The Rugrats Movie | |
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Directed by |
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Written by |
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Based on | Rugrats by Arlene Klasky Gábor Csupó Paul Germain |
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Starring | |
Edited by |
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Music by | Mark Mothersbaugh [1] |
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Running time | 80 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $24 million |
Box office | $140.8 million |
The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American comedy film [1] based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats . It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. [3] The film features the voices of E. G. Daily, Tara Strong, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Michael Bell and Joe Alaskey, along with guest stars David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho, Busta Rhymes, and Tim Curry. The film takes place between the events of the series' fifth and sixth seasons, and it follows Tommy Pickles as he and the rest of the Rugrats along with his new baby brother, Dil, eventually get lost into the deep wilderness after taking a high-speed ride on the Reptar Wagon, and embark on an adventure to find their way home in the forest while being pursued by circus monkeys and a predatory wolf along the way. The Rugrats Movie is the first feature film based on a Nicktoon and the first installment in the Rugrats film series.
Plans for a Rugrats film adaptation, along with Ren and Stimpy and Doug , began when Nickelodeon made a contract with 20th Century Fox to produce them. [4] However, the contract ended after Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures' parent company Paramount Communications in 1994. [5] Production then began in 1995 after the television series had restarted after a small hiatus.
The Rugrats Movie was released in the United States on November 20, 1998. [1] The film received generally positive reviews from critics, though some criticized its darker tone compared to the television series. The film was a box office success, opening at #1 and grossing a total of $141 million worldwide. It became the first non-Disney animated film to gross over $100 million in the United States. [6]
The film was followed by two sequels: Rugrats in Paris: The Movie in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys .
This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards.(April 2023) |
Didi Pickles is pregnant with her second baby, which makes her son Tommy worry how that will change the family dynamic. The birth comes unexpectedly early, and Didi gives birth to a boy named Dil. Upon bringing him home, she and her husband Stu struggle to cope with Dil's constant outbursts. Tommy finds his new brother hard to get along with, but Stu assures him that one day, he will be happy to have Dil in the family, and Tommy accepts his newfound responsibility as an older brother.
With Dil still causing problems at the Pickles' home, Phil and Lil suggest using the Reptar Wagon Stu has built for a toy contest in Japan to take him back to the hospital. As Tommy and Chuckie argue with Phil and Lil, Angelica walks in, telling the babies to be quiet. In the process, Dil snatches her Cynthia doll from her. She fights Dil to get the doll back and accidentally kicks the Reptar wagon, which begins to drive away with the babies on board. They speed recklessly through the streets and land in the back of a van, which crashes in the woods. Angelica shows no concern until she finds out that the babies have taken her Cynthia doll, which prompts her to take the family dog, Spike, to find them and retrieve Cynthia.
Tommy leads the babies toward a ranger's cabin, believing it to be the home of a magic "lizard" (a mispronunciation of wizard) who can grant their wish to go home. On the way, they encounter monkeys who hijacked a crashed circus train. They kidnap Dil, and Tommy's friends refuse to help rescue him, believing they are better off without him. Tommy sets off after his brother alone. Meanwhile, the family discovers the babies are missing and set out to find them in the face of the media sensation that has suddenly generated around their children's disappearance. Drew and Charlotte arrive and Drew learns from Rex Pester that his brother lost Angelica, causing Drew to attack Stu.
Tommy eventually finds Dil during a storm, but as he struggles to take care of him, Dil continues acting selfishly. Tommy loses his temper and prepares to pour Mash Banana Baby food onto Dil for the monkeys to take him again, but his rage and the storm scares Dil into ending his behavior and his tears cause Tommy to calm down, and the brothers begin bonding. After the storm passes, they reunite with Phil, Lil, and Chuckie, who, upon having a change of heart, stop the monkeys from trying to take away Tommy and Dil. Angelica recovers her Cynthia doll and reunites with the babies. As they start to cross a damaged bridge, Angelica falls out of the Reptar wagon and hangs through a gap in the bridge above a raging river. They are confronted by the monkeys, only to be scared off by a humungous wolf named Scar Snout, who attempts to attack the babies until Spike intervenes and fights the wolf, sacrificing himself in the process.
Stu, looking for the babies in a pterodactyl-like glider, sees them from above and crash lands into the ranger's cabin. Believing he is the "lizard," the babies ask him to bring Spike back instead of going home. Stu falls through the bridge and reveals Spike, who survived the fall by landing in the struts of the bridge. The children are reunited with their parents and return home. The film ends with the babies going on an Indiana Jones-parodied adventure, but this time with Dil, having fully accepted him into the group.
