Rugrats go wild/credits

2003 American film

Rugrats Go Wild is a 2003 American children's film^[3] based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys.^[6] It is the third and final installment in the Rugrats film series as well as the second and last film in The Wild Thornberrys series. Christine Cavanaugh, the original voice of Chuckie Finster, was replaced by Nancy Cartwright.^[7][8] The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Klasky Csupo and released in theaters on June 13, 2003, by Paramount Pictures. It was the least successful film in the Rugrats series, grossing only $55.4 million worldwide^[5] and receiving mixed to negative reviews.

The film used "Odorama," which allowed people to smell odors and aromas from the film using scratch and sniff cards (reminiscent of 1960s Smell-O-Vision).

Plot[edit]

The Rugrats go on an adventure through the safari. Tommy impersonates Nigel Thornberry, who is his role model and spoofs his nature show. The babies' broadcast is cut short when they come across a tiger and then a crocodile, both of which threaten them. Just as they begin sinking in quicksand and are nearly attacked, this is revealed as only imagination; the babies and their families are about to go on vacation on the Lipschitz cruise ship.

When the families arrive at the dock, they miss the Lipschitz cruise. Tommy's father, Stu, has rented a ramshackle boat called the S.S. Nancy which he reveals to be their real mode of transportation, and their real vacation. The families are angered that Stu did not consult them on his plans, and soon the boat is flipped over by a rogue wave during a tropical storm. Everyone is forced to abandon the ship and board a life raft as the ship sinks. Everyone blames Stu for causing all of this and lose hope of being saved. Things start looking up when Angelica sings about having hope on her karaoke machine (which resembles a toy piano) she brought, until Spike's tail accidentally knocks both her Cynthia doll and karaoke machine into the ocean.

The next morning, they arrive on a small, seemingly uninhabited island (possibly in Polynesia) and Angelica finds her Cynthia doll on the beach. The adults argue about who should be the leader. When it gets out of hand, Betty suggests a test: she draws a circle around the fighting adults and tells everyone to step out of the circle, saying that it is the bad circle. They all step out and say that they all feel better, except Stu, and make Betty the leader after Didi forbids him from volunteering, much to his chagrin.

On the opposite side of the island is the famous globe-trotting family the Thornberrys (out to film a clouded leopard). Tommy, Chuckie, and the rest of the kids, except for Angelica, set off to find them, for they suspect they are somewhere on the island. Along the way, Chuckie gets lost and runs into the Thornberry's child Donnie, who steals Chuckie's clothes, forcing Chuckie to wear Donnie's shorts. He laments on looking like a "wild boy".

Meanwhile, Eliza, the gifted Thornberry, is exploring about the jungle with Darwin, her chimpanzee companion and runs into Spike, the Pickles' dog. Since Eliza can talk to animals, Spike (now voiced by Bruce Willis) talks for the first time (although he spoke in Chuckie's dream sequence in the episode "In the Dreamtime"); he informs her that his babies are lost somewhere on the island. Under the impression that Spike means he is looking for puppies, Eliza (and a reluctant Darwin) agree to help him find them. Following a close encounter with Siri, an angry clouded leopard whom Spike believes to be just a regular domestic cat, they learn that he meant the human babies.

Simultaneously, Eliza's father, Nigel, finds the lost babies. He heads in their direction but ends up tumbling down a hill and suffers amnesia after a coconut falls on his head. They encounter Siri, but Donnie fends her off. Then Chuckie finds him and they get back their clothes. After escaping from Siri on a high-speed pram, the gang lands in a crater. 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). In order to get back faster, Angelica steals the Thornberry's bathysphere, accidentally sinking the commvee in her attempt to pilot it. She finds and retrieves the babies and Nigel.

Meanwhile, Stu, who has managed to create a working coconut radio, and the other parents run into Donnie, who is still wearing Chuckie's shoes. After chasing him down the beach, they run into Marianne Thornberry, the mother of Eliza and Debbie and the wife of Nigel.

Stu's coconut radio picks up the babies, Angelica having accidentally turned on the bathysphere's radio. Angelica and Susie, while fighting for control, have crashed bathysphere at the bottom of the ocean. Nigel hits his head in the crash and regains his memories.

With the other parents' help, Marianne then raises the commvee and uses the automatic-retrieval system to rescue Nigel and the babies just as the air runs out. They are reunited with their families and forgive Stu, and everyone finally gets on board the Lipschitz cruise. The Thornberrys join them too, deciding that they should take a vacation, much to Debbie's delight. Spike vows never to lose his babies again.

