History Main / YouDirtyRat

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatoing}}'', a cheap knock-off of ''Ratatouille''. Rats are both heroes and villains, being a {{Mockbuster}}.

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', swarms of them fill Venice's catacombs. It's known that Henry Jones Sr. fears them, just like his son fears snakes.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* Averted in Tom Moorhouse's ''Trickster'', in which rats are the protagonists. Not all of them are good guys, but they're far from the typical, negative representation of rats.

* Creator/OsamuTezuka's ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' subverts this trope by featuring positive depictions of rats. In "Black Rain and White Clouds", Unico befriends a rat couple named Garappachi and Okuzu who live in the basement of Chico's home. He also serves as a father figure to Chico when her grandfather isn't present. He and his wfie struggle to find food in their area due to living in a [[PollutedWasteland polluted area]] caused by a sentient factory. After noticing [[DelicateAndSickly Chico's sickness]] getting worse, he joins Unico to help her feel better and manages to make the polluted area health by the chapter's conclusion. Garappachi appears in the 1979 pilot ''Anime/UnicoBlackCloudAndWhiteFeather'' by [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Sanrio Animation]].

* Averted in Tom Moorhouse's ''Literature/Trickster'', in which rats are the protagonists. Not all of them are good guys, but they're far from the typical, negative representation of rats.

** In another episode it's revealed that Frasier and Niles were themselves named for their mother's lab rats.
** Previously, on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Frasier had a bizarre reaction when his psychologist wife made a pet of her experimental rat and, upon its death, tried to carry it to the park to bury it. He may have a phobia.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons "The Night Watchman" and "We The Animals Squeak" depict mice as reprobate gangsters.

* [[JustForFun/TheItchyAndScratchyShow Itchy]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is a rare "mean mouse" example.

* Inverted in Disney's [[WesternAnimation/MiscellaneousDisneyShorts ''Goliath II'']] where the villain of the short's second act is a mouse.

Like all animal stereotypes, there will be aversions.

* ''LiteratureBewareOfChicken'': In the first volume, [[spoiler: a group of pill-making rats take up residence on Fa Ram, who intend to corrupt Big D into being their stooge.]] Rizzo/Ri Zu averts this, [[DefectorFromDecadence defecting from the rat swarm]] after Big D. saves her life, saving his life in return, and becoming a core member of the cast,and one of the nicest members, [[MasterPoisoner affinity for poisons]] notwithstanding.

* ''Literature/YouDirtyRat'': In the first volume, [[spoiler: a group of pill-making rats take up residence on Fa Ram, who intend to corrupt Big D into being their stooge.]] Rizzo averts this, thankfully.

* Zigzagged in the ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' games. Richter, the rat-masked man who is sent to kill Jacket, at first seems like a horrible person, but the sequel reveals he’s a perfectly normal guy who was forced into attacking the Russian Mafia like Jacket was after the callers threatened to murder his mother.

Fictional rats are typically rangier and leaner than the chubbier or fluffier designs used for mice, [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience and also tend to be colored black or dark gray]] in contrast to the lighter colors used for mice, emphasizing the moral contrast between the two sorts of rodents. A rat might also be ''literally'' dirty and [[PlagueMaster more disease-ridden]] compared to mice.

* This trope is inverted in real life, [[ViewerSpeciesConfusion despite many people confuse rats with mice]]. Rats are actually friendlier, more easily trained, and less likely to bite than mice are, and thus make much better pets than mice do. Anyone who has worked in a pet shop can attest to this. While a mouse that is regularly handled can become quite friendly, other mice tend to be jittery and sometimes aggressive. Rats, on the other hand, are friendly and inquisitive right off, and quickly learn that a human arriving means it's time for food or play. [[http://www.inquisitr.com/166797/rats-free-friends-show-compassion-and-empathy/ Experiments have shown]] that rats are one of the few animals besides humans and higher primates proven to have a sense of compassion.

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': Used horrifically during the scene in [[spoiler:Room 101, when O'Brien uses Winston's [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes absolute worst fear]] against him in order to destroy his last remaining shred of hope and push him over the DespairEventHorizon]].

* Jokingly discussed in ''Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters'', where he argues that rats should have their status as mammals revoked:

* ZigZagged in ''Literature/RatmansNotebooks''. The protagonist admires his rat friends for their intelligence and familial bond, and while they do increasingly bad things on his behalf, the rats are simply following orders and don't understand the morality of what he makes them do. [[spoiler:They're pretty quick learners, though, and have no problem seeking revenge when he tries to drown them all after sending them to kill his boss.]]
* A new breed of large killer rats are the villains in ''Literaure/TheRats'' and its two sequels ''Lair'' and ''Domain'' by the English horror author Creator/JamesHerbert.

* In the hypothetical future depicted in ''Literature/AfterManAZoologyOfTheFuture'', rats have evolved to the point that they've filled in the niches left behind by the [[ExtinctInTheFuture now largely extinct]] carnivorans.

* ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheCurseOfTheMayan'': The first enemy Sydney encounters in the pyramid are rats. They can be defeated with one strike of the [[WhipItGood whip]].

* Marine Officer Nezumi from the Arlong Arc in ''Anime/OnePiece'' qualifies for this trope, as his name is the Japanese word for "rat". Additionally, he wears a grey hood with artificial rat ears and has whiskers on his face, giving him a rat-like appearance.