''Ratz'' is a 2003 animated comedy-adventure television series created by Richard Zielenkiewicz. The show stars two rats, Rapido and Razmo, aboard the ''S.S. Wanderer'', a

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

ship without an (apparent) actual destination. The focus of the series is on the adventures of the two rats, including guarding the cheese, interacting with other stowaways and various ill-fated encounters with the crew. The rats themselves live in the hull of the ship in a lavish two-bedroom apartment. The French version features the voices of the

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

Éric et Ramzy, while the English version features the voices of Terrence Scammell as Rapido and Rick Jones as Razmo. Unlike most animated programs designed for a younger audience, ''Ratz'' has (except for the episode "The Genie") no moral resolve at the end of each episode. The series debuted on March 7, 2003 on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...

in Canada before premiering on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

in France on September 21, 2003. It has also been broadcast on various other channels overseas, such as Animania HD & Boomerang in the United States, Cartoon Network in Latin America,

Hungama TV Hungama TV is an Indian television channel aimed at children, mainly showcasing Japanese and Indian animated series. It was launched on 26 September 2004. The Hindi word "hungama" means 'ruckus' in English. It is owned by Disney Star. The chann ...

, Sony YAY! and

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

in India,

MBC3 MBC 3 is a free-to-air children's channel launched on 8 December 2004, and appeals to children under the age of 15. All foreign television animated programs have been dubbed into Arabic. The channel also produces its own original programmes. It ...

in the Arab World, K2 in Italy and Toon Disney in the United Kingdom. ''Ratz'' was originally titled ''Rapido'' and featured a chunkier animation style. Also of interest is the pure blend of

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...

and

3D animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

, making it Canada's most expensive Teletoon show at the time, and the eclectic soundtrack by Hervé Lavandier. The show premiered its episode, "Cheese Connection" on September 21, 2003, and the series finale episode, "Tomo the Sumo" aired on November 11, 2003. It can be streamed online since March 25, 2020 on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, released in French first..

Plot

''Ratz'' mainly focuses on a duo of the eponymous rats, Rapido and Razmo, who have a rocky relationship due to their contrasting personalities. They both share a love of cheese, however, and live on board the S.S. Wanderer for that very reason. With occasional encounters regarding the ship's crewmates, or even stories that also involve the crew, the duo have all sorts of wacky adventures throughout. Some of the episodes also involve the rats having to deal with new, albeit one-shot characters. The rats themselves also have a means of transport (animated using

cel-shaded Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic th ...

3D). An integral part of ''Ratz'' is the ratboard, a device resembling a

mousetrap A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch other s ...

with a

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

strapped to the back. The ratboard provides the rats with speedy travel in and around the ship. Rapido is very fond of his ratboard and enjoys challenging Razmo to races, often winning. Ratboards are also used to reach otherwise inaccessible places, provide speedy rescues, move things by

tether A tether is a cord, fixture, or flexible attachment that characteristically anchors something movable to something fixed; it also maybe used to connect two movable objects, such as an item being towed by its tow. Applications for tethers includ ...

or simply to impress guests. In spite of the ratboard's peculiar design choice, the rats humorously enough do not recognize an actual mousetrap, as seen in the episode "The Rat Exterminator". It is also seen in another episode that other rats can also ride on their own ratboards.

Characters

The series' titular duo are composed of two pitch-black rats, Rapido and Razmo, wearing helmets (with goggles attached) and outfits akin to a modern-day pilot (in red and blue, respectively), with elongated ears, lavender eyemask patterns and long snouts. Razmo is erroneously called "Ratz" on the blurb for the show in Sky program guides. *Rapido is a

jet set In journalism, jet set is a term for an international social group of wealthy people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society", came from the lifestyle of tra ...