Cast[edit]

Main articles: List of Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys characters

Main characters from Rugrats[edit]

Supporting and guest characters from Rugrats[edit]

The Wild Thornberrys[edit]

One-shot characters[edit]

Production[edit]

Rugrats Go Wild was originally made by Klasky Csupo's television unit (directed by Mark Risley and written by Kate Boutilier), but after screenings, Paramount decided it should be shelved and remade into a feature film.

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, 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".^[9]

"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[edit]

During its initial theatrical run, Rugrats 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.

Rating[edit]

Rugrats Go Wild is the only Rugrats film to receive a PG rating by the MPAA.^[10]

Home media[edit]

Rugrats Go Wild was released on VHS and DVD on December 16, 2003. Most VHS copies included a "Smell-O-Vision" scratch-and-sniff card, as did most initial run DVDs. Later copies of the DVD did not include additional cards, but did retain the option to view the film with the scratch-and-sniff icons on. The film is also available as a part of the Rugrats 3-disc set of all three films, as well as a double feature 2-disc set that also included The Rugrats Movie. The film was re-released on DVD on August 29, 2017.

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

The film grossed $39.4 million domestically and $55.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $25 million. The film earned less than each of the other two Rugrats films. The film opened at #4 with Finding Nemo at the #1 spot.^[5]

Critical response[edit]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 39% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 5.02/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Rugrats franchise has gone from fresh to formulaic."^[1]Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 38 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.^[12]

Neil Smith at the BBC gave the film 2 out of 5.^[13]Film4 said the film wasn't that as bad as other reviews suggested but "it just doesn't hold a candle to 2002's charming and superior The Wild Thornberrys Movie".^[14]

Soundtrack[edit]

An original soundtrack was released on June 10, 2003, from Hollywood Records.^[16]

The following is a list of songs that appear on the Rugrats Go Wild soundtrack.^[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Directed by
Norton Virgien
John Eng

Produced by
Arlene Klasky
Gabor Csupo

Written by
Kate Boutilier

Executive Producers
Albie Hecht
Julia Pistor
Eryk Casemiro
Hal Waite

Co-Producers
Tracy Kramer
Terry Thoren
Patrick Stapleton

Production Designer
Dima Malanitchev

Editors
John Bryant
Kimberly Rettberg

Music by
Mark Mothersbaugh

Executive Music Producer
George Acogny

Casting by
Barbara Wright, C.S.A.

Voice Direction by
Charlie Adler

Unit Production Manager
Robin Kay Levine

Digital Production Manager
Jerry Mills

Production Supervisor
Nicholisa Contis

Additional Casting
Paula Kaplan

Cast
(in order of appearance)

AndBruce Willis as Spike

Supporting Cast
(in order of appearance)

Storyboards

Based on Rugrats Characters Created by

Based on The Wild Thornberrys Characters Created by

Character Layout Artists

Character Animators

Technical Directors

Digital Background Painters

Assistants to the Producers

Production Assistants

Background Layouts by
Time Lapse Pictures
Athens, Greece

BG Layout Artists

Layout Clean-Up Artists

Technical Directors

Animation Production by
Sunwoo Entertainment, Co., Ltd.
Seoul, South Korea

Animators

Assistant Animators

Digital Ink & Paint Services by
Sunwoo Digital International
Seoul, South Korea

Painting Assistant Technical Directors

Additional Animation Services by
Sunwoo Entertainment USA
Los Angeles, California

Additional Artistic Personnel Provided by
Artists Inc.

Klasky Csupo Accounting

Executive for The Buena Vista Music Group
Mitchell Leib

Soundtrack Available on

The Producers Wish to Thank
Margorie Cohn

"...a Polynesian island farce." -- Albie Hecht, Excecutive Producer

(Above: The logo and cast of the film, from Burgerking.com. © 2003 Viacom.)

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale..."

Early on, since the film was first announced in 2002, there are rumors that the film will have the Rugrats in the jungle. Eventually, the rumors were proven right.

In an interview with TV Guide(which I have yet to verify), it was said that the Rugrats will be stranded on an island in the Philippines. Eliza, who's also on that same island, will meet them by accident. The film will also have a bigger role for Susie, and feature references to "Titanic", "Survivor", "Lord of the Flies", and, of course, "Gilligan's Island".

In January 2003, Simon & Schuster made its summer 2003 catalog available to its clients, which includes almost all the details that the TV Guide article included (even though I still haven't seen that article). In the film, Stu invites the family and friends on a luxury cruise. But, like the S.S. Minnow on Gilligan's Island, the tiny ship was tossed, and they ended up on what they thought was an uncharted, deserted island, with no phones, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury -- like Robinson Crusoe, it's primitive as can be. (Sorry, can't resist.) As the grownups try to sort out the problem, the Rugrats break loose, eventually discovering Tommy's TV hero, Nigel Thornberry, whose family is on that island, on assignment. The Rugrats were hoping that Nigel would take their families back to civilisation, but, Nigel accidentally bumps his head, causing him to talk like a baby (not unlike what happened in the Regarding Stuie episode). Furthermore, Spike will lose (at least, temporarily) his sense of smell. Will the Rugrats get back to civilisation? Of course they will, but, of course, getting there's half the fun.

