Professor Ratigan

"There`s no escape this time, Basil!"

- Professor Ratigan, revealing his true nature

Professor Padraic Ratigan is the main antagonist of Disney's 1986 animated film The Great Mouse Detective. He was the world's greatest criminal mind who plotted to be the first as supreme ruler of all Mousedom.

He was voiced by the late horror actor Vincent Price.

Personality
As Basil's arch-enemy, he possesses many of the characteristics of the classic, evil genius, diabolical villain. He is based on Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories. He is incredibly extravagant in his clothing and his lair, which is filled with champagne, jewels, and luxurious furniture. He is charismatic and very sophisticated, with his black suit, cravat, and cigarette holder, and is absolutely appalled when he is called a rat. Believing he is much better and more intelligent than common rats, he has anyone who calls him a rat suffer their fate. However, during the climatic scene in the Big Ben clock tower, he sheds his pristine clothes and begins snarling and scratching with sharpened claws and thrashing his tail, revealing the true animal within that he tried so hard to disguise.

The Great Mouse Detective
Ratigan plans to use a robot to replace the Queen of England and then have the robot programmed to name him supreme ruler of all Mousedom.

He convinces Mr. Flaversham into building the robot for him by threatening his daughter. He ensures that his henchmen do what he wants by threatening to have them eaten by his cat Felicia if he is displeased.

At the end of the film, Ratigan and Fidget take Olivia hostage and escape on a hot air blimp over London. During their getaway, however, they are pursued by Basil, Dawson, and Flaversham on a makeshift balloon. Ratigan steers his blimp while Fidget pedals the propeller, and tries to outrun them. Fidget almost succeeds but the extra weight is too much for him. So he tells Ratigan that they have to "lighten the load" (meaning to throw Olivia off). Deciding that Fidget is no longer useful, Ratigan throws Fidget off instead.

As a result, Fidget (who can't fly) falls into the Thames River below and presumably drowns. Then Ratigan pedals the blimp himself, but Basil leaps onto Ratigan's blimp to fight him. However, with no helmsman, Ratigan is unable to steer his craft and it crashes into Big Ben. Inside the clock tower Ratigan tries to ambush Basil, but fails and Basil traps Ratigan by throwing his cape in the gears and escapes with Olivia.

It is then that Ratigan, out of sheer bad temper, finally breaks free of the gears, tearing his clothes (including his shoes) in the process, and transforming from a very formal, composed rat to a highly savage one. He pursues Basil with great speed and leaps into him, and they both fall onto the clock's hour hand. Finally, Ratigan extends his long and strong claws and begins slashing Basil, wounding him. He manages to knock Basil off the hand, but Basil grabs onto the wreckage of the blimp. Suddenly, the clock bell tolls, causing Ratigan to plunge off off the hand, as he falls he tries to take Basil with him, but he fails and in the process, he fell 278 feet into the darkness below to his death.

Trivia

 * In the episode "Like Blunt" of Darkwing Duck, Professor Ratigan, Felicia and Fidget the Bat Make a cameo-appearances with Island Salad Sea Resort, Which Came Stole S.H.U.S.H. Agency List.
 * Professor Ratigan along with Basil of Baker Street both make cameos in House of Mouse, both voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
 * Ratigan's first name is Padraic.
 * Ratigan is voiced by Vincent Price who also voiced Zigzag from   The Thief and the Cobbler and also Frederick Loren in the 1959 horror classic House on the Haunted Hill.
 * Ratigan is also similar to Mr. Waternoose: Both are child abusers, both are the owners of their own businesses, both become enemies with the child's guardian, both start off as protagonists, but in the end, reveal themselves to be cruel antagonists.
 * He can be viewed as an animal counterpart of James Moriarty.
 * What makes Ratigan so loathsome is that he oozes charm and servility.