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Wife and I googled "movies about rats" and this one came up. Willard (1971) is about a weird little guy who is shunned at work and has no friends. He gains friends in the form of a giant rat colony in his house, and his two favorite rats are named Ben and Socrates. When Socrates is killed, Willard and Ben avenge him by killing Willard's boss.

First of all, the rats look just like two of my boys, Chrysanthemum and identical twins Daisy and Buttercup!!

Second of all, one of my favorite albums of all time is Will Wood's "in case i make it,". I was so excited to realize the song Willard! was based on this movie. The album is one I can not listen to without crying ugly tears about the mortality of all the things I love, so I was prepared to be emotionally devastated by the movie. I was wrong. The movie made me so mad. I loved it. Let's discuss.

This was intended to be a horror movie. As a rat owner, I am sure I am a little biased, but the rats in this movie are so cute. I didn't spend a single second of the movie scared of the rats. Even one reviewer at the time of the movie's release stated, "thought that the rats were "so well-mannered and prettily groomed that they are more likely to elicit coos of delight than shudders of fear..." (Milne, Tom (November 1971). "Willard". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 38, no. 454. p. 229.)The rats are clearly well fed, happy rats scamping and playing. At one point they "attack" a character, which consists of squeaking sounds and someone off screen throwing rats gently at the actor. How do I get hired to do that?

Although the rats in the movie were perfect, Willard the character was NOT. Willard pissed me off. He shows clear RAT FAVORITISM throughout the movie. Socrates is the perfect rat and is allowed in the bedroom. However, if Ben tries to come along, Ben is EVIL and MISBEHAVING. Justice for Ben, he did nothing wrong. Anyway, Willard brings Socrates and Ben to work one day. He hides them in a supply closet where they are discovered, and Willard's boss kills Socrates. This is where my beef with Willard comes in. During this scene, Willard just?? watches his boss kill his rat??? While crying? Then after, when he returns to get Ben, he says, "There was nothing I could do!"

UM?? Yeah there was??? You could have just...stopped your boss from killing the rat? It wouldn't have been hard?? After this, Ben and Willard kill Willard's boss. Willard decides Ben is too evil and tries to kill him and the rest of the colony, but Ben and the rats win in the end. Opening up for the sequel, BEN. Which I will review when I get around to watching it. Overall, the movie was very silly but I liked it.