Talks about making Rugrats into a feature film existed since the beginning of the series. The first attempt was in May 1993, when Nickelodeon made a two-year contract deal with 20th Century Fox to produce new material, but an unnamed Nickelodeon executive did not rule out the possibility to make films based on their existing properties, one of those that was proposed was Rugrats , alongside Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show . [7] [8] [4] [9] However, in February 1994, Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom acquired Paramount Pictures, [10] and Paramount would distribute the films instead. As a result, the contract from Fox expired, with no films produced (although Doug would eventually receive a theatrical film from Walt Disney Pictures in 1999). Production on The Rugrats Movie started a year later in November 1995. [11] The film's voice actors began recording their parts for the movie in late March 1997. [12]
Two months before the release of the movie, an episode prequel titled "The Family Tree" was aired as the penultimate episode of the fifth season. The film's beginning and ending parody Paramount and Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones film series. This later inspired the episode "Okey-Dokey Jones and the Ring of the Sunbeams", which aired during the show's eighth season in 2002.
This film was the first Rugrats production to use digital ink and paint, rather than the traditional cel animation used in the show.
Two songs were cut from the film during production. The first revolves around Stu and Didi in a nightmare sequence where Dr. Lipschitz criticizes their parenting through a song called "When the Baby Cries". The second depicts the Rugrats pushing the Reptar Wagon through the woods, debating what to do about Dil in an army chant style song. These two scenes were cut from the theatrical, VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, Blu-ray, and Paramount+ releases. However, these scenes are shown on CBS and Nickelodeon television airings of the film. [13] These scenes were also present in the print novelization.
The film was released in theaters with a CatDog short titled "Fetch". [14] This short was later broadcast in CatDog episode 21. However, the VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, and Blu-ray releases contain a different CatDog short from episode 28 titled "Winslow's Home Videos".
The Rugrats Movie was released on VHS and DVD on March 30, 1999, by Paramount Home Video. The film was also released on Laserdisc on the same day by Pioneer Entertainment. On March 15, 2011, the film was re-released in a three-disc trilogy DVD set alongside its sequels, in honor of Rugrats' 20th anniversary. [15] In addition, it was re-released in some movie sets by Paramount, in 2016 with all the non-sequel Nickelodeon-animated movies up to Barnyard , as well as a separate 2-disc set with Hey Arnold!: The Movie . [16] The film was released on Blu-ray on March 8, 2022, in a trilogy set alongside its sequels. [17] [18]
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | ||||
Released | November 3, 1998 | |||
Recorded | 1998 | |||
Genre | R&B, hip hop, pop | |||
Length | 41:51 | |||
Label | Interscope, Nickelodeon | |||
Rugrats soundtrack chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link [ dead link ] |
Entertainment Weekly | C link |
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture was released by Interscope Records on November 3, 1998. [19] The enhanced soundtrack contains thirteen tracks, bonus CD-ROM demos, and commercials. [19]
Longtime Rugrats composer Mark Mothersbaugh composed the film's musical score. A new track by English rock musician David Bowie, "(Safe in This) Sky Life", was written for the film's soundtrack but was ultimately removed. The track was re-recorded as a B-side for Bowie's 2002 single "Everyone Says 'Hi'", under the title "Safe". [20]
Amazon.com's Richard Gehr praised the CD for "[bridging] demographics as nimbly as the [original] show itself [did]" and for songs "fans of all ages will love". [19] Entertainment Weekly 's David Browne rated the Music From the Motion Picture with a C. [21] Browne noted that, while the soundtrack is enjoyable for children and does "[make] concessions" for parents, adults may dislike the amount of rap. [21] Allmusic's William Ruhlmann reviewed the soundtrack positively, saying "the result" of the singers and songs "is a romp in keeping with the tone of the show and the film". [22]
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture spent twenty six weeks on Billboard 200, peaking at #19. [23]
In honor of its twentieth anniversary, the film's soundtrack was released on vinyl on November 30, 2018. [24]
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
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1. | "Take Me There" | Blackstreet and Mýa featuring Mase and Blinky Blink | 4:02 |
2. | "I Throw My Toys Around" | No Doubt featuring Elvis Costello | 3:02 |
3. | "This World Is Something New to Me" | Dawn Robinson, Lisa Loeb, B-Real, Patti Smith, Lou Rawls, Laurie Anderson, Gordon Gano, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Phife Dawg, Lenny Kravitz, Beck, Jakob Dylan and Iggy Pop | 1:59 |
4. | "All Day" | Lisa Loeb | 3:30 |
5. | "Dil-A-Bye" | E.G. Daily (with Dialogue by Tara Strong) | 3:43 |
6. | "A Baby is a Gift from a Bob" | Cree Summer & Cheryl