikely outlet for their talents: a musical version of the animated film “Ratatouille” that is playing out in exuberant 60- second increments on Tiktok.

Starting in October, thousands of Tiktok users, including many with Broadway credits, have paid homage to the 2007 Disney Pixar film, about a rat who dreams of becoming a French chef, by creating their own songs, dances, makeup looks, set designs, puppets and Playbill programs.

The project began in August, when Emily Jacobsen, 26, a schoolteacher, Disney fanatic and theater lover from Westchester County, New York, read about a “Ratatouille” ride that is scheduled to open next year at Walt Disney World in Florida.

As she was cleaning her apartment, she started singing a song about Remy. Adopting a high pitch, she recorded what she described as “a love ballad” for the rat — “Remy, the ratatouille / The rat of all my dreams

/ I praise you, my ratatouille / May the world remember your name” — and posted a video of the tune on Tiktok.

Daniel Mertzlufft, 27, a New York- based composer, orchestrator and arranger, was tagged in Jacobsen’s video. Last month, he used a computer program to enhance her original ode to Remy, adding a French horn, trumpets, vocals and strings to create a big Disney- style finale for a “Ratatouille” musical.

Since Mertzlufft posted his video in mid- October, thousands of others have shared their own contributions to what has become something of a virtual “Ratatouille” musical.

DISNEY Remy, voiced by Patton Oswalt, in the Pixar film “Ratatouille.”