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| “ | My friends... we are about to embark on the most odious, the most evil, the most diabolical scheme of my illustrious career. A crime to top all crimes, a crime that will live in infamy! Tomorrow evening, our beloved monarch celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. And... with the enthusiastic help of our good friend, Mr. Flaversham... it promises to be a night she will never forget. Her last night... and my first, as supreme ruler of all MOUSEDOM! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan about his revolution plan. |
| “ | The horror of my every waking moment! THE NEFARIOUS PROFESSOR RRRRATIGAN! | „ |
| ~ Basil introducing Ratigan's picture to Dawson and Olivia. |
| “ | THERE'S NO ESCAPE THIS TIME, BASIL!!!! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan after showing his feral nature to Basil and blocking him from reaching his dirigible, Dr. Dawson, and the Flavershams. |
Professor Padraic Ratigan, better known as Professor Ratigan, or simply known by his surname Ratigan, is the main antagonist of Disney's 26th full-length animated feature film The Great Mouse Detective, which is based on the children's book series Basil of Baker’s Street by the late Eve Titus and the late Paul Galdone.
He is the arch-nemesis of the famous mouse detective known as Basil of Baker Street, and is also the self-proclaimed "world's greatest criminal mind". Just as Basil is based on Sherlock Holmes, Professor Ratigan is based on Holmes' arch-nemesis James Moriarty. He is Fidget's boss, Felicia the Cat's owner and has a gang of thugs at his disposal.
Portrayals[]
- In the original film, he was voiced by the late Vincent Price, who also portrayed Cardinal Richelieu in the 1948 film adaptation of The Three Musketeers, Henry Jarrod in the 1953 remake of House of Wax, Mr. Scratch in The Story of Mankind, King Richard III in the 1962 remake of The Tower of London, Prince Prospero in the 1964 adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death, Dr. Goldfoot in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Egghead in the 1960s Batman TV series, Matthew Hopkins in Witchfinder General, Lord Edward Whitman in Cry of the Banshee, Anton Phibes in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, January Q. Irontail in Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Edward Lionheart in Theater of Blood, one of the Sub-humans in Fire and Ice, Sinister Man in Bloodbath at the House of Death, himself in Escapes, Phantom in the Disneyland Paris attraction Phantom Manor and Zigzag in The Thief and the Cobbler.
- In the Read-Along Storybook, he was voiced by Corey Burton, who also voiced the Hatbox Ghost in Disney Parks' "Haunted Mansion" attraction, Captain Hook and Shan Yu in Kingdom Hearts, Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Megatron in Transformers: Animated, Scarecrow in Batman: Gotham Knight, Quint in Disney's Timon & Pumbaa series. Chernabog in House Of Mouse, and Count Dooku in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
- In House of Mouse, he was voiced by Maurice LaMarche, who voiced The Brain in Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, Father in Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Big in Zootopia, Mortimer Mouse in the Mickey Mouse franchise, Alec Baldwin in Team America: World Police, Mr. Freeze and Calendar Man in the Batman: Arkham video game series, Yosemite Sam and Daffy Duck in the Looney Tunes franchise, Koto in All Hail King Julien, Dr. Nitrus Brio in Crash Bandicoot, Joseph Stalin in Histeria!, and Lrrr, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt, Francis X. Clampazzo, Schlump and Fleb, the Donbot, and The Big Brain in Futurama.
Personality[]
As Basil's archenemy, Ratigan possesses many of the characteristics of the classic evil genius and diabolical villain. He is based on Professor James Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories. He is incredibly prosperous and extravagant in his clothing and his lair, which is filled with champagne, jewels, and luxurious furniture.
He is very charismatic, manipulative, and sophisticated psychopath, with his black suit, cravat, and cigarette holder, and is absolutely appalled when he is called a rat. Believing that he is much better and more intelligent than common rats, he has anyone who calls him a rat suffer their fate.
Ratigan is a big bad guy, a true genius of evil. Redoubtably intelligent, he is able to play his arch enemy, Basil, by dragging him into one of his traps. But Ratigan is a threat to his own acolytes. Sadistic, cruel and devilish, he does not hesitate to insult his enemies, to brutalize his accomplices and to sacrifice those who get in his way. This vicious crime lord has no moral sense and as soon as someone stands in front of him, when someone annoys him, he eliminates him/her without any care. Even his supposed caring treatment of his pet Felicia the Cat is only considered pragmatic as he only uses her a tool to devour those who annoy or displease him in any way, and doesn't even raise an eyelid about her safety when his plans go awry.
However, during the climactic 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. As Basil rightfully points out, there are no villainous acts that he isn't willing to commit. Because of his sadism, narcissism and cruelty, Ratigan is considered to be one of the vilest Disney villains ever created.
