History Main / TerrifyingPetStoreRat

* ''Film/{{TheAmazingSpider-Man}}'' uses this with lizards, who lead Peter into the sewers after Conners and participate in a fake out scare where they make Peter think The Lizard is coming.

This is generally caused by the fact that wild animals are really hard to work with. A wild rat might panic and flee realistically, but getting to sit still long enough to for the actors to show up is a challenge, as is anything involved in moving it. So a tame ball python that doesn't barely moves is a better choice than a deadly jungle snake, especially since [[ViewersAreMorons no one will notice the difference anyway.]] Strangely, this often isn't averted with CGI, as fast, complex movements are expensive to animate. Very often crosses over with MisplacedWildlife.

This is a Terrifying Pet Store Rat. While the animal in question is often a rat, it also applies to spiders, snakes, and anything else the audience is expected to react with fear or revulsion toward, despite the animal reacting like a pet. Spiders will saunter calmly over people instead of racing along in a panic. Snakes will crawl onto people's shoulders, staring them in the face comically instead hissing and coiling defensively. In particularly bad cases "angry" dogs may have dubbed in growling while their tails wag.

* TheFoodOfTheGods uses this with its swarm of [[RodentsOfUnusualSize giant rats]]. They tend to stare around in a perfectly tame way looking for a treat. It doesn't help that since they're just superimposed on miniature sets, they have no reaction to the human actors whatsoever.

* FoodOfTheGods uses this with its swarm of [[RodentsOfUnusualSize giant rats]]. They tend to stare around in a perfectly tame way looking for a treat. It doesn't help that since they're just superimposed on miniature sets, they have no reaction to the human actors whatsoever.

* ''Shamelessly'' invoked on various AnimalPlanet shows these days such as FatalAttractions and SwampWars, the latter of which goes on endlessly about the evil scaly monsters infesting the Everglades while treating us to ostensibly terrifying stock footage of a [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Corn Snake!]]

* {{Cujo}} tried to avert this by having the BigFriendlyDog's tail restrained to stop it wagging, which would have made it rather difficult to take it seriously as a savage, rabid monster.

* A whole TerrifyingPetStoreRat ''swarm'' confronts Daniels in ''ShutterIsland'' when he begins climbing the cliff face to the cave. Not only are they obviously well-groomed and curious about his presence, but the first one to appear is clearly ''dropped'' into view of the camera rather than climbing or jumping down to the rock.

* A whole TerrifyingPetStoreRat ''swarm'' confronts Daniels in ''ShutterIsland'' when he begins climbing the cliff face to the cave. Not only are they obviously well-groomed and curious about his presence, but the first one to appear is clearly ''dropped'' into view of the camera.

* In the beginning of ''[[TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy Returns]]'', Evy and Rick are in an ancient ruin and encounter some snakes. They're Terrifying Pet Store Snakes; in an overlap with MisplacedWildlife, some are tricolor milk snakes, which are known for having warning coloration similar to that of venomous snakes but are ''not'' known for living in Egypt.

* There's a HistoryChannel documentary on the Black Death that uses hooded (white with grey or brown heads) rats in its scenes of flea-infested rodents carrying the Plague into port. Granted, they look a bit grubby, but their coat-pattern mutation is still conspicuous and unlikely to survive in the wild.

* ''GraveyardShift'', a movie based on a short story about killer rats by Creator/StephenKing, uses several scenes of rats sitting placidly along the rafters staring at the characters in a way reminiscent of ''TheBirds''. Fortunately the movie shifts the actual monster to a giant bat.

* ''GraveyardShift'', a movie based on a short story about killer rats by Creator/StephenKing, uses several scenes of rats sitting placidly along the rafters staring at the characters in a way reminiscent of TheBirds. Fortunately the movie shifts the actual monster to a giant bat.

* GraveyardShift, a movie based on a short story about killer rats by Creator/StephenKing, uses several scenes of rats sitting placidly along the rafters staring at the characters in a way reminiscent of TheBirds. Fortunately the movie shifts the actual monster to a giant bat.
* Disney's TheHauntedMansion movie at one point has the son need to get past spiders to get into the mausoleum. The spiders are harmless tarantulas (orange-kneed, I think) and they're tame enough that he can move them with his hands.

