11 Fictional Rodents: Better Than Real Life?

Creatures big and small have been turned into beloved fictional characters since humanity first learned how to intentionally craft interesting stories. It is fascinating to read or watch fictional tales with talking animals since it is a fun separation from reality. One special facet of fictitious animals is the rodent, as talking mice and rats are much more adorable and fun than their real-life counterparts. Each one has its own special appeal depending on its personality, art medium, and relationship with other characters. Let’s look at some of the most famous, friendly, and funny mice and rats that have appeared in our books and on our screens for decades. 

Fictional Mice

The mice that appear in books, movies, and TV shows are often portrayed as cute and cuddly, maintaining great relationships with humans. This may be because mice in real life are the more visually appealing of the two common rodents pests, with their large heads and soft small bodies. They also rarely venture near any potential predators, like humans, which leaves a lot to the imagination as to what they do all day. They are stereotyped as pests that chew on everything in sight and have an obsession with cheese. While many of these imagined mice carry on these stereotypes, they also lead fascinating lives that have been capturing audiences of all ages for quite some time. 

Mickey & Minnie Mouse

No list about fictional mice would be complete without the family-friendly couple. First introduced in 1928, they have undergone many changes throughout the years and are still some of the most iconic characters ever made. One of the most obvious changes is that their faces gradually became rounder over time, making their appearance even more family-oriented. There are all kinds of adventures that the lovebirds experienced in morning cartoons, holiday specials, and comics. Mickey’s iconic red shorts and Minnie’s multitude of bows give them recognizable features, and push them even closer to being more human-like than mouse-like. This is key in making them appeal to the broadest audience possible, especially young children. Disneyland and all of its related parks are filled with merchandise containing the depictions of these marketable mice, including stuffed animals, ear hats and headbands, and balloons in the shape of their heads. 

Real mice can also be family-oriented, just in different ways from these animated characters. Female mice take longer to mate after their male mate dies, which could be a sign of sentimental attachment to a mate. Some male mice care for their young more than others, which is a very appealing trait to a female mouse looking for a mate. Even though the real pests often carry diseases and don’t provide anything beneficial for the home that it invades, Mickey and Minnie are fun characters that brighten up any home they are projected into. 

Mighty Mouse

This one is more well-known among the older generations, but it is another mouse that is more appealing than the real deal. Originally introduced as a fun variant of Superman in 1942, Might Mouse is a mouse superhero that fights crime with his oddly large list of powers. He is commonly seen in a yellow suit with a red cape, boasting a friendly smile as he brings justice. His standard powers include flight, telekinesis, invulnerability, and super strength. Mighty Mouse is an admirable super hero that can appeal to the whole family, thanks to his tame appearances and friendly disposition. He can also be a good role model, since he always fights fair and does not use his words in malicious ways. Mighty Mouse may have fallen out of the public eye over the years, but he is still a beloved mouse that has captured the hearts of families for years.

Real mice don’t have superpowers, which is good since that would be a wild adventure in trying to capture them. But they are more flexible and agile than we may take them for just by looking at them. Mice can squeeze through cracks the width of a pencil, and can jump up to thirteen inches! They can also support their body weight, which could be considered super strength in an animal that small. Mighty Mouse is a fun cartoon superhero to watch, but the “powers” of real mice definitely elevate them to pest status when they invade your home.  

Angelina Ballerina

This adored fictional mouse may be lesser known, but she is still a much more appealing rodent than real mice. Angelina Mouseling is a young mice aspiring and training to be a ballerina. Angelina started as a character in a children’s book series, written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig, that originated in 1983. It has since progressed into a 60-book series and two different animated TV series. All of Angelina’s family and friends, including her best friend Alice, in the town of Chipping Cheddar are all very darling and appealing. Angelina has been inspiring girls for decades and teaching all kinds of lessons, from how to be a good friend to the importance of honesty. 