For more complete details of the story, click here. (Warning: Spoilers)

There was 4 books published that are based on the film. For details, and their covers, click here.

World Premiere 6/1/2003

The world premiere for Rugrats Go Wild was held Sunday 6/1/2003 at 3PM PT at the Cinerama Dome Theater in Hollywood, just a short distance from Klasky-Csupo studios (the first 2 Rugrats films debuted at Mann's Chinese Theater, while The Wild Thornberrys Movie debuted in Toronto). Expected to appear at the premiere is Bruce Willis, as well as the regulars from both TV series, and the film's producers. Unrelated celebs expected to appear include Jodie Foster, Eddie Murphy, Michael Chiklis, Larry King, Tony Hawk, Marilu Henner, Blair Underwood, Lorenzo Lamas, and Holly Robinson-Peete. As usual, the premiere is a charity event, benefitting Caring for Children & Families with AIDS, Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services, Hollygrove, and Vista Del Mar, through the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

The Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film, from Hollywood Records(a Walt Disney company), will be available in stores on 6/10/2003. Here's a list of songs that will be featured; songs in pink are written especially for the film.

"Message In A Bottle" -- American Hi-Fi
"Big Bad Cat" -- Bruce Willis and Chrissie Hynde
"She's On Fire" -- Train
"Island Princess" -- Rugrats**
"Lizard Love" -- Aerosmith
"Ready To Roll" -- Flashlight Brown
"The Morning After" (from The Poseidon Adventure) -- Angelica and Susie*
"Atomic Dog" -- George Clinton
"Dresses And Shoes" ("Precious And Few") -- Angelica & Susie*
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" -- The Clash
"Lust For Life" -- Bruce Willis
"Phil's Diapey's Hanging Low" -- Nigel Thornberry and Rugrats***
"It's A Jungle Out Here" -- Rugrats
"Changing Faces" -- E.G. Daily

* -- Sung only by Angelica in film.
** -- Sung only by Angelica & Susie in film.
*** -- Song appears only on soundtrack; not used in film.

Please note that out of the album's 14 tracks, half of these will feature songs "sung" by the Rugrats characters (including songs sung by Bruce Willis & Chrissie Hynde, who will be singing as their characters, instead of themselves).

Of the three films, this film has the most numbers sung by Rugrats characters -- 7 out of 14 tracks. In comparison, The Rugrats Movie had 4 Rugrats numbers out of 13 tracks, while Rugrats In Paris has only one out of 12 to 14 tracks (depending on pressing).

Here are the other songs that appear in the film, but are not on the soundtrack; songs with no artist credited are instrumental versions recorded especually for the film.

"Rugrats Theme"
"Ono" -- E. Teraiamano
"Holiday" -- Cree Summer (as Susie?)
"'Rose' from Titanic"
"Theme from Gilligan's Island"
"Frustrated, Unnoticed" -- Damone*

* -- Was to have been part of soundtrack, but was later removed.

When the soundtrack was first announced in early May 2003, here's what was to have been featured:

"Lizard Love" - Aerosmith
"Message In A Bottle" - American Hi-Fi
"Island In The Sun" - Weezer
"Atomic Dog" - George Clinton
"True To Myself" - Ziggy Marley
"Ready to Roll" - Flashlight Brown
"Big Bad Cat" - Bruce Willis / Chrissie Hynde
"Better Beware" - Lisa Marie Presley
"Frustrated, Unnoticed" - Damone
"Get Loose" - D4
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" - The Clash
"She's On Fire" - Train
"Holiday" - Nobody's Angel

Songs in red were originally to have been part of the soundtrack, but was later removed; it is unclear if they will still be included in the film itself.

See The Posters In April 2003, theatrical posters for the film became available to theaters showing the film. The first, teaser poster, shown here at left, features only Spike and the tag line "Wassup Dog?". The second poster, shown here at right, features the Rugrats at the top of the tree and the Thornberrys at the bottom. Both posters from the Club Cooltoons Newsletter; © 2003 Viacom.

