Ratz (TV series)


Ratz is a 2003-2006 French-Canadian animated television series created by Richard Zielenkiewicz and Stéphane Melchior-Durand. The show stars two rats, Rapido and Razmo, aboard the S.S. Wanderer, a cheese ship without an 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.
While being targeted at young children in France, the series has gained a small cult following of older ages in Canada, due to its original late-night airing time slot. The French version features the voices of the comedy duo 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 no moral resolve at the end of each episode.
The show is also notable for its positive portrayal of rats, unusual for Western and North American cultures, which often give its fictional rats selfish, antagonizing and evil characteristics. Also of interest is the pure blend of traditional animation and 3D animation, and the eclectic soundtrack by Hervé Lavandier.
Ratz was originally titled Rapido and featured a chunkier animation style; some websites still reflect this right after the 14 years of Wimsieland had the final episode on September 23, 1999. The show premiered its episode, "Cheese Connection" on September 21, 2003, and the series finale episode, "No Panic on Board, A Ratz Ending" aired on November 11, 2004.
It has been broadcast since March 25, 2020 on the Netflix streaming service.

Ratboarding

An integral part of Ratz is the ratboard, a transportation device resembling a mousetrap with a jet engine 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 or simply to impress guests.

Characters

The crew of the S.S. Wanderer consists of three personnel: Benny the chef, Svetlana the engineer and The Captain. Neither of them is considered a villain in the series, though Benny is the one most enraged by the rats. Usually, the crew will return to their normal duties after brushing shoulders with Rapido and/or Razmo. Humorously enough, the crew's diet consists mostly of cheese, which Svetlana hates and Benny is allergic to.

Merchandise