Real mice aren’t often seen in ballerina outfits, so we can’t speak to their ballet skills. But they are definitely agile, especially with squeezing into tight places and jumping as mentioned before. They are especially social with their own family and any mouse in their proximity, but they don’t live in a village full of mice. Especially not one as charming as Chipping Cheddar. 

Ralph S. Mouse

Beverly Cleary, known for her Ramona series, is one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time, and for good reason. Her characters are believable and lovable, including her rodent star Ralph S. Mouse. This daredevil mouse has his own trilogy of books, beginning with The Mouse and the Motorcycle in 1965, which introduces the concept of a hotel mouse that loves to ride a toy motorcycle all around his home. Keith, a human boy, is the one who found Ralph trapped in a trash can with his toy motorcycle. This leads to an unlikely friendship where Ralph becomes closer with Keith and struggles with his small size and lower status on the food chain. He longs to be an independent mouse and ride his motorcycle all day, which can speak to the longings of humanity to feel free doing what we love the most. 

While it would be funny to see a mouse riding a motorcycle in reality, it would not be beneficial for anyone involved in pest control to try to catch a motoring mouse. Ralph is a house mouse, which is the most common kind of mouse that invades homes. These small mice can be anywhere from 12 to 20 centimeters long, which explains how they can fit in the smallest of spaces. Ralph is able to communicate with humans through children, since they are the only ones who see him beyond his pesky exterior. Real kids may be more open to the idea of befriending a mouse, but it wouldn’t be the best idea since they are commonly carrying diseases and bacteria. We’ll leave the motorcycle riding to Ralph and focus on keeping real mice out of our homes.

Jerry

Arguably the second most famous mouse to Mickey and Minnie, Jerry from Tom and Jerry is a silent mouse that loves participating in all kinds of antics to torment Tom. He is the epitome of a stereotypical mouse: lives in a hole in the wall, can’t resist cheese, and is the natural enemy of cats. Jerry has a lovable design that just makes you want to squeeze him in a hug, with his round ears and plump body. The long-running cartoon premiered in 1941, and led to an increased interest in owning a mouse as a pet. Jerry is usually portrayed as the victim in many episodes, since Tom initiates most of the conflicts. But Jerry can definitely hold his own and defend himself against the tomcat’s attacks.

Jerry is another house mouse, which makes sense since he literally lives in a house. He is also small and can fit into tight spaces, which is one of the few realistic parts of this show. He is also very strong and often comically uses objects much larger than he is to defend himself or to provoke Tom, depending on his mood and the situation. Mice are also strong, as demonstrated by the fact that they can support their own body weight as described earlier. Jerry tries to stay away from humans, which is also a trait in mice. Since they are so small and easily hunted, mice don’t like to hang around larger beings for longer than they need to. Jerry is a fun character to watch in morning cartoons, so long as his species stops invading homes in the real world. 

Timothy Q. Mouse

Another mouse from an older piece of entertainment, Timothy Q. Mouse is the self-prescribed mentor and protector of Dumbo in the Disney classic Dumbo. He is always wearing his marching band-esque outfit, and develops an unlikely friendship or mentorship with Dumbo early in the film. While everyone makes fun of Dumbo’s exaggerated ears, Timothy is sympathetic towards the young elephant and protects him from the mean older elephants. He pushes Dumbo to his fullest potential in performing in the circus in the hopes of freeing his mother from captivity. Timothy is a great mentor and guardian for Dumbo, and gives mice a good name.

Another stereotype that is frequent in children’s entertainment is elephants being fearful of mice. The reality is that elephants are spooked by anything small and scurrying, so they are not specifically afraid of mice alone. But regardless, this mentorship between Timothy and Dumbo is very unlikely to happen in real life. Mice are good parents to their own offspring, but there is not much evidence that they enjoy parenting other species. One humorous reality-skewed feature of Timothy is his Brooklyn accent. Mice don’t have accents (that we know of), but there are definitely way more rodents in big cities due to the overwhelming population and abundance of leftover food and debris. 