Biography[]
The Great Mouse Detective[]
| “ | Thank you, thank you. But it hasn't all been champagne and caviar. I've had my share of adversity. Thanks to that miserable second-rate detective, Basil of Baker Street. For years, that insufferable pipsqueak has interfered with my plans. I haven't had a moment's peace of mind. But, all that's in the past! This time, nothing, not ever Basil can stand in my way! All will bow before me! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan when playing his harp. |
Known for being the rodent 'Napoleon of Crime', Ratigan has been responsible for many criminal operations such as the "Big Ben Caper" and the "Tower Bridge Job", which had devastating results to the mice citizens of London. His actions earned him the ire of Basil, who managed to foil Ratigan's plans using his wits, but failed to capture him as Ratigan evades his grasp.
Ratigan is planning upon his next diabolical scheme: to use a robot to replace the Queen of Mousedom and then have the robot programmed to name him supreme ruler of all Mousedom during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at Buckingham Palace. In order to start off, he sends his bat henchman named Fidget to kidnap the local mouse toymaker Hiram Flaversham. Ratigan then forces Mr. Flaversham into building the robot for him by having his daughter Olivia kidnapped and held hostage if Hiram refuses to cooperate. He ensures that his henchmen do what he wants by threatening to have them fed to his pet cat Felicia if they displease or fail him in any way.
After Fidget successfully captures Olivia, outsmarts Basil and Dawson and keeps her contained inside a bottle, Ratigan is very impressed that Fidget has gotten the supplies they need for the plan; such as the royal guard uniforms for the henchmen and the tools and gears needed for the robot's modifications. However, he is angry to learn that Fidget lost the list he wrote, and that Basil was chasing Fidget during Olivia's capture.
Knowing that any mouse of Basil's caliber can use the list to track down to his lair, Ratigan attempts to have Fidget fed to Felicia, but later changes his mind when he realizes that he can use this opportunity to trap Basil. As planned, Ratigan awaited for Basil's arrival along with his newly associate David Q. Dawson. After having himself and his henchmen to surprise Basil and Dawson with a welcoming celebration, Ratigan mocks Basil for falling into his trap (despite complimenting him for his sailor disguise), and his men start to laugh, causing Basil to sink into depression, much to Dawson's dismay and to Ratigan's delight.
Satisfied that he has broken Basil's spirit, Ratigan had his men to tie up Basil and Dawson in a mouse-trap, planning to have them killed by using a Rube-Goldberg contraption: Ratigan will play a record, and as the song plays, the phonograph arm will tighten up a rope, which will release a tiny ball that will set off the mouse trap and trigger a gun, a crossbow, an axe, and a giant anvil that will kill the two. Ratigan then leaves for Buckingham Palace, where Fidget and his henchmen kidnap the Queen and attempt to have her fed to Felicia.
During the ceremony, Flaversham (forced via gunpoint) controls the robot into introducing Ratigan to the mice as her new consort, much to their shock. Ratigan then proceeds to announce his new dictatorial laws to his "subjects", such as proposing a heavy tax policy against the elderly, the disabled, and children. However, the queen robot starts to rebel against him, much to his embarrassment; it turns out that Basil managed to break himself and Dawson free from the death trap and they head onward to Buckingham Palace (with the help from Shelock Holmes's pet dog named Toby), where they managed to rescue the Queen and tie up several of Ratigan's men. Controlling the robot, Basil denounces Ratigan as a fraud and traitor before revealing himself to Ratigan.
With his plan exposed, Ratigan is now being trampled by Basil and his friends while the rest of Ratigan's men are pummeled down by the angry civilians. However, Fidget manages to break free and take Olivia hostage once again, and refusing to accept defeat, he and Ratigan 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". Ratigan agrees with him, but rather than throwing Olivia off (as he still needs her as a hostage), he instead betrays Fidget by throwing him off, resulting Fidget (who cannot fly) to fall into the Thames River below. 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, who is returned to Hiram.
It is then that Ratigan (out of sheer bad temper) finally breaks free of the gears, tearing his clothes (including his gloves and shoes) in the process and somehow completely loses his composure, transforming into a highly savage beast. He pursues Basil with great speed and leaps into him (due to Dr. Dawson unable to get their dirigible too close for Mr. Flaversham to reach Olivia), and they both fall onto the clock's hour hand. Declaring to be the last straw as he won't escape from Basil this time and prevent him from reaching his dirigible and Dr. Dawson and the Flavershams, Ratigan furiously extends his long and strong claws and physically assaults Basil with all of his rage. He manages to knock Basil off the hand, but Basil grabs onto the wreckage of the blimp as Ratigan yells that he won the battle. Basil reveals that he only took the blows to remind that the clock bell will strike at 10:00, having pickpocketed Ratigan's tiny bell to prove his point. Ratigan realizes this too late that he did not win the long time battle against Basil as the minute hand strikes at 10, causing the clock bell to tolls, and the vibration causes Ratigan to lose his balance and plunge off the hour hand.
