Rugrats Go Wild

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.

Rugrats Go Wild! (AKA Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys Movie) (2003)

Rugrats Go Wild! is a fun movie. This movie was really entertaining, and had many exciting adventures. It was really cool seeing the Rugrats meeting The Wild Thornberrys. Debbie and Anjelica were a perfect duo,a nd the whole movie was just plain fun! I give it a 10/10.

The movie introduces the babies in a jungle pretending to be like The Wild Thornberrys, which happens to be a fake-out.  Meanwhile, the adults are preparing for their vacation in the South China Seas.  Stu has everyone's tickets for the Lipschitz Cruise.  We then see that Susie is coming on vacation with them because her parents will be out of town.  The Lipschitz cruise ship leaves without them and we Stu and Spike on a normal boat called the S.S. Nancy.

The adults get disgruntled and attempt to get on the cruise ship by sending signals and driving the boat there themselves.  A large wave attacks them and it turns the ship upside- down.  They get out of the rinky-dink tub, Betty opens up a life raft and they hop on there while the boat sinks.  The family becomes stranded on a deserted island, and they begin disputing about how they're all gonna survive.  Betty eventually becomes a leader after drawing a circle in the sand and she gets all the adults to work together as a team to find ways to survive on the island.

Meanwhile, the babies go their separate ways after Angelica scares them about how they're not gonna survive in the island.  Spike runs into Eliza, and Spike starts to speak for the first time (since Eliza is capable of talking to animals) and Nigel Thornberry suffers amnesia and goes on adventures with the toddlers.  Chuckie gets his clothes stolen from Donnie, and Chuckie ends up wearing his clothes as well.  Angelica, since she is pretty much a b****, becomes good friends with Debbie, due to them sharing the same type of personality.

Nigel and the babies try and find the clouded leopard named Siri.  The parents eventually encounter Mrs. Thornberry.  Their attempt at finding the babies in the Bathosphere worked, but the fuel in there was empty, and Stu solved the problem, making him a hero at the end.  The credits end with the children reuniting with their families and taking the Lipschitz Cruise back home, giving the movie a fantastic ending.

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!

I am 16, and like the Rugrats very much, but I love the Wild Thornberrys. I bought this two days ago, and watched it with low expectations, and boy was it a huge surprise. This was infinitely better than I expected, if not quite as good as anything to do with the Wild Thornberrys or Rugrats. My favourite characters were Spike, Nigel, Angelica and Debbie.

For the first time, we hear Spike talk, and he was brilliantly voiced by Bruce Willis, who put some of his previous films into this, and that was perfectly refreshing. The other voice talents were great, with great voice veterans like Nancy Cartwright, Danielle Harris and Tim Curry.I did notice though that Christine Cavanaugh, I think, was missing. It was a shame though that Curry was reduced to talking childishly for a good bit of the movie, and don't expect too much from the plot.

The humour was also not bad. I don't care whether it was the same as in other movies, because they did it in the other Rugrats outings, don't you remember. I loved the ever-imitated mirror sequence in the waterfall, and when Nigel hits his head and turns into a baby. There is a lot of imagination, as Angelica imagines herself as an island princess, and she is the toddler equivalent to Debbie. And the animation is true to the style of both shows, colourful and crisp, plus the time goes by quickly.

As for the songs, they were the weakest category of the film, but they had so many funny lyrics. The melodies were a bit uninspired, but the lyrics were a lot funnier than the overall script, which I thought had a lot of heart and humour. Plus, we get to hear Bruce Willis sing, which for me was the biggest surprise of the film, because he can actually sing.

In conclusion, a movie that was much better than expected. Kids will love this, and adults MIGHT probably laugh at the funny lyrics of the songs. 7/10 Bethany Cox