Country Mouse & City Mouse

This tale has been adapted over a variety of mediums over the years, but that’s because of its enjoyable details and classic contrast. The basic story of these two mice is that they each visit the other mouse’s home to spend time with their friend and see if the grass is really greener on the other side. The city mouse found the country dull and void of good provisions, while the country mouse was traumatized by a run-in with a house cat at dinner and longed for the comfort of its simple home in the farmland. One takeaway lesson for readers is that everything has its pros and cons, and it is freeing and good to be content with what you have and where you live. This is a fun story to discover, especially in some of the more beautifully illustrated versions, and paints a picturesque version of mice.

The most realistic part of this tale is that there are mice in all types of environments and habitats. There may be more mice in the city because of the dense human population, but there are definitely mice that love life in the country. Mice gravitate towards anywhere that has reliable food, water, and shelter, which is found in both the city and country. 

Jaq & Gus 

Cinderella is a classic fairytale that portrays animals in a lovable light (besides the stepmother’s cat) because of the title character’s deep love for these creatures. Some of her favorite and closest friends are the mice that live in her room, including Jaq and Gus. In the Disney adaptation, these mice have adorable clothes and likable personalities that make children of all ages wish they could be friends with mice. All of the mice speak “Mouse Latin,” with shortened words and incorrect pronunciations. They are loyal friends, never failing to look out for “Cinderelly” and try their best to protect her from her evil stepfamily.

It’s still unknown if mice speak some form of “Mouse Latin” with each other, but we do know they communicate with other mice like any other species. One reality-based part of the fairytale is how much Gus eats. While he eats lots of cheese on his own, real mice scavenge for food for their families. Conversely, Jaq’s bravery is not so reality-based. He will fight tooth and nail to defend Cinderella, but real mice are not comparatively brave. They will run from any relative sign of danger, human or not. So the elaborate plans to protect Cinderella probably wouldn’t happen in real life, much to our disappointment. 

Fictional Rats

Compared to the lovable and human-like mice we have discussed, rats have gotten the short end of the stick in a lot of stories. They are often portrayed as the “bad guy” and have typical villainish features. Long snouts, wiry bodies, and suspiciously sneaky personalities are common for rat characters. This is likely due to the traits of real rats, who are notorious for bringing all kinds of plagues and bacteria to their new homes, and aren’t the nicest to humans to animals. The three famous rodents we’ll talk about fall on all ends of the character spectrum, which makes them all staples in the entertainment sphere for good reason. 

Templeton

This is a classic example of a rat with the villainous features described earlier. Templeton is one of the more antagonistic characters in Charlotte’s Web, remaining morally gray until the ending. He is very introverted, except to mock Wilbur and selfishly keep a lot of food for himself. He is also an extremely old rat, as sixteen years old is unheard of for a rat. Templeton is a citizen of the farm and he does make the effort to attend meetings and involve himself in all of the drama and fascination surrounding Wilbur. But Templeton steps up to the plate late in the story, when he makes it known that he will care for the egg sac that Charlotte left behind after she sadly passed away. Templeton isn’t classified as a villain, but he definitely doesn’t give rats the best portrayal. 

As stated earlier, rats don’t live anywhere close to sixteen years old, which is how old Templeton is. They live for one to three years, depending on the circumstances and environment. Real rats are also more social than he is, living in their own colonies and making sure their family is fed. They are affectionate with each other, and look out for the good of their family. But unlike Templeton, real rats won’t take care of other species’ babies. So you won’t see a rat caring for an abandoned egg sac anytime soon. But rats are definitely sneaky and food-loving, so E.B. White did include some facts in this beloved children’s classic. 

Rizzo the Rat

Rizzo is a funny rodent that provides much-loved comic relief for the Muppets, which is full of fictional and realistic animals. Rizzo is a rat with a strong Brooklyn accent, and is often shown wearing a stylish outfit with a sporty vibe. He loves jokes and finding the humor in everything, and likes to get what he wants. He often does this by distracting with his humor or sneaky tactics, sticking with the rat stereotypes. You could make a valid case for any of the Muppets being the best one, and class clown Rizzo is no exception. 

