A bad reputation is difficult for anyone to overcome, and much more so for our poor maligned rat friends. Being blamed for spreading the Black Death and the suffering of up to 200 million people is not an easy history to overcome. Any PR agency would find it a daunting task.
The portrayal of the rat throughout modern culture is littered with examples of rodents acting badly, especially toward the human population. As I discussed earlier, authors, filmmakers and artists have reinforced the perception of the rat as rampaging villains bent on destruction.
However, is this notion well-founded? Do rats really sneak into babies' cradles at night and nibble on their faces? Those who have profited from the negative portrayal of the rat are in no short supply and an apology seems very unlikely from their quarter. However, author Peter Benchley surprised many by famously apologizing for his negative version of the great white shark in JAWS and the decades of demonization that lead to the mass hunting of this amazing animal. And a whole generation who haven’t enjoyed a good night swim since 1978 would love to hear an apology from director Steven Spielberg.
There have been many notable positive portrayals throughout literature, film and mythology. However, until recently their influence has been limited in changing hearts and minds. Wasn’t Mighty Mouse the personification of selflessness in the face of danger? Didn’t Templeton, the mouse of Charlotte’s Web, not side with the hapless pig Wilbur to help him avoid becoming Sunday night dinner?
One of the most celebrated novels and early film adaptations with rodent protagonists is The Secret of NIMH. Adapted from the 1971 book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, the artistry of the animation almost eclipses the multifaceted story. Since its release in 1982 the film has been recognized as a mini-masterpiece of animated film. Made outside of the Disney Studios, the film exceeded expectations as a beautifully crafted film, and managed to present some weighty issues such as animal experimentation and the eradication of wild life while being entertaining for all ages.
Why are the rats of NIMH more intelligent than they usually are? These wild ratties, captured by a government agency, the National Institute of Mental Health are the subjects of sadistic experiments performed with unintended consequences. The rats' became intelligent in human ways with the ability to read, write, and operate complicated machines. On top of all that, the experiments enhanced their longevity and strength resulting in their escape from the NIMH laboratories.
In An American Tail, the Russian mouse Feivel struggles to find his lost family at the same time in 1988 The Great Mouse Detective vied for audience attention. Stuart Little featured the triumvirate of talent with Micheal J. Fox, Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie in 1999. These films continued to explore issues affecting rodents such as being forcibly separated from family members, being kidnapped to advance science and whether rodents can be accepted as equally important as humans, rather than merely having them stand in for human characters.
The animated 2007 film Ratatouille presented the adorable protagonist Remy the rat to a whole new generation of kids. Working to escape the sewers to pursue his dream of cooking in a famous Paris restaurant, the talented rat overcomes an extremely rat-phobic culinary industry to pursue his dream. The film’s calling out of our cultural prejudices pushes new boundaries, as does the recognition that rats like Remy do, in fact, face extra challenges to living their lives because of them.
The rat has certainly had to work hard to win over fans, but the work is not yet
complete. There’s still a troubling disconnect. Perhaps, when more people discover how intelligent and expressive the domesticated rat can be, the audience that has become entranced by the cuteness and cunning of fictional rats on the written page or on the silver screen will discover that their empathy extends to rodents in the real world.