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Rugrats Go Wild
Paramount // PG // December 16, 2003
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
Published reports have stated that 2003 was a tough year for Paramount Pictures and that their blockbuster films, such as Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, failed to perform at the box-office. And while Rugrats Go Wild, which has recently hit DVD, did manage to turn a profit while still in theaters, it didn't extend past its built-in fan-base and demonstrated that Paramount may need to create new ideas in order to create new business.
As with the first two Rugrats films (The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats in Paris), Rugrats Go Wild features the characters from the Rugrats TV show going on vacation. But this time, they are destined to meet with the characters from another Nickelodeon show, The Wild Thornberrys (who also had their own feature film in 2002). This time around, the Pickles, Finster, and De Ville families are all going on a luxury cruise. Or so they think. In fact, Stu Pickles (voiced by Jack Riley) has charted a small boat, so that the families can enjoy more time together. Unfortunately, the boat is capsized by a wave and the group finds themselves on a deserted island. While the adults attempt to build a camp, Tommy Pickles (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) leads the other babies on an expedition through the jungle.
However, the island isn't deserted. The Thornberry Family, led by world-renowned nature explorers Nigel and Marianne Thornberry (voiced by Tim Curry and Jodi Carlisle) are also on the island, searching for a rare leopard. Their daughters, Eliza (voiced by Lacy Chabert) and Debbie (voiced by Danielle Harris), are tired of their parent's constant work habits and want a vacation from exploring. When the Thornberry's learn that a group of babies are lost on the island, everyone joins in the search, even Tommy's faithful dog, Spike (voiced by Bruce Willis).
I mentioned before that Rugrats Go Wild didn't extend past its fan-base during its theatrical run (the gross fell almost 50% from its first weekend to the second) and seeing the film will prove why. Rugrats Go Wild assumes that the viewer is familiar with both the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys characters and offers very little in the way of introduction. As someone who is only casually familiar with Rugrats and knew nothing about The Wild Thornberrys, much of the film was lost on me. Oh, I don't feel that I was missing a great deal as most of the characters are very broad stereotypes, but it felt odd that the movie assumed that I knew everyone.
The other odd thing about Rugrats Go Wild is the movie's disjointed feel. There are basically four different storylines happening at the same time: 1. Tommy and the babies exploring; 2. The adults setting up a camp; 3. The Thornberry's looking for the leopard; and 4. Eliza and Debbie Thornberry dealing with their problems and then looking for the babies. I can certainly see how the movie's story-hopping could confuse/bore the young viewers for which this movie was intended. The good news/bad news is that this format means that each group is only on-screen for a short amount of time. Therefore, you'll either won't see the characters that you like, or be spared from the ones that you don't. For me, I don't find the Rugrats characters the least bit appealing. The first time that Tommy said, "Nigel Strawberry", it was cute. By the 20th time, the joke had lost all meaning. The Rugrats "humor" is often mean-spirited and doesn't accurately reflect the behavior of most children. I found The Wild Thornberrys to be much more charming, but they are the co-stars of this feature. The story is lame and predictable, as each character gets their moment in the spotlight, and there is little suspense (at least for an adult) or comedy. The real capper are the awful songs which inhabit the film. Even the duet between Bruce Willis and Chrissie Hynde (as the leopard) is a dud. The Rugrats are the only ones going wild for this film.
Video
Rugrats Go Wild scampers onto DVD courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The DVD contains both the full-frame and widescreen versions of the film. For the purposes of this review, only the widescreen version was viewed. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. (I was quite surprised to find that the film has been "shot" in a 2.35:1 format.) The image is very sharp and clear, showing basically no grain and no overt defects from the source material. (There was an occasional white or black spec on the image.) The colors are very good, and the mixture of 2-D and 3-D animation in key scenes gives the image true depth. There is a noticeable amount of edge-enhancement in some shots, but otherwise the transfer looks very good.
Audio
The primary audio track on the Rugrats Go Wild DVD is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. This track provides clear dialogue and sound effects, with no indication of hissing or distortion. The scene in which the boat capsizes and several of the jungle scenes provide very good surround sound action and there are a few choice moments where the bass response adds impact to the film. While the songs are torture to listen to, they do sound fine on this track. Overall, the audio isn't awe-inspiring, but it serves the visuals well.
Extras
The DVD contains a handful of extras. First of all, the DVD contains a scratch & sniff card with six distinct odors. Rugrats Go Wild can be viewed with a feature that places an icon on the screen each time a portion of the card should be smelled. Get me John Waters on the phone. There are three deleted scenes on the DVD, all of which are in animated storyboard form. Bless the person who decided to cut these three scenes, as they are all songs ("We Go Up, We Go Down", "Fraidy Cat Finster", and "Higgledy Piggledy") and all three are as bad as the songs in the finished film. There is also one "outtake" (?!), which is a partially animated and colored scene in which the adults go fishing. The so-called "alternate ending" is actually a partially animated extended ending which adds no new information or changes the finale in any way. A 2-min behind-the-scenes featurette focuses on the duet between Willis and Hynde and offers comments from both. The extras are rounded out by a set-top trivia/adventure game.
Rugrats Go Wild isn't necessarily a terrible film, but it's aimed so squarely at its target market (ie: fans of the shows) that its nearly impossible for anyone else to enjoy it. Those youngsters who love the TV shows should enjoy the film, but adults will find it boring and annoying.