-wannabe with a huge ego to maintain. To get over his large self-doubts and low self-esteem, he acts condescendingly and often boasts having personal connections to various celebrities. Rapido is also a hypocrite, scolding Razmo sharply for engaging in an activity, then secretly pursuing the same later on. Rapido only has interest in himself and will not aide Razmo at all, unless the situation adversely affects himself. His interests include ratboard racing, celebrity magazines, fashion,

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, feeling important and wooing women. *Razmo is the shorter and stouter rat. He is a highly productive genius and mechanic, having invented the ratboard and being responsible for all mechanical and electrical issues. He is also forced to perform all chores as Rapido never lends a hand. This has led Razmo to become depressed, emotionally scarred and obsessive-compulsive. Razmo is also childish, sometimes speaking to a

plush toy A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be ...

and wetting the bed. His interests include playing stringed bass, jazz, counting the cheese, inventing and making friends. In the original ''Rapido'' short, Razmo had a

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

accent; his voice was changed to have a slight

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

accent. The crew of the S.S. Wanderer consists of three personnel: Benny the chef, Svetlana the engineer and The Captain. They aren't intended as the villains of the show, though, Benny is the one most enraged by the rats. The crew will usually return to their normal duties after brushing shoulders with Rapido and/or Razmo. Humorously enough, the crew's diet consists mostly of cheese (their cargo), which Svetlana hates and Benny is allergic to (although said allergies are not seen or discussed within the show). *The Captain is a Scottish seaman and veteran of the seas. He is the only person who knows the final destination of the cheese in the cargo hold. Over the years, he has gone from a rather serious captain to a rather goofy one, often falling into reverie or suggesting absurd courses of action during crises. All of his orders are directed towards the other two crew members. The Captain is voiced by Tony Robinow. *Svetlana, the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n engineer. She is responsible for keeping the S.S. Wanderer afloat and is usually found in situations requiring her massive size and strength. Despite her role on the ship, Svetlana attempts to act feminine whenever possible, which isn't very often. She is often talking to or conspiring with Benny. Sveltana is voiced by Sonja Ball. *Benny, the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese chef. Benny is the only one that will give chase to the rats. Despite having five years of culinary arts under his belt, Benny is usually preparing

soufflé A soufflé is a baked egg-based dish originating in France in the early eighteenth century. Combined with various other ingredients, it can be served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of t ...

s or

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

for the rest of the crew. He is usually interrupted by Rapido and Razmo when he brings aboard a live animal to be slaughtered. Benny is voiced by Arthur Holden.

Episodes

Reception

The series was not reviewed and currently holds no actual score on the website,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. While being targeted at young children in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the series has gained a small

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

of older ages in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, due to its late-night timeslot. The show is also notable for its positive portrayal of rats, unusual for

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n cultures, which often give its fictional rats selfish, antagonizing and evil characteristics.
The show is also fondly remembered in

, where it aired on

in 2003,

Canal J Canal J (stylised as canal J) is a French pay public television channel dedicated to children's programming. It is aimed at children aged seven to fourteen. On 1 February 2019, M6 Group entered negotiations to acquire the television unit of ...

in 2004,

Boing Boing may refer to: Places * Boing, South Sudan, a town in Upper Nile state on the Yabus River Arts, entertainment, and media Music * "Boing", a song by Ween from the album ''The Pod'' * "Boing!" (song), a 2006 song by Nik & Jay * "Boing!", ...

in 2012 and

Gulli Gulli (; stylised as gulli) is a French free-to-air television channel focused on kids programming for those aged 3 to 14. It was created as a result of a partnership between Lagardère Active and state-owned broadcaster France Télévisions. ...

in 2008.

Merchandise

* ''Ratz'' has Region 2

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

volumes out in France and Belgium, released by Warner Home Video, containing eight episodes per DVD. * An album, ''A fond les bananes !'', featuring Éric et Ramzy, has also been released in France. The show's theme song "Pas de panique à bord", the record's opening track, was a minor hit in France. * In Fall 2004, Smoby Toys released the toy line based on the show such as velvet furred dolls, real working play sets and plushies just like the show of the same name. But as of 2006, Smoby has discontinued the show's toy line. *''Ratz'' had CGI-animated music videos that were released on the

Sparx Animation Studios Sparx* is a French-Vietnamese 3D art, VFX and animation studio, with around 400 artists, animators and technical experts. The French offices closed in 2008, while the American and Vietnamese offices closed in 2010. Since 2011, Sparx* has been a ...

website, along with

, with eight songs based from the album of the same name.

References

External links

Official site (in French)

*

{{Xilam Canadian children's animated comedy television series French children's animated comedy television series French children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Xilam 2003 Canadian television series debuts 2003 Canadian television series endings Teletoon original programming Animated television series about mice and rats 2000s Canadian animated television series 2003 French television series debuts 2003 French television series endings 2000s French animated television series English-language television shows