The TikTok ‘Ratatouille’ Musical Is Really Going to Happen

The TikTok phenomenon will become a concert presentation on January 1

In one of the more impressive projects to come out of pandemic boredom, users of TikTok have collaborated to create an entire fan musical based on the Disney’s Ratatouille. It began when user @e_jaccs posted ‘Ode to Remy,” a quick original tune about “the rat of all my dreams,” and eventually blossomed into a global project with new songs, set designs, and Playbills. Now, the show is actually going to come to life as a benefit concert for the Actors Fund, a non-profit that supports actors and stage workers, and will stream on January 1. This is...delightful? Does anyone remember feeling like this??

“Finding new outlets for creative collaboration has never been more imperative than it is right now,” said Greg Nobile, CEO of Seaview, the production company that picked up the musical. “We can’t wait to share what these remarkable creators have dreamt up which will now allow them to benefit other artists through the vital work of The Actors Fund.”

So far, it’s unclear which of the many songs will be included, though it appears many of the original TikTok creators will be involved in the show. Thankfully, TikTok’s terms of service do say users own the content they create, and Disney seems to be on board.

With many of the TikTok contributors being out-of-work musicians and theater workers themselves, and Broadway being dead until at least May 2021, new theater feels nice. As does envisioning a future in which we get to hear Patti LuPone scream “Eeet ees a peasaaahhnt deeesh!” at least once.

And in other news...

• McDonald’s says Happy Meals could get more expensive next year, as the company is getting rid of a four-decade-old “Happy Meal Rent and Service Fee” to franchisees, which subsidizes the cost of the toys. [ABC7]
• Subway is taking away delivery rebates, meaning there might be higher prices there too. [RB]
• Campbell, which makes Pepperidge Farm cookies among many other items, says a labor shortage and more demand could mean a cookie shortage. [Bloomberg]
• Delivery co-ops might be the solution to the havoc that third-party delivery services are wreaking on the restaurant industry. [brokeassstuart]
• Related: DoorDash had a very big stock market debut. [CNBC]
• Starbucks is planning to raise base wages to $15/hr over the next three years. [BI]
• Here is how Dolly Parton makes milk gravy. [TODAY]
• A coalition of chefs, restaurants and suppliers is asking the Biden administration to end tariffs on European imports. [Stop Restaurant Tariffs]
• Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Seltzer. [Takeout]
• This wine glass cake cutting thing does not work, it just gets frosting all over your glass. [Mashed]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]