One of the things 2015’s cult classic Undertale is known for is its amazing soundtrack. Combine that with the fact that the game jokingly refers to itself as “Undertale the Musical” during a certain Mettaton-related scene and…well, we all knew this was bound to happen sooner or later.
Recently, the YouTube channel Man on the Internet uploaded a four-hour video entitled “Undertale the Musical” and it is exactly what it sounds like. Man on the Internet himself collaborated with a number of other creative professionals to create the most comprehensive musical version of the game’s story yet. The team wrote lyrics, some based on the game’s dialogue and some completely original, to the melodies of the game’s music. In total, over sixty songs from the game’s official soundtrack were adapted into forty-one musical tracks. Additionally, there is plenty of inter-character dialogue, both original to the musical and originating from the game, in between musical numbers. All this is set to footage of the game as well as original art created specifically for this project.
Man on the Internet and his team have been working on this project for over a year, uploading each song to his channel as they were finished. Needless to say, this project was quite an…underta(le)king. However, as with any adaptation, some artistic liberties were taken that stray a bit from the original narrative. Also, in an attempt to keep the musical as concise as possible, certain unnecessary plot points were cut. Due to this, some Undertale fans may find dismay with the omissions of such characters as Burgerpants, Onionsan, Mad Dummy and Temmie, among others. Despite this, it is clear that the project was made with a lot of love and determination. However, Undertale is known to have a harsh fanbase. Still, I’m sure many fans will find this adaptation successfully tells Undertale’s heartfelt story in this new medium.
Though the musical tells the story of Undertale’s pacifist run, many have suggested to Man on the Internet that he create musical renditions of songs exclusive to the game’s genocide run, such as “Battle Against a True Hero,” “Power of ‘NEO’” and, of course, “MEGALOVANIA.” While Man on the Internet has stated that the musical only tells the pacifist story and will not be changed to include anything from the genocide run, he has confirmed that he and his team are working on a few musical versions of genocide songs that will be separate from the completed musical that is viewable now.
