Rugrats Go Wild

Rugrats Go Wild
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Norton Virgien John Eng
Produced by	Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky
Written by	Kate Boutiler
Starring	E.G. Daily Nancy Cartwright Lacey Chabert Danielle Harris Dionne Quan Cheryl Chase Michael Bell Julie Kato Melanie Chartoff Jack Riley Tim Curry Jodi Carlisle Bruce Willis Joe Alaskey Bob Bergen Jim Cummings Frank Welker
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Editing by	John Bryant Kimberly Rettberg
Studio	Nickelodeon Movies Klasky Csupo
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 13, 2003
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000
Box office	$55,405,466

Rugrats Go Wild is a 2003 crossover animated film, with two animated Nickelodeon television series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. The film was produced by Klasky Csupo and released in theaters on June 13, 2003 by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies.

It also makes this the Rugrats series finale, after the show ceased production. As there are currently no further Rugrats movies in production, Rugrats Go Wild stands as the third and final Rugrats film. It is the only Nickelodeon film to be a crossover. Although it is a crossover film, it is primarily a Rugrats movie as the main plot focuses on those characters, and the characters from The Wild Thornberrys are supporting characters, not counting Nigel Thornberry (voiced by Tim Curry) who is in fact a main character.

Plot

The Rugrats set sail on a ramshackle boat that Tommy's father, Stu, has rented in the South China Seas. The boat is flipped over by a rogue wave during a tropical storm and they are forced to abandon ship onto a life raft. They end up arriving on a small uninhabited island. On the same island, but on the other side, are the famous globe-trotting family the Thornberrys (out to film a Clouded Leopard). The babies set off to find them for they suspect they are somewhere on the island (as it happens, Tommy treats Nigel like an idol and as seen at the beginning of the movie wishes that he could be like him). Somewhere along the way Chuckie gets lost and runs into the Thornberry's Tarzan-like child Donnie and the two switch clothes. Meanwhile Eliza, the gifted Thornberry, is exploring about the jungle and runs into Spike, the Pickles' dog. Since Eliza can talk to animals, Spike (now voiced by Bruce Willis) talks for the first time and he informs her that the babies are lost somewhere on the island. While this is occurring Eliza's father, Nigel, finds the lost babies. He attempts to head in their direction but ends up tumbling down a hill and receives amnesia after a coconut falls on his head. Angelica (going by "Angelitiki, the Island Princess") runs into Debbie, the teenage Thornberry, and takes off with Debbie in the Thornberry's all-purpose mobile communication vehicle (commvee). While not paying attention the twosome sink the commvee. Meanwhile, pop culture references to just about anything about castaways on an island (in particular, Gilligan's Island, Survivor, and Lord of the Flies) ensue. Also, unlike the previous movies, Susie tags along with Polaroid-like camera in hand and doesn't have her parents traveling with her. The film concludes with the children being reunited with their families. Photos of the families on the Lipschitz Cruise are shown during the end credits.

Production

Rugrats Go Wild was originally made by Klasky Csupo's television unit, (directed by Mark Risley and written by Kate Boutilier) but after wildly successful screenings, Paramount decided it should be shelved and remade into a feature film. The television version, a 90 minute special, still exists somewhere in the Klasky Csupo/Nickelodeon vaults.

Among the biggest hype this movie received was Bruce Willis voicing Spike, and the use of "Odorama" cards to enhance the viewing experience, Burger King and Blockbuster released a scratch and sniff piece of cardboard that was to be scratched and sniffed during the run of the movie. There were many complaints, however, that the only thing that the "Odorama" cards smelled like was cardboard. The Odorama card was somewhat of an homage to John Waters' (decidedly adult-oriented) film Polyester. Despite the homage, Waters felt he was ripped off and realized that New Line Cinema, the studio that released Polyester, didn't renew the copyright for Odorama. He later said that "a cheque would have been an homage". "Odorama" cards would later be released with the DVD release of the movie.

Early trailers for the film give the title The Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys.

Release

During its initial theatrical run, Go Wild was presented in "Smell-O-Vision". During certain scenes in the movie, an icon would pop up on screen with an item inside of it (example: a smelly shoe). When this happened, audience members would smell a scratch-and-sniff card (which were handed out at the box office) with the corresponding image.

Reception

This film was released in the summer of 2003 to mixed to negative reviews (gaining a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 38 on Metacritic, one less than The Rugrats Movie, which also got mixed reviews), and opened at #4 at the box office, and ended up grossing about $39 million, about the same amount as The Wild Thornberrys Movie. The film made $39,402,572 in domestic grossing and $55,405,466 worldwide, making it a box-office disappointment compared to the other 2 films. However, it earned enough money to cover its $25 million budget. The box-office disappointment was shown as part of the results of the downfall of Rugrats' fame during the early-2000s.

Rating

This is the only Rugrats film to earn a PG rating by the MPAA.

Home video

The film was released on videocassette and DVD on December 16, 2003. Most VHS copies included a "Smell-O-Vision" scratch-and-sniff card, as did most initial run DVDs; however, later copies of the DVD, while still retaining the option to view the film with the scratch-and-sniff on, did not include additional cards. The film is also available as a part of the Rugrats 3-disc set of all three films.

Cast

Main articles: List of Rugrats characters and The Wild Thornberrys#Characters

Main

• E.G. Daily as Tommy Pickles
• Nancy Cartwright as Chuckie Finster
• Kath Soucie as Phil and Lil DeVille
• Dionne Quan as Kimi Finster
• Cheryl Chase as Angelica Pickles
• Tara Strong as Dil Pickles
• Cree Summer as Susie Carmichael
• Bruce Willis as Spike

Supporting

• Lacey Chabert as Eliza Thornberry
• Danielle Harris as Debbie Thornberry
• Jack Riley as Stu Pickles
• Melanie Chartoff as Didi Pickles
• Tress MacNeille as Charlotte Pickles
• Michael Bell as Drew Pickles, Chas Finster
• Julia Kato as Kira Finster
• Kath Soucie as Betty DeVille
• Phil Proctor as Howard DeVille
• Jodi Carlisle as Marianne Thornberry
• Michael "Flea" Balzary as Donnie Thornberry
• Tom Kane as Darwin Thornberry

Guest stars

• Chrissie Hynde as Siri the clouded leopard, the main antagonist.
• Tony Jay as Dr. Lipschitz
• Ethan Phillips as Toa

As credited in the theatrical trailer, Ron Glass who is the voice of Susie's father Randy, originally had a role in the film but was apparently deleted from the final cut. His name appears as a cast member at the end of the film's trailer.

Soundtrack

Rugrats Go Wild: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	June 10, 2003
Recorded	2003
Genre	Pop, funk
Length	1:34:12
Label	Hollywood, Nick

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

An original soundtrack was released on June 10, 2003 from Hollywood Records.

Track listing

1. "Message in a Bottle" - American Hi-Fi
2. "Big Bad Cat" - Chrissie Hynde & Bruce Willis (written by Alex Greggs)
3. "She's on Fire" - Train {written by Charles Colin)
4. "Island Princess" - Rugrats cast (written by Kate Boutilier}
5. "Lizard Love" - Aerosmith
6. "Spooks Of Jingle" - Smash Mouth
7. "Ready to Roll" - Flashlight Brown
8. "The Morning After" - Rugrats cast (written by Joel Hirschhorn)
9. "Atomic Dog" - George Clinton, Jr.
10. "Dresses and Shoes (Precious & Few)" - Rugrats cast (written by Walter Nims)
11. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" - The Clash
12. "Lust for Life" - Bruce Willis (written by Iggy Pop & David Bowie)
13. "Phil's Diapey's Hanging Low" - Rugrats cast (pastiche of traditional "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot")
14. "It's a Jungle Out Here" - Rugrats(written by Mark Mothersbaugh)
15. "Changing Faces" - E.G. Daily

External links

• Rugrats Go Wild at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Rugrats Go Wild at the Internet Movie Database
• Rugrats Go Wild at Box Office Mojo
• The Unofficial Rugrats Online page on the movie
• The main site
• "Rugrats Go Wild, Music CD - Barnes & Noble". Music.barnesandnoble.com. 2011-07-19. http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Rugrats-Go-Wild/e/720616239921. Retrieved 2011-09-16.