Top 15 Villains: #12- Professor Ratigan

12. Professor Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective; movie)

            “Oh Ratigan! Oh Ratigan! They rest fall behind to Ratigan! Oh Ratigan! The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind!”

Ahem…Sorry, I uh…I like that song…Anyway, Professor Ratigan, from Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective,  falls 12^th place on the list. I know what you’re probably thinking:

“What the hell? How’s a Disney character more villainous than a masked serial-killer and an eco-terroist ninja?”

            Well, mostly because this character is not only based on the classic nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty, but pretty much perfects how Moriarty should be portrayed. He's a narcissistic, sadistic, unforgiving evil genius hell-bent on taking all of Lon-…I mean “Mousedom”…they’re all rodents, give them a break.

            All these attributes are enhanced by the unique voice work given by the great Vincent Price. For the record, Vincent Price is my favorite actor of all time, so this is a huge factor in why I love this vile mastermind. Price’s voice fits Ratigan just like PB&J, giving the Prof. a delightfully frightening aura every time he walks onto the screen.

            Also, the fact that Ratigan doesn’t accept the fact that he is, indeed, a rat only amplifies how insane he is. He had his own henchman killed for accidently calling him one, which was a wee bit of an overreaction. But, who’s going to tell this crazy rat that, right? 

           The highlighting moment is when Ratigan, beaten and his master plan ruined by Basil (the mouse version of Holmes), gives in completely to his primal instincts, becoming what he always denied to be…a mindless, vicious, bloodthirsty rat.

            Out of all the film interpretations of Moriarty, I feel Ratigan did him the most justice…also, extra points for Vincent Price’s involvement.