As Ratigan falls screaming to the streets below, he tries to take Basil with him, but this fails as Basil was able to use the propeller mechanism from Ratigan's blimp to fly himself to safety. The local newspaper later includes a small headline reading "Time Runs Out for Ratigan" (a pun of Ratigan falling from a clock). What happens to Ratigan afterwards is unknown, but he either died during the fall, or was arrested and awaiting trial for the crimes he has committed for many years, and especially his usurpation attempts if he survived.
Other canons[]
House of Mouse[]
Professor Ratigan appears a few times in House of Mouse, now voiced by Maurice LaMarche, whom also voices Basil. He is usually sitting in the club during crowd shots with Fidget and other Disney villains. Like the other villains, Ratigan is depicted as something of an actor, whom mostly acts graciously at the House, but still has a grudge against Basil and Dawson. In one of his only speaking appearances in Donald's Lamp Trade, Ratigan tries to lure Basil and Dawson into a mousetrap with cheese, but the former recognizes the trap and warns his friend, leading Ratigan to appear out of a nearby trapdoor and lament the failure of his trap.
Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel[]
Professor Ratigan is one of the villains brought back to life to be imprisoned in the Isle of the Lost. It is mentioned once that he and his crew went to Ursula's Fish and Chips Store and every time they go there, Ursula chases him out.
Disney Parks[]
Ratigan was once a walkaround character at the Disney parks during the film's initial release. But he has since been retired, supposedly because he frightened children. His last appearance was at a special event at the Magic Kingdom in 2004.
Disney Comics[]
A number of European follow-up comics depict Ratigan as having survived the fall from Big Ben by using his cape like a parachute and landing on the cushioned roof of a passing carriage, than planning to get revenge against Basil and to rebuild his criminal empire. Several of the stories in which Ratigan features are directly based on stories from the original Sherlock Holmes storylines.[1]
Basil the Great Mouse Detective[]
After the film, a video game was released for Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64, in it, Ratigan returns from his death and kidnaps Dawson. In the gameplay, Basil searches for clues to find Dawson, whilst avoiding fake clues placed there by Ratigan and fending off Ratigan's gang from the film, including Fidget. The game ends with Basil finding Dawson, but Ratigan escapes the two in a speedy blimp.
Other Appearances[]
Ratigan made a cameo appearance in the next disney animated film, Oliver & Company. During the song "Perfect Isn't Easy", he appeared inside one of the portraits in Georgette's room.
In the episode "Like Blunt" of Darkwing Duck, Professor Ratigan, Felicia, and Fidget the Bat also make a cameo appearances with Island Salad Sea Resort.
Ratigan cameoed in an episode of Quack Pack on the cover artwork to a pack of criminal trading cards.
Quotes[]
| “ | Oh, I love it when I'm nasty. | „ |
| ~ Professor Ratigan |
| “ | What was THAT?! What did you call me? I AM NOT A RAT!!! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan after drunkenly being called a rat by Bartholomew. |
| “ | SILENCE!!! (to his henchmen before throwing Bartholomew out) Oh, my dear Bartholomew. I'm afraid that you've gone and upset me. You know what happens when someone upsets me. | „ |
| ~ Ratigan about to feed Bartholomew to Felicia. |
| “ | Oh, Felicia, my precious, my baby. Did Daddy's little honey bunny enjoy her tasty treat? (Felicia burps) I trust that there will be no further interruptions. And now.... as you were singing... | „ |
| ~ Ratigan cuddling Felicia after feeding Bartholomew to her. |
| “ | You fool!... isn't it clear to you? The superior mind has triumphed! I've won! *laughs* | „ |
| ~ Ratigan berating Basil for falling into his trap. |
| “ | Ooooh, this is wicked! So delightfully wicked. Mr. Flaversham, let me congratulate you on a superb piece of craftsmanship. See what you can do with the proper motivation? (cackles evilly) | „ |
| ~ Ratigan commending Flaversham for his excellent skills of creating the robot Queen. |
| “ | Ratigan: It was my fond hope to stay and witness your final scene, but you were 15 minutes late, and I have an engagement at Buckingham Palace. Now, you will remember to smile for the camera, won't you? Say cheese! Dawson: You FIEND!! Ratigan: Sorry, chubby. You should've chosen your friends more carefully. |
„ |
| ~ Ratigan telling a trapped Basil about his true plan and mocking an angry Dawson. |
| “ | Robot Queen: I present to you a stateman among mice, a gifted leader, a crusader for justice... a majestic mountain of humility, and my new royal consort: Professor Ratigan! (The mice gasp in horror) Ratigan: Thank you, Your Majesty! And now, as your royal consort, I have a slight few suggestions. (clears throat) Item 1..... |
„ |
| ~ Ratigan presenting himself as the Queen's 'royal consort' to the mice of Buckingham Palace. |
| “ | Ratigan: Item 96: a heavy tax shall be levied against all parasites and spongers... such as the elderly, the infirmed, and especially, heh heh, little children. Old Mouse: That's ridiculous! You're INSANE!! Ratigan: Perhaps I haven't made myself clear.... I have the power! Robot Queen: Of course, you do. Ratigan: I AM SUPREME!!! Robot Queen: Only you! Ratigan: THIS IS MY KINGDOM!!!(laughs maniacally) |
„ |
| ~ Ratigan addressing his new laws to his 'subjects'. |
| “ | Stay where you are... or the girl DIES! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan threatening to kill Olivia Flaversham. |
| “ | Would you kindly sit down and SHUT UP?! | „ |
| ~ Ratigan to Olivia Flaversham. |
| “ | Ratigan: I've WON!!! (laughing) Basil: On the contrary, the game's not over yet! |
„ |
| ~ Ratigan's last words after he thought Basil fell off the Big Ben clocktower and believing he has won the battle against him. Actually, he lost the battle. |
Vocals[]
- Vincent Price's Ratigan (as well as the "Thriller") Maniacal Laugh
Trivia[]
- Ratigan is based on the "Napoleon of Crime" known as James Moriarty. However, Ratigan has a more barbaric and sadistic personality than Moriarty.
