Ratz
Created by	Richard Zielenkiewicz (as Monsieur Z)
Directed by	François Reczulski
Starring	French: Éric Judor Ramzy Bédia Emmanuel Garijo Sylvia Bergé Gérald Rinaldi English: Terrence Scammell Rick Jones Tony Robinow Sonja Ball Arthur Holden
Composer	Hervé Lavandier
Country of origin	France Canada
No. of episodes	52
Production
Executive producer	Marc du Pontavice
Producer	Marc du Pontavice
Running time	22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Production companies	Tooncan Productions, Inc. Xilam
Original release
Network	Teletoon (Canada) France 3 andCanal J (France)
Release	September 21, 2003 (2003-09-21) – January 17, 2004 (2004-01-17)

Ratz is a French-Canadian animatedcomedyadventure television series created by Richard Zielenkiewicz. The show stars two rats, Rapido and Razmo, aboard theS.S. Wanderer, a cheese-filled 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.^[1] The rats themselves live in the hull of the ship in a lavish two-bedroom apartment.

The French version features the voices of thecomedy duo Éric et Ramzy, while the English version features the voices ofTerrence Scammell as Rapido andRick Jones as Razmo.

The show premiered its first episode, "Cheese Connection" on March 7, 2003, onTeletoon, and the series finale episode, "Tomo the Sumo" aired on October 27, 2003. It can be streamed online since March 25, 2020 onNetflix, released in French first.^[2]

Ratz was originally titledRapido (in an unaired pilot) and featured a chunkier animation style.^[3] Also of interest is the pure blend oftraditional animation and3D animation, and the eclectic soundtrack by Hervé Lavandier.

Ratz mainly focuses on a duo of the eponymous rats, Rapido and Razmo, whose contrasting personalities often have them butt heads with each other. The only thing they both share is their love of cheese and live on board the S.S. Wanderer for that very reason. As they have occasional encounters with the ship's crewmates, or even get involved, the duo have all sorts of wacky misadventures. Some of the episodes also involve the rats having to deal with new one-shot 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 ajet set-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, feeling important and wooing women. He is voiced byTerence Scammell, but was voiced byRon Pardo in the pilot.
• 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 becomedepressed, emotionally scarred andobsessive-compulsive. Razmo is also childish, sometimes speaking to aplush toy. His interests include playingstringed bass, jazz, counting the cheese, inventing and making friends. In the originalRapido short, Razmo had aDeep South accent; his voice was changed to have a slightBrooklyn accent. He is voiced byRick Jones, but in the pilot, he was voiced byScott McCord.

The rats themselves also have a means of transport (animated usingcel-shaded 3D). An integral part ofRatz is the ratboard, a device resembling amousetrap with ajet 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 bytether 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.

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. He is voiced by Tony Robinow.
• Svetlana, the Russian 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. She is voiced by Sonja Ball.
• Benny, the Japanese 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 preparingsoufflés orsushi for the rest of the crew. He is usually interrupted by Rapido and Razmo when he brings aboard a live animal to be slaughtered. He is voiced byArthur Holden.

This sectionneeds aplot summary. Pleaseadd one in your own words.(June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This sectionneeds expansion with: No Metacritic score. To-do: look for any critic reviews in any known website. You can help byadding to it.(July 2022)

The series has no notable reviews and thus holds noMetacritic score.

While being targeted at young children inFrance, the series has gained a smallcult following of older ages inCanada, due to its late-night timeslot. The show is also notable for its positive portrayal ofrats, unusual forWestern andNorth American cultures, which often give its fictional rats selfish, antagonizing and evil characteristics. The show is also fondly remembered inFrance, where it aired onFrance 3 in 2003,Canal J in 2004,Boing in 2012 andGulli in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Ratz hasRegion 2DVD volumes out in France and Belgium, released by France Télévisions and Warner Home Video, containing eight episodes per DVD.
• A few albums,A fond les bananes ! andPas de panique à bord , 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 theSparx Animation Studios website, along withTeletoon, with eight songs based from the album of the same name.

• Official site (in French)
• Xilam site
• Ratz atIMDb
• Official home site (in French)

• 2000s Canadian animated comedy television series
• 2000s Canadian children's television series
• 2000s French animated television series
• 2003 Canadian television series debuts
• 2003 French television series debuts
• 2004 Canadian television series endings
• 2004 French television series endings
• Animated television series about mice and rats
• Canadian children's animated adventure television series
• Canadian children's animated comedy television series
• Canadian English-language television shows
• Children's television series about talking animals
• Teletoon original programming
• France 3 original programming
• France Télévisions children's television series
• French children's animated adventure television series
• French children's animated comedy television series
• Xilam

• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles without plot summaries from June 2020
• Articles to be expanded from July 2022
• All articles to be expanded
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023
• Articles needing additional references from March 2023
• All articles needing additional references