The CEO Who Inspired Ratigan
Disney's The Great Mouse Detective was an animated take on the classic tale of Sherlock Holmes, featuring mice and rats in Victorian-era London. While creating the characters, animators looked at old photographs and paintings of Londoners in the 1800s. When creating the film's villain, Ratigan, they looked to former Disney CEO Ron Miller.
Like Ratigan, Miller had a large and formidable frame, standing at 6'6″, and was a former professional football player. Considering this villain's evil, we hope that's where the similarities ended. This fascinating insight into the inspiration behind Ratigan's character highlights the creative and sometimes unexpected sources of inspiration that animators draw from to bring their characters to life.
