Rizzo the Rat
Template:Short description Template:Infobox character Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show, created and originally performed by Steve Whitmire until 2016.
He is a fictional rat who appeared on The Muppet Show and numerous films, with a starring role in the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol.
The character is particularly associated with Gonzo the Great, with the two sharing a double act since 1992. Whitmire based the character on Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy.
CharacterEdit
Rizzo is a streetwise and sarcastic rat with a New Jersey accent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is a self-proclaimed acrophobe.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> His humor can be risqué, as in the TV series The Muppets where he was given the line, "Is ABC going to be OK with 'Mother Teresa on a stick'?" To avoid potential difficulty with real-life censors, alternative lines were filmed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rizzo's family has been mentioned in Muppet media. He has 1,274 brothers and sisters, as told to Gonzo in The Muppet Christmas Carol. In 2016, Disney claimed that Rizzo came from a family of pizza makers as part of the backstory of the new PizzeRizzo restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
Rizzo's name is derived from Dustin Hoffman's Ratso Rizzo character in Midnight Cowboy.<ref name="CNN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Steve Whitmire created the character,<ref name="Beaumont">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> based on rats he had previously made out of bottles.<ref name="CNN"/>
Rizzo first appeared in episode 48 of The Muppet Show, as one of many rats following Christopher Reeve backstage.<ref name="CNN"/> He can be seen mugging and reacting to practically every line of dialogue. He remained a scene-stealing background figure through the final season, occasionally performing with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.<ref name="CNN"/> By the time of The Muppet Christmas Carol, Whitmire had been performing Rizzo for around 12 years.<ref name="Beaumont"/>
After the series, he appeared in The Great Muppet Caper as a bellboy in a fleabag London hotel. He has appeared in most later Muppet projects, including The Muppets Take Manhattan<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Muppets Tonight. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, he developed a double act with Gonzo,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with director Brian Henson and the crew envisioning Rizzo as "pain-in-the-neck sidekick."<ref name="Beaumont"/> The characters narrate, break the fourth wall, and Rizzo challenges Gonzo's claims to be Charles Dickens.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Gonzo and Rizzo partnership was continued in Muppet Treasure Island, with Rizzo again offering a humorous critique of the handling of the story,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in Muppets from Space. Along with Kermit and Gonzo, Rizzo gave an audio commentary for the Muppets from Space DVD.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Rizzo appears as a background character in the 2011 film The Muppets, without a spoken dialogue, although he is seen singing along during the finale, as well as the scene in which Kermit the Frog addresses a large crowd of Muppets. In Muppets Most Wanted (2014), and the short feature Rizzo's Biggest Fan on the Blu-ray release, the character calls for more screentime.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rizzo returned to prominence in the TV series The Muppets, where he was on a writing crew with Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In October 2016, Whitmire was dismissed by The Muppets Studio.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> No replacement performer for Rizzo has been announced, though Benjamin Diskin voiced baby Rizzo in the animated series Muppet Babies (2018–2022).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
AppearancesEdit
- The Muppet Show<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (1980–1981) (TV)
- The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982)
- Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986, background character)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- The Jim Henson Hour (1989, background character)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
- Muppet*Vision 3D (1991, pre-show only)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> – Appearance as himself
- Muppet Classic Theater (1994)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- Muppet Treasure Island (1996)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> – Appearance as himself
- Muppets Tonight (1996–1998)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> (TV)
- Muppets from Space (1999)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- Disneyland (2001)
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> (TV)
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> (TV) – Appearance as himself and the Mayor of Munchkinland
- Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) (TV)
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) (TV)
- The Muppets (2011, background character)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular (2013)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/> (TV)
- Muppets Most Wanted (2014)<ref name="behindthevoiceactors1"/>
- The Muppets (2015–2016) (TV)
- Muppet Babies (2018–2022) (TV)
- Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021, silent cameo) (Streaming)