- Also, unlike Moriarty or the character from the Basil of Baker Street novels, Ratigan is more of a terroristic mastermind than only a crime lord, as he commits crimes for political reasons (such as attempted revolution by usurping Queen Mousetoria so he can rule Mousedom himself as a dictator), while Moriarty commits crimes only for the sake of doing so (similar to real-life crime lords). Also, during the song "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind", it is revealed that Ratigan has drowned widows and orphans, another common act of terrorism.
- In a deleted song lyric for his "Greatest Criminal Mind" song, it was to be elaborated that the "Tower Bridge Job" he mentioned was an attack and theft of the Tower Bridge where he and his minions threw several innocent mice into the river below and shot those who came up for air, an act that could also be reminiscent of terrorism.
- Judging by the violence of his past crimes, Ratigan also shares similarities with the late, notorious cult leader Charles Manson.
- Ratigan is the third main antagonist of a Disney film to be a rodent, preceded by the Rat from Lady and the Tramp and the Mouse from Goliath II.
- He was one of Vincent Price's favorite roles because he got to sing two original songs for him.
- Ratigan was again drawn as a skinny character, but after Vincent Price was cast, Ratigan was made much more large and muscular to match Vincent Price's larger than life performance.
- While never mentioned onscreen, Ratigan's first name in the Basil of Baker Street books is Padraic.
- Incidentally, both Padraic and Ratigan are Irish names, implying he may have Irish origin, which could further render him as an illegitimate ruler to Mousedom in addition to being a non-mouse.
- Ratigan is one of the few Disney villains to have canonically murdered children (as stated during the song "World's Greatest Criminal Mind" with the line "worse than the widows and orphans you've drowned"). The other three are Shan Yu, The Walrus, and Sabor.
- Ratigan's supervising animator is Glen Keane, who also animated the Bear from The Fox and the Hound and Bill Sykes in Oliver and Company, the latter was coincidentally modeled after Ratigan as well. In fact, in his shredded form, he bears a resemblance to the Beast, another character animated by Keane.
- Originally, Ratigan was going to get killed by crashing his blimp against the Big Ben during the climax, though Basil and Olivia would safely survive the crash. However, Jeffrey Katzenberg insisted for the inclusion of a showdown between Ratigan and Basil, leading the filmmakers to come up with the fight in the Big Ben.
- Ratigan was originally going to reveal more of his tyrannical plans as supreme ruler onscreen, such as restoring slavery and immediately executing all current prisoners to make the room for new prisoners. However, these were cut from the final film due to being considered too offensive and dark for a Disney animated feature, but are kept in the storybook adaptation.
- In addition, his intended tax policies are 100% according to the storybook, which could deprive all citizens of vital financial sources as a result.
- Despite sharing the same name as his literary counterpart, in the books he is really a mouse and not a rat. This is probably the basis of his hatred against being seen as a "rat" (which he is in Disney's adaptation).
- The movie Ratigan is also far more cruel and murderous than his original counterpart.
- Ratigan is called 'Professor' by his henchmen, Basil, and even the public, although it is unknown if he actually is a professor (or of what) or if it's just a self-proclaimed title to bolster his narcissism.
- His inspiration, Moriarity, was once a professor of mathematics before turning to crime, so it's possible that a similar thing applies to Ratigan, as well.
External Links[]
- Professor Ratigan on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Professor Ratigan on the Disney Wiki
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