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Rufus (Kim Possible)

Rufus is a fictional character in the American animated television series Kim Possible (2002–2007) and its 2019 live-action film adaptation. Voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright, Rufus is a pet naked mole-rat owned by Ron Stoppable – Kim Possible's best friend and sidekick – and first appears in the show's pilot episode "Crush", which premiered on June 7, 2002. Residing and traveling in his owner's pocket, Rufus accompanies Kim and Ron on missions to protect the world from evildoers, at times proving beneficial to their success.

Rufus

"Crush" (2002)

Rufus

The Series creators Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle created Rufus at the behest of Disney Channel executives who insisted that the animated series should feature an animal sidekick. Inspired by the naked mole-rat exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo, the creative duo conceived the character as a naked mole-rat to trick the network into uttering the word "naked" whenever possible. The writers took several creative liberties that differentiate Rufus from real naked mole-rats, such as a longer lifespan and more palatable appearance. The character is anthropomorphic, but apart from the occasional spoken word communicates using mostly squeaks and giggles, improvised by Cartwright. After considering having the character portrayed by either a live or puppeted mole-rat in the live-action film, the filmmakers opted to make Rufus CG-animated instead, spending several months finalizing a design that was realistic yet appealing.


The character has been called a fan favorite and one of the series' most popular characters by reviewers. Cartwright was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her performance. Rufus has also been named the most famous naked mole-rat by various media and scientific publications, and is credited with introducing the species into mainstream popular culture.

Role[edit]

Rufus is the anthropomorphic pet naked mole-rat of Ron Stoppable,[1] who is Kim Possible's best friend and sidekick.[2] Living and traveling in Ron's pants pocket,[3][4] Rufus accompanies Kim and Ron on international missions as a member Team Possible,[5] during which his actions sometimes jeopardize their missions.[6] However, Rufus has proven both intelligent and capable for a mole-rat, helping his teammates whenever possible and proving adept at overcoming electronic and mechanical obstacles;[3] he typically emerges from Ron's pocket to either offer assistance or eat food.[1] Rufus also shares a strong affinity for nachos with Ron,[7] and is considered to be his owner's best friend, apart from Kim.[8] Josh Weiss of Syfy Wire observed that the character is "capable of infectious energy and non-verbal comedy all the same", despite communicating mostly via squeaks and grunts.[9]


Rufus is one of the show's primary sources of comic relief,[5] alongside Ron.[10] As revealed in "The Naked Mole Rap", a song written about Rufus,[11] Ron obtains Rufus because his father is allergic to all animal furs, leading him to settle for a hairless pet and ultimately discover Rufus on the Internet.[9]

Reception and impact[edit]

The New York Times television critic Julie Salamon wrote "the cheerful presence of Rufus ... signals that ... executive producer and director, Chris Bailey, doesn't mind getting cute in obvious ways."[32] USA Today's Alex Kane cited Rufus among the show's "charming cast" of memorable characters,[33] while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Rob Owen identified him as its breakout character.[34] Rufus is considered by reviewers to be one of the show's most popular characters and components,[16][15][18] establishing himself as a fan favorite.[12][23][35][36] McCorkle believes Rufus is the series' most popular character among younger viewers,[15] an observation with which Judith S. Gillies of The Washington Post agreed.[37] Dylan Kickham of Elite Daily named Rufus both "iconic" and "Everyone's favorite naked mole-rat".[1] Similarly, the Rockford Register Star called Rufus "our favorite naked mole-rat".[38] Andy Swift of TVLine deemed Rufus an "iconic" character.[26] Furthermore, Kickham believes Rufus' role in the series is "the reason why so many young adults have actually heard of naked mole-rats."[1] Cartwright's performance earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program at the 31st Daytime Emmy Awards in 2004.[39][40] MovieWeb's Jeremy Dick hailed Rufus as "one of Cartwright's best roles".[28]


Fans of the series were initially outraged when the film adaptation's first trailer did not feature Rufus.[41] Fans were eventually delighted to learn that Cartwright would be reprising her role in the film.[27] While Blair Marnell of Nerdist opined that producers should be open to recasting the film's main characters in favor of more diverse actors, she insisted that "As long as Nancy Cartwright wants to reprise her role as the voice of Rufus, she should be able to do that for life."[42] Reviewing the film, Polygon's Petrana Radulovic described Rufus as "just silly enough as to not be jarring."[43] Despite being disappointed with the overall film and Rufus' comparative lack of screentime, Aydan Rossovich of The Bear River Current felt he was "The only acceptable character ... while it’s disappointing that he was barely in it, if he had been in the movie more than he was, it would have just made it even more annoying."[44]


STEM Jobs crowned Rufus "one of the most faithful, yet smallest sidekicks of all time."[5] Rufus has been called the most famous naked mole-rat in the world.[45][46] Kristy Pirone of Screen Rant believes Rufus "will live in perpetuity as the most famous naked mole-rat of all time".[14] Massive Science credits Rufus and Kim Possible with introducing naked mole-rats into mainstream popular culture,[47] while Yasmeen Gharnit of Nylon credits the character with bringing awareness to the existence of naked mole-rats.[48] Susan Milius of Science News said the character had achieved "celebrity status".[49] The Liberty Science Center observed that most people may "only know about naked mole rats via cartoon characters", such as Rufus.[50] The Field Museum of Natural History wrote that "Rufus stole the hearts of all who watched him save the day. In many episodes, Rufus is the hero, and like Kim and Ron, scientists agree that naked mole-rats are pretty cool."[51]