"Wild" Around The World International distribution of Rugrats Go Wild will also begin in the summer, but not long after the US release -- the first known country (outside the US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean) to get the film is Britain, where it'll be released Friday, 8/8/2003. This is almost 2 months after its first release in the US. In the past -- for The Rugrats Movie, there was a 4-month gap between US and international release (Britain also); while for Rugrats In Paris, the gap was roughly 3 months (France being the first overseas country, in this case; the gap for Britain was almost 5 months). And we haven't forgotten about The Wild Thornberrys Movie, where there was only a gap of about 1.5 months between the US (12/20/2002) and Britain (2/7/2003). (Left: A poster for the French version of the film, "Les Razmoket à l'État Sauvage" ("Rugrats In A Wild State"). From Vrak.TV; © 2003 Viacom.)

And in Britain, the film has an identity crisis -- the teaser poster (at left, from eBay) uses the name and logo of The Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys, while the second poster (at right), has the Rugrats Go Wild logo and name.

(Both posters from eBay.)

Here are the known release dates so far:

* -- Nick Australia has given 9/18 as the only release date for Australia.

(Source: http://us.imdb.com/)

The Story Behind The Story

The Rugrats' third theatrical adventure will feature characters from another Nicktoon hit from Klasky Csupo -- The Wild Thornberrys. The name of the film will be "Rugrats Go Wild". Previous names given, but later rejected, were "Rescue Me!" and "The Rugrats Meets The Wild Thornberrys". The current name was first used in a trade ad at a licensee convention (see below), but was later rejected, only for Nick to use it after all. The latter name, "Rugrats Meets The Wild Thornberrys", was used in catalogs by Simon & Schuster, as well as in early press material, before Nick decided to stick to Rugrats Go Wild.

According to the Done Deal site, Kate Boutilier, one of the writers of the first 2 films, will also be among the writers of this film, as well as a stand-alone Thornberrys feature, which was released in December 2002.

Tapped to direct the picture are Norton Virgien and John Eng. Virgien has directed The Rugrats Movie, whbile John Eng has directed The Wild Thornberrys Movie.

And now comes the million-dollar question: which Rugrats will be featured? The answer -- the classic, familiar, toddler Rugrats will take part in the film. There were rumors that the tweenage Rugrats will be featured in the film, instead of the original Rugrats, due to the success of the All Growed Up special, but unfortunately, Klasky Csupo shot those rumors down when they announced the start of the film's production on Friday, 12/7/2001.

The first major star to line up for a role in this film is rapper LL Cool J, who will provide the voice of Piki, a handmade doll that says hip-hop phrases when his belly is pushed -- apparently, his role in the film is uncredited, as he is not listed in the credits. Also appearing in the film is Bruce Willis -- formerly of Moonlighting and Die Hard, he'll be the voice of Spike, who, of course, will be understood by Eliza.

Also starring in this film is Chrissie Hynde of the rock group The Pretenders, who will voice Siri the clouded leopard. The character will be singing a duet with Spike in the film.

Add Ethan Philips as Toa and Tony Jay as Dr. Lipschitz, and you got the entire supporting cast -- every voice in the film besides the main characters. There are 4 supporting actors in this film, as opposed to 24 for Rugrats In Paris and 18 for The Rugrats Movie.

The crossover will be released in the US & Canada on 6/13/2003, about seven months after the stand-alone Thornberrys feature, which will be released on 12/20/2002 in the US & Canada; that film will have Eliza attend a boarding school, and feature guest voices of Rupert Everett, Marisa Tomei, Brenda Blethyn, Alfre Woodard, and Lynn Redgrave as Nigel Thornberry's mother. A made-for-TV prequel will have Nigel knighted in England, which will set the scene for the film. (Left: Poster for "The Wild Thornberrys Movie", from eBay; Above: Banner ads for the film, from Nick.Com; both ©2002 Viacom.)

And below is the very first ad for the Rugrats / Thornberrys film. This was part of a program distributed to attendees at the New York Licensing Fair in June 2002. It should be kept in mind that the logo and/or the picture may change down the road; that ad was created so Nick would have something to show at the New York Licensing Fair. Also, the reason why a date of July 2003 is given is so that the film will be far away enough from A Series Of Unfortunate Events, a live-action film from Nick that is slated for release in theaters in the 2003 Holiday season (the crossover was originally announced for release at that time).

Please note the film's early logo -- this was before they have chosen "Rugrats Meets The Wild Thornberrys" and reverted to "Rugrats Go Wild".

(Ad ©2002 Viacom. Special thanks to "Nickdisk" at the Nickdisk forum.)

Left: The logo for The Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys, before they decided to keep the Rugrats Go Wild name. This logo was featured in Simon & Schuster's Summer 2003 catalog, publicising books based on the film, until it was decided that they'll stick with "Rugrats Go Wild". (Above: The logo for The Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys, from Simon & Schuster. © 2002 Viacom.)