Published reports have stated that 2003 was a tough year for Paramount Pictures and that their blockbuster films, such as Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, failed to perform at the box-office. And while Rugrats Go Wild, which has recently hit DVD, did manage to turn a profit while still in theaters, it didn't extend past its built-in fan-base and demonstrated that Paramount may need to create new ideas in order to create new business.
As with the first two Rugrats films (The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats in Paris), Rugrats Go Wild features the characters from the Rugrats TV show going on vacation. But this time, they are destined to meet with the characters from another Nickelodeon show, The Wild Thornberrys (who also had their own feature film in 2002). This time around, the Pickles, Finster, and De Ville families are all going on a luxury cruise. Or so they think. In fact, Stu Pickles (voiced by Jack Riley) has charted a small boat, so that the families can enjoy more time together. Unfortunately, the boat is capsized by a wave and the group finds themselves on a deserted island. While the adults attempt to build a camp, Tommy Pickles (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) leads the other babies on an expedition through the jungle.
However, the island isn't deserted. The Thornberry Family, led by world-renowned nature explorers Nigel and Marianne Thornberry (voiced by Tim Curry and Jodi Carlisle) are also on the island, searching for a rare leopard. Their daughters, Eliza (voiced by Lacy Chabert) and Debbie (voiced by Danielle Harris), are tired of their parent's constant work habits and want a vacation from exploring. When the Thornberry's learn that a group of babies are lost on the island, everyone joins in the search, even Tommy's faithful dog, Spike (voiced by Bruce Willis).
I mentioned before that Rugrats Go Wild didn't extend past its fan-base during its theatrical run (the gross fell almost 50% from its first weekend to the second) and seeing the film will prove why. Rugrats Go Wild assumes that the viewer is familiar with both the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys characters and offers very little in the way of introduction. As someone who is only casually familiar with Rugrats and knew nothing about The Wild Thornberrys, much of the film was lost on me. Oh, I don't feel that I was missing a great deal as most of the characters are very broad stereotypes, but it felt odd that the movie assumed that I knew everyone.
The other odd thing about Rugrats Go Wild is the movie's disjointed feel. There are basically four different storylines happening at the same time: 1. Tommy and the babies exploring; 2. The adults setting up a camp; 3. The Thornberry's looking for the leopard; and 4. Eliza and Debbie Thornberry dealing with their problems and then looking for the babies. I can certainly see how the movie's story-hopping could confuse/bore the young viewers for which this movie was intended. The good news/bad news is that this format means that each group is only on-screen for a short amount of time. Therefore, you'll either won't see the characters that you like, or be spared from the ones that you don't. For me, I don't find the Rugrats characters the least bit appealing. The first time that Tommy said, "Nigel Strawberry", it was cute. By the 20th time, the joke had lost all meaning. The Rugrats "humor" is often mean-spirited and doesn't accurately reflect the behavior of most children. I found The Wild Thornberrys to be much more charming, but they are the co-stars of this feature. The story is lame and predictable, as each character gets their moment in the spotlight, and there is little suspense (at least for an adult) or comedy. The real capper are the awful songs which inhabit the film. Even the duet between Bruce Willis and Chrissie Hynde (as the leopard) is a dud. The Rugrats are the only ones going wild for this film.
Video
Rugrats Go Wild scampers onto DVD courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The DVD contains both the full-frame and widescreen versions of the film. For the purposes of this review, only the widescreen version was viewed. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. (I was quite surprised to find that the film has been "shot" in a 2.35:1 format.) The image is very sharp and clear, showing basically no grain and no overt defects from the source material. (There was an occasional white or black spec on the image.) The colors are very good, and the mixture of 2-D and 3-D animation in key scenes gives the image true depth. There is a noticeable amount of edge-enhancement in some shots, but otherwise the transfer looks very good.
Audio
The primary audio track on the Rugrats Go Wild DVD is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. This track provides clear dialogue and sound effects, with no indication of hissing or distortion. The scene in which the boat capsizes and several of the jungle scenes provide very good surround sound action and there are a few choice moments where the bass response adds impact to the film. While the songs are torture to listen to, they do sound fine on this track. Overall, the audio isn't awe-inspiring, but it serves the visuals well.
Extras
The DVD contains a handful of extras. First of all, the DVD contains a scratch & sniff card with six distinct odors. Rugrats Go Wild can be viewed with a feature that places an icon on the screen each time a portion of the card should be smelled. Get me John Waters on the phone. There are three deleted scenes on the DVD, all of which are in animated storyboard form. Bless the person who decided to cut these three scenes, as they are all songs ("We Go Up, We Go Down", "Fraidy Cat Finster", and "Higgledy Piggledy") and all three are as bad as the songs in the finished film. There is also one "outtake" (?!), which is a partially animated and colored scene in which the adults go fishing. The so-called "alternate ending" is actually a partially animated extended ending which adds no new information or changes the finale in any way. A 2-min behind-the-scenes featurette focuses on the duet between Willis and Hynde and offers comments from both. The extras are rounded out by a set-top trivia/adventure game.
Rugrats Go Wild isn't necessarily a terrible film, but it's aimed so squarely at its target market (ie: fans of the shows) that its nearly impossible for anyone else to enjoy it. Those youngsters who love the TV shows should enjoy the film, but adults will find it boring and annoying.
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