Rugrats Go Wild

Nothing new here whatsoever. One of the more boring outings of the ever popular Rugrats. Bruce Willis adds nothing and songs are forgettable. Numbers 1 through 5 appear at various stages during the movie. Everyone was scratching his head wondering if they were supposed to remember them to perhaps win some terrific prize. A search on Google turns out they should have been scratching cards given out during a Burger King promotion where the smells coincided with the particular scenes. I guess I need to watch more television. Must have missed that commercial....somehow. In any case, was probably far more interesting than the movie. Luckily, the time flew by. Thank TPTB, it is a short one.

It's still better than the first movie but not as strong as the second. There aren't as many jokes that work and the story isn't as strong either. Thankfully the new characters are still great.

I remember loving this when it came out. Two of my favorite cartoons having a crossover? Man, I was in Heaven. Probably wouldn't hold up as well for me today, but I'm not going to reevaluate my rating.

Drew offers to take his family and friends on a paradise cruise and everyone is excited. However when it transpires that his "cruise ship" is a tiny fishing boat nobody is that impressed but go along anyway. A perfect storm sees them cast adrift on an uninhabited island. While the adults come to terms with never making it off the island alive the babies are pumped about the whole thing, with Tommy convinced that he can find his idol, Nigel Thornberry somewhere in the rain forest.

Having found the other two Rugrats movies to be reasonably colourful and fun I decided to give this franchise amalgamation a try despite my low expectations. The film does deliver what you expect though and will be loved by fans of both series. The plot is nonsense of course but it gets the two series together well and provides enough story to keep it going with nary a dull moment. Although it is no Pixar, the film does have a lot more adult references than the first two films put together and they did enough to keep me interested. It also helped that the baby humour is minimised and replaced with just solid family humour.

The animation is colourful and warm and flows really well – not the most imaginative stuff but perfect for a family audience. The regular voice cast are all as good as normal in the forms of Curry, Daily, Cartwright and others. Meanwhile the additions of Bruce Willis and Chrissie Hynde are both amusing. Overall then a solid and enjoyable family film – colourful and amusing and worth a look if you are seeking out something to distract a family audience.

The end credits for "Rugrats Go Wild!" include a section headed "Klasky Csupo Accounting," which unfortunately figures; this third theatrical outing for the Rugrats and second one for the Wild Thornberrys plays more like a marketing exercise than an actual movie.

With this big-screen crossover of two TV shows, you'd think that they'd both get equal time, but due to their show having been more successful and having their full name in the title (it was originally called "Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys" before someone decided that was too obvious), Tommy, Chucky and the rest get more time on screen than the far more appealing Eliza Thornberry and Co; it's not until near the end that they're on anything like equal footing, and by then the movie's been sabotaged by a plot that's too skimpy for words (the Pickles, Finster and DeVille families - plus Susie - get stranded on the same island that the Thornberrys have pitched up on for their latest jaunt, and cue much running around and shrieking), an ounce of actual amusement amongst a ton of shrill and strained gags, too many characters squeezed into too little time, and far too many songs, pop or otherwise (Chrissie Hynde. Why?).

Having Bruce Willis do the voice of Spike doesn't help much, and neither does including some of the most heavy-handed movie references this side of a Leslie Nielsen comedy. In fact, the movie officially becomes a waste of time when their boat capsizes and it turns into a mini-homage to "The Poseidon Adventure," capped by Angelica singing "The Morning After" in her toy karaoke machine. (If only she had been the character played by Stella Stevens.)

But even that's more forgiveable than having Stu say "I can't help feeling partially responsible." Stealing lines from "The Simpsons" is the final insult... Eliza's older sister and Betty DeVille are the only ones to emerge intact. Note to Paramount: ENOUGH ALREADY!