We’ve never heard a rat tell a joke, so it’s unclear if they actually have a great sense of humor. But Rizzo’s strong accent is reminiscent of the classic city rat, which is definitely a real problem in our world. He is best friends with Pepe the king prawn, which is also not very realistic since rats tend to stick with their own species. But real rats do love to be in groups and be social, so the Muppets certainly got that right. Rizzo is a very blunt rat that doesn’t hide his opinions from anyone, including his friends, but he is definitely a nicer depiction of the rodent than many of the earlier rat characters in the entertainment world. 

Remy and His Colony

Ratatouille is famous for not only making every viewer hungry for delicious food, but also for portraying rats as fluffy, lovable creatures that have untapped potential to offer the world. Remy, the main character, is a food-loving, kitchen-dominating rat that is fascinated with Parisian restaurant culture and has a natural talent for cooking. He definitely gets better with experience and practice, but there is no doubt that Remy naturally knows how to cook as he controls Linguini’s movements to make the most delectable looking dishes ever. His rat family doesn’t want to go near humans, especially his father, so Remy is an outlier that wants to make great meals that are shared with humans as he learned from his chef idol, Gusteau. But Remy turns his colony into hard-working kitchen dwellers that see the value in bridging the gap between rats and humans through the vessel of food. 

While Remy’s expensive palate is admirable, it is also humorous given the much simpler preferences of real rats. They like grains, nuts, and fruits, but will settle for anything that provides sustenance. But like Remy, rats have an excellent sense of smell and use it to find the best food and shelter that they can. This is what Remy uses for finding the best quality ingredients for his dishes, so the writers definitely got that right. Scientists have been asked since the movie was released about the possibility of rats training to cook. The general consensus is that rats can definitely be trained to do certain tasks, but they won’t be able to develop a trained palate for good ingredients or a knowledge of cooking. Plus, the disgusting amount of feces that rats produce would result in countless health code violations. 

Pest Control is Sweeter than Fiction

These rodents are all fictional characters, as beloved as they are, but pest control is not a fantasy. Our team has all of the equipment and eco-friendly treatments to take care of any rodent problem without harming your home or the environment. Contact us at any time to learn more about how we can keep your space rodent-free so that you can enjoy these lovable characters in their stories, not in your home or business.

***Disclaimer:  Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act recognizes “fair use” copywriter content as such:  “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phono-records or by any other means specified by that section, for proposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” This blog post may contain certain copyrighted works and characters that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyrighted holder(s), however, the content on this post qualifies as “commentary” on the copyrighted works under the “fair use” doctrine of the U.S. Copyright Act and is thereby protected by federal law. Furthermore, we do not claim any ownership or creative rights of any characters on this list, and all rights outside of the fair use doctrine belong to the respective owner(s).

Citations

Giaimo, C. (2017, January 25). Why are rats always the bad guys? Atlas Obscura. Available at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-are-rats-always-the-bad-guys (Accessed on April 5, 2022).

Mighty Mouse. (n.d.). The Terrytoons Wiki. Retrieved on April 5, 2022, from https://terrytoons.fandom.com/wiki/Mighty_Mouse 

The mouse and the motorcycle. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved on April 5, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_and_the_Motorcycle 

Wisel, C. (2021, September 29). We asked science if rats can actually cook like in ‘Ratatouille’ and it said no but we kept pushing anyway. Eater. Available at https://www.eater.com/22697108/can-rats-cook-like-ratatouille (Accessed on April 5, 2022). 

Yrika, B. (2021, May 25). Female mice take longer to find a new mate after death of monogamous mate than males. Phys Org. Available at https://phys.org/news/2021-05-female-mice-longer-death-monogamous.html (Accessed on April 5, 2022).