* There's a History Channel documentary on the Black Death that uses hooded (white with grey or brown heads) rats in its scenes of flea-infested rodents carrying the Plague into port. Granted, they look a bit grubby, but their coat-pattern mutation is still conspicuous and unlikely to survive in the wild.
** Not to mention that the rats who contributed to the Black Death were black rats (Rattus rattus) not brown rats (Rattus norvegicus, the rat you're more likely to encounter on the streets or in a pet shop)
* The English-speaking production of 1931's Dracula didn't even have the nerve to use real rats, but opossum and armadillo stand-ins.
* NightOfTheLepus. The infamous '''Giant Killer Bunny Rabbits''' movie. The rabbits look like a menagerie straight from a pet store (to be fair, there're only a ''few'' lops) which are mostly shown running through miniature sets in slow motion or in extreme close-up, smeared with red paint and backed by dubbed growling.
* TheKillerShrews uses dogs in bad costumes to play the shrews. As you might guess from the quality of the effects, the dogs were not trained well enough to ''act'' scary either.
* TheStuff uses a great dane which is apparently threatening its owner if it doesn't get more of the titular substance. It wags its tail throughout the scene while dubbed in growling plays.

* Film/{{TheAmazingSpider-Man}} uses this with lizards, who lead Peter into the sewers after Conners and participate in a fake out scare where they make Peter think The Lizard is coming.
* ChoppingMall has snakes and spiders get loose in an actual pet store. They aren't played as dangerous, but they make it challenging for the heroine to stay silent while being stalked by killer robots.
* In the beginning of [[TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy Returns]], Evy and Rick are in an ancient ruin and encounter some snakes. They're Terrifying Pet Store Snakes; in an overlap with MisplacedWildlife, some are tricolor milk snakes, which are known for having warning coloration similar to that of venomous snakes but are ''not'' known for living in Egypt.

* ChoppingMall has snakes and spiders get loose in an actual pet store. They aren't played as dangerous, but they make it challenging for the heroine to stay silent while being stalked by killer robots.

* Hilariously done in the exploitation film ''The Gestapo's Last Orgy'', where a woman is threatened by being hung over a pit of flesh eating rats... Played by gerbils.

--> '''CinemaSnob:''' Yeah, sure. If your hands were made of windblown seeds and grain.

* GraveyardShift, a movie based on a short story about killer rats by StephenKing, uses several scenes of rats sitting placidly along the rafters staring at the characters in a way reminiscent of TheBirds. Fortunately the movie shifts the actual monster to a giant bat.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''SouthPark'' when the town is overrun by giant guinea pigs and other "guinea" animals such as rabbits and dogs, the animals in question are simple shots of pet animals shuffling about benignly in cute outfits, which have been digitally inserted into the animation.

* [[{{Film/TheAmazingSpider-Man}} The Amazing Spider-Man]] uses this with lizards, who lead Peter into the sewers after Conners and participate in a fake out scare where they make Peter think The Lizard is coming.

* The ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' franchise does this extensively. Especially in ''Film/TempleOfDoom.''

* There's a History Channel documentary on the Black Death that uses hooded rats in its scenes of flea-infested rodents carrying the Plague into port. Granted, they look a bit grubby, but their coat-pattern mutation is still conspicuous and unlikely to survive in the wild.

* [[{{Film/TheAmazingSpider-Man}} The Amazing Spider-Man]] uses this with lizards, who lead Peter into the sewers after Conners and participate in a fake out scare where they make Peter think The Lizard is coming.

--> Nazi: If I didn't take my hand out, they'd strip it down to the bones in a minute.
--> CinemaSnob: Yeah, sure. If your hands were made of windblown seeds and grain.

* TheAmazingSpider-Man uses this with lizards, who lead Peter into the sewers after Conners and participate in a fake out scare where they make Peter think The Lizard is coming.

* ''LifeAfterPeople'', if not using ConspicuousCGI for the rats.

* PlayedForLaughs in TeamAmericaWorldPolice where some "panthers" are clearly house cats.
* PlayedForLaughs in SouthPark when the town is overrun by giant guinea pigs and other "guinea" animals such as rabbits and dogs, the animals in question are simple shots of pet animals shuffling about benignly in cute outfits, which have been digitally inserted into the animation.

* Played effectively in ''Willard'', since the rats are ''supposed'' to be tame, well-groomed, and friendly because Willard takes care of them. It's just that they'll kill if they're told to.

* The IndianaJones franchise does this extensively. Especially in ''The Temple of Doom.''