Disney's 'Ratatouille' Boosts Demand for Pet Rats

What a difference starring in a major Hollywood blockbuster can make. After this summer's floods, rats were enemy number one. Newspapers said Britain faced a rodent population explosion; the wet weather meant we would be inundated by the creatures.

That was before “Ratatouille.” Thanks to the latest Disney/Pixar's digital animation studio box office hit, featuring a lovable French rodent, the reputation of the rat is undergoing a PR renaissance. Children are now desperate to get their hands on a pet rat.

A pet store chain says it has been inundated with requests for the animals. Pets at Home said sales of rats in the half-term holiday were up 50 percent because of the popularity of “Ratatouille.”

"It seems Ratatouille has done wonders for the image of rats and finally helped to portray the image we have long been keen to promote – which is that contrary to popular opinion, rats are one of the cleanest and least smelly pets you can own," said Steve Fairburn, a rodent expert with Pets at Home.

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Source: news.independent.co.uk