Rufus (Kim Possible)

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

This article or section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective.

Rufus
Rufus on Ron Stoppable's hand
First appearance	Crush
Created by	Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley
Portrayed by	Nancy Cartwright
Information
Aliases	Rufus Prime (As known in the future)
Species	Naked mole rat
Gender	Male
Age	2-5
Family	Ron Stoppable (according to Ron)

Rufus is a fictional character in the Disney animated television series Kim Possible, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. He is a naked mole rat, and pet of Ron Stoppable.

Personality and skills

Ron and Rufus are inseparable. Rufus can always be found riding in Ron's pocket. Rufus has similar interests and personality traits as Ron (such as a love of Bueno Nacho and video games) and often mimics Ron's actions, emotions, and facial expressions. Despite being a rodent, Rufus is actually very competent and level-headed, and often comes to the rescue of Kim and Ron when they're in a pinch. He has very good technical skills, and Ron often refers to him to fix broken appliances. He also has extremely strong teeth, and can even chew through some metals. He's even an accomplished martial artist, and has Mystical Monkey Powers, like Ron; in fact, he can control them even better than him (likely his using these powers to boost his own abilities are likely how he's able to do some impossible things like chew through metal). However, like all rodents, Rufus is quick to run when in the presence of cats, as proven when Debutante, Camille Leon's pet cat, a Sphynx (a breed of hairless cat), was first shown to Team Possible. Unfortunately for Rufus, Debutante appears to have romantic intentions toward him, and pursues him frequently. In Chasing Rufus he and Debutante are stranded by their masters in Greece and Rufus invites Debutante to come with him to find them (he felt bad for her). Initaly he rejects her advances but as time goes on he seems to start to return her feelings. After they return to Go City on a cruise ship (on which they have a lot of fun with each other) they both start crying when they realize that they are going to part indicating that Rufus may now return her romantic feelings towards him. Rufus appears to have better eyesight, greater intelligence and temperature tolerance, and perhaps a longer lifespan, than real-world naked mole rats. He has also been shown as feeling pain, a trait which naked mole rats lack (he may simply be imitating Ron's reactions). He made the design for Kim Possible's new mission clothes in season 4 (stole, actually). He has also shown on many occasions to have an abnormally large appetite, eating more than most full grown humans, which could go a long way towards explaining why Ron is always strapped for cash.

Role in the show

Rufus is the only animal on the show to display characteristics of anthropomorphism and sapience. Much like Scooby-Doo, Rufus is marginally capable of human speech (able to utter a couple of words), but mostly talks in high-pitched rodent jabber. Only Ron and, from time to time, Kim actually seem to understand him when he speaks (apparently, Ron has the ability to communicate with animals, but is somewhat impaired by the fact he's afraid of most of them. This is supported by the fact that he is able to communicate with Roachie, the giant roach that Kim and Ron meet in one of their missions). Rufus is often used as a deus ex machina when the characters are in trouble, an ability referred to as the "Rufus Factor" by Dr. Director. Rufus even has his own song: "The Naked Mole Rap" (though most of the vocals are by Ron). However, there is another song that means even more to him, "Rock-a-bye Rufus". Essentially, it's a variation of the song "Rock-a-bye Baby" with the word "baby" replaced with "Rufus". But it has the power to instantly soothe Rufus and put him to sleep whenever he hears it. In "Adventures in Rufus-Sitting", both Ron and Kim can be heard singing it.

Character history

Rufus is Ron's pet because when Ron was 12, his parents told him he could finally have a pet--but no fur, because of his Dad's allergies to animal dander (revealed in A Sitch in Time). Ron purchased his rodent friend at Smarty Mart (of course, actual mole rats are blind subterranean creatures and unlikely to be available in a commercial pet store). Ron chose to name him Rufus after an imaginary friend he had in pre-K (revealed in A Sitch in Time). Ron is fiercely dedicated to Rufus' health and well-being. In the short, "Adventures in Rufus-sitting", it was revealed that Rufus has a recreation area that's the size of a whole room. There's also Ron's patented "Care of Rufus Guide", which has over 430 rules and regulations.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Rufus has a few links to otherwise unconnected Disney characters. He shares the same name as Penny's tabby cat in The Rescuers, and Timon, the meerkat in The Lion King, was originally to be of the same species as him. In a Lilo & Stitch crossover episode, Rufus was mistaken by Jumba Jookiba for experiment 607 (A.K.A. Launch).
• In "A Sitch in Time," despite being with the time-lost Kim and Ron, Rufus had a sizable number of progeny, strongly implying that he has already procreated, or a lesser thought-of idea being that he was cloned, explaining the future Rufus's worship of him. They refer to him as Rufus Prime. Although, given the eusocial nature of mole rat society, it may not be so surprising after all.
• In the movie, Rufus is asked by the others what the meaning of life is. Rufus responds "cheese" which prompts one Rufus to tell the other, "You owe me a buck".
• According to the show's creators, Rufus's name is a pun on the name of the naked mole rat's natural enemy, the Rufous beaked snake.
• Rufus has Mystical Monkey Powers of his own which he got because presumably he was in Ron's pants pocket when Ron got his, and was imbued with his own at that time. If he has some level of control over them it may explain why he can hold his own in a fight and bite through things that a naked mole rat would normally be unable to bite through. However in A Sitch in Time: Past he does so even before he gets the powers.

Rufus 3000

Rufus 3000

Rufus 3000 appears in the Kim Possible movie A Sitch in Time. Rufus 3000 is voiced by Michael Dorn.