The Rugrats Movie

The Rugrats Movie
File:TheRugratsMovieposter.jpg The United Kingdom Movie Poster for the Rugrats Movie
Directed by	Igor Kovalyov Norton Virgien
Written by	David N. Weiss J. David Stem
Produced by	Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky
Starring	Elizabeth Daily (voice) Christine Cavanaugh (voice) Kath Soucie (voice) Cheryl Chase (voice) Cree Summer (voice) Tara Strong (voice)
Cinematography	Animation
Edited by	John Bryant Kimberly Rettberg
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Production companies	Klasky Csupo Nickelodeon Movies
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	November 20, 1998
Running time	Theatrical Cut: 81 min. TV Cut: 89 min. Cartoon Network Cut: 83 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$24,000,000 (estimated)
Box office	$140,894,675

For the video game, see The Rugrats Movie (video game).

The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the animated Nickelodeon series, Rugrats, this film introduced Tommy's baby brother Dil Pickles, who was named after Didi Pickles's cousin, and appeared on the original series the next year. In theaters, the CatDog short "Fetch!" was featured before the movie, though the CatDog short "Winslow's Home Videos" was featured before the movie on VHS, DVD and the Cartoon Network version. The film marks the first film distributed by Nickelodeon Movies to be based on a Nicktoon, to be animated, and to receive a G rating from the MPAA. This was also the last Nickelodeon Movie to be released in the 1990s, and to be credited as Nickelodeon on the film's Nickelodeon Movies logo.

Plot

The movie starts off with Tommy and his friends, Chuckie, Phil and Lil in a tomb raider spoof, which parodied Indiana Jones. Tommy almost grabbed the treasure, which was actually a bowl of ice-cream, when a large boulder came rolling towards them. However, the boulder was actually Didi's baby bump. The gang run, but hit the glass door. Meanwhile, outside the house, all the Pickle's relatives and friend join together to celebrate the upcoming child. The Rugrats are expecting the arrival of Tommy's new sibling, whom everyone believes will be a girl. Although Tommy is enthusiastic about the idea, Angelica warns him that once the new baby arrives, his parents will forget him. However, a singing competition with Angelica and Susie causes Didi to go into labor. She is rushed to a hospital where she gives birth to Dil Pickles. Right at the start, however, the brothers do not get along. Dil cries endlessly, seemingly for no reason at all. Didi leaves Tommy in the middle of his bedtime story to sing Dil a lullaby, leaving him feeling that maybe Angelica was right. The next day, Stu gives Tommy a pocketwatch holding a photo of him and his brother Dil, and tells him he now has responsibility ("Sponsitility" as Tommy puts it) to look after Dil. Meanwhile, the Banana Brothers' Circus board on a train. The Brothers argue who should watch the monkeys and who gets the coffee. The two men go get coffee together, but the monkeys drive off with the train and then crash into the forest.Phil and Lil believe Tommy is not happy with Dil, and so decide to take him back to the "hopsicle" (hospital) using Stu's invention, the "Reptar Wagon" to get his money back for Dil. Angelica accidentally kick-starts the Wagon, sending the Rugrats on a hectic ride around the city, eventually ending up in the back of a matress lorry. Angelica soon discovers her beloved doll, Cynthia, has gone missing, and realizing the babies must have it, ventures out with Spike to find them. Stu and Grandpa Lou discover the disappearance of the babies and Angelica, and briefly believe they may have been taken during the delivery of the "Reptar Wagon" to Japan. As a result they race to the airport, and end up stuck behind the lorry the babies are in. Stu's attempt to pass the lorry result in it driving off the cliff and crashing into the forest. Angelica and Spike meet a similar fate not long later.

After Dil poops in his diaper, the Rugrats are forced to change it, which goes horribly after Dil pees everywhere in the process. The rest of the adults discover the disappearance of their children, Drew Pickles nearly murdering his brother in the process,and Stu falls right into a cacti ditch. Didi, Betty, Drew, Howard, Charlotte, and others head out into the forest to find the babies, while Stu, Chas, and Grandpa try to figure out another way of searching. They are hampered by a nosy news-reporter named Rex Pester (Tim Curry). Back at the forest, Phil and Lil blame Dil for all their troubles they are having. Tommy quickly attempts to defend his brother, but Dil grabs one of his diaper straps and rips it off, making his brother's diaper fall down entirely, humiliating Tommy in front of his friends. After Tommy picks up his diaper, Chuckie notices a house in the distance, which is really the ranger station, and Tommy declares they should go to "find the Wizard who lives there" like in his storybook, who can help them get back home. But while running, he falls into a pawprint, made by a wolf, which they hear howl. They dash into the Reptar Wagon and speed down a hill. Then, they splash into the river because of Dil's absent-minded hands, and then Chuckie nearly drowns in the river. While this happens, two park rangers passing by think that the Reptar Wagon is a dragon, and one of them becomes very worried about the dragon in the park. After the Reptar Wagon reaches land, pulled by the babies, Tommy, Phil, and Lil blame themselves of how they got lost, until Chuckie finds a giant clown picture on the Banana Brothers Train.

The babies have now discovered the monkey train, and have a number of problems, including being pursued by a horde of circus monkeys and a hungry wolf (nicknamed Scar Snout by fans). Chuckie is hurt multiple times and breaks his glasses, but Tommy is too pre-occupied by Dil to notice. Phil and Lil accidentally allow Dil to be kidnapped by the monkeys, and try to pass a baby monkey off as Dil. Tommy believes his brother was turned into a monkey but they reveal their ruse once he decides to use their wish to get home to change Dil back. After being insulted by his friends, Tommy goes off to find his brother. Tommy finds Dil, but his brother refuses to behave, drinking all of the milk and keeping the big blanket all for himself, prompting Tommy to finally snap, and shout at Dil. He nearly abandons him but a storm frightens Dil, and Tommy protects him with a hug and a song. The two brothers finally bond. After the storm is over, Chuckie; Phil; and Lil come looking for Tommy and Dil, and save them from the monkeys. They also run into Angelica and Spike, but the group gets trapped on a rope bridge, and just as the monkeys come by, so does Scar Snout. The kids start to panic and the monkeys start to run away in fear of the wolf's presence, but Spike comes to the rescue, fighting Scar Snout to defend the kids. Eventually Spike "sacrifices his life" by pulling himself and Scar Snout into the river below.

Stu flies in using "Dactar", a pterosaur shaped mechanical glider that both he and Drew earlier deemed useless but crashes into Rex Pester's helicopter, and crash-lands in front of the babies. They mistake Stu for the "Wizard" and after discussing whether or not they should wish to go home, they decide they want Spike back. Stu collapses, and Spike appears beneath the bridge unharmed. The parents, accompanied by forest rangers, arrive, and are re-united with their children as well as Spike now reunited with the Pickles for good. Rex Pester is attacked by the monkeys, who are also re-united with their circus owners. Tommy and the rest of the Rugrats welcome Dil into their group with open arms.

Reception

The Rugrats Movie was released on November 20, 1998, and reached #1 at the box office with a gross of $27,321,470 in 2,782 theaters averaging to about $9,821 per theater, ahead of Enemy of the State, and became the first non-Disney animated movie to gross $100 million in the United States and Canada, and the only such movie not made by DreamWorks until 20th Century Fox's Ice Age achieved the feat. The film was followed by 2000's Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and 2003's Rugrats Go Wild. It grossed in worldwide results, $140,894,675, making it a very large box office success, considering its modest $24 million budget. Despite the commercial success, the film earned mixed reviews. It has a "rotten" rating of 56% on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Guest stars

• David Spade as Ranger Frank
• Whoopi Goldberg as Ranger Margaret
• Tim Curry as Rex Pester
• Busta Rhymes as Reptar Wagon
• Roger Clinton, Jr. as Air Crewman
• Margaret Cho as Lt. Klavin
• Edie McClurg as Nurse
• Lou Rawls as Baby Singer
• Charlie Adler
• Frank Welker as Scar Snout, and The Circus Monkeys (uncredited)
• Iggy Pop as Baby Singer [1]

Production cuts

• Two songs were cut from the film during production. The first sequence revolved around Stu and Didi in a nightmare sequence where Dr. Lipschitz berates their parenting through song. The other sequence occurs as the Rugrats are pushing the Reptar Wagon through the woods, debating what to do about Dil in army chant style. These two scenes were cut from the theaterical version and the VHS, DVD, and Cartoon Network versions of the film. However, they were already animated at the time, and the scenes are shown on CBS and Nickelodeon TV airings of the film.

Cartoon Network Airings

• Cartoon Network aired this film on May 15, 2008, October 20, 2008, March 25, 2009, August 30, 2009, and January 5, 2010. It also includes the CatDog short: Winslow's Home Videos at the beginning before the film.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The film's original motion picture soundtrack was released on November 3, 1998 from Interscope Records.

Track listing

1. "Take Me There" - Mýa and BLACKstreet featuring Mase and Blinky Blink - 4:05
2. "I Throw My Toys Around" - No Doubt featuring Elvis Costello - 3:03
3. "This World Is Something New To Me" - Dawn Robinson/Lisa Loeb/B-Real/Patti Smith/ Lou Rawls/Laurie Anderson/Lenny Kravitz/Beck/Jakob Dylan/Phife Dawg/Gordon Gano/Iggy Pop - 1:57
4. "All Day" - Lisa Loeb - 3:29
5. "Dil-A-Bye" - E.G. Daily - 3:41
6. "A Baby Is A Gift from a Bob" - Cheryl Chase featuring Cree Summer - 1:57
7. "One Way or Another" - Cheryl Chase - 3:15
8. "Wild Ride" - Kevi - 2:42
9. "On Your Marks, Get Set, Ready, Go!" - Busta Rhymes - 3:39
10. "Witch Doctor" - Devo featuring Ross Bagdasarian Sr. - 3:33
11. "Take The Train" - Rakim/Danny Saber - 4:05
12. "Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Yum!" - E.G. Daily featuring Christine Cavanaugh and Kath Soucie - 2:17
13. "Take Me There (Remix)" - Mýa and BLACKstreet featuring Mase and Blinky Blink - 4:00 (Hidden Track)

iTunes Track Listing

1. "All Day" - Lisa Loeb

External links

• The Rugrats Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Rugrats Movie at Box Office Mojo
• The Rugrats Movie at IMDb
• The Unofficial Rugrats Online page on the movie