Rita Mouse is an animated character created at Fables Studios for Paul Terry's cartoon series Aesop's Fables (later Aesop's Sound Fables). The character was introduced in 1922.

Terry has been credited with being the first animator to use mouse characters, in the July 26, 1921 film Mice in Council, which told the story of mice tying a bell to a cat's neck. The next film, July 31's Country Mouse and City Mouse, established that Terry's mouse characters wore gloves and boots.

The September 27, 1922 cartoon The Fable of the Romantic Mouse was the first to establish a female mouse character, who in this picture was called Lizzie. Later films called Milton's girlfriend Rita or Mary.

Rita Mouse and her boyfriend Milton appeared in dozens of cartoons made under the supervision of Paul Terry. They both got redesigned in 1929 to bear a striking resemblance to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which led to them getting a lawsuit from Walt Disney.

Milton and Rita .jpg|Milton and Rita singing
A close call 1.jpg|Milton and Rita dancing in ''A Close Call''

All of the shorts Rita Mouse makes an appearance in are public domain in the US due to the copyright expiring after 95 years or not being renewed.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

*The Fable of the Romantic Mouse (1922)
*The Fable of the Fortune Hunters (Nov 1922)
*The Fable of Cheating the Cheaters (Dec 1922)
*The Pearl Divers (July 1923)
*Sink or Swim (Jan 1927)
*The Big Tent (Sept 1927)
*Saved By a Keyhole (Nov 1927)
*Our Little Nell (July 1928)
*A Close Call (Dec 1929)
*Office Boy (Nov 1930)
*Western Whoopee (April 1930)
*Circus Capers (Sept 1930)

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Mouse Wikipedia]
*[https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/The-Stolen-Legacy-of-Milton-Mouse HubPages]

Category:Animated Characters
Category:William Ferguson - Creator
Category:Mouse Family Characters
Category:Mouse Characters
Category:Humor Characters
Category:Terrytoons Characters
Category:Female Characters
Category:1922 Debuts
Category:Captain Ersatz Characters
Category:Van Beuren Corporation Characters