France 3

Ratz is an animated television series created by France’s Xilam studios, with joint production from Canada. The show stars two rats, Rapido and Razmo, aboard the S.S. Wanderer, a cheese ship with no 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 air time. The French version features the voices of the comedy duo Éric et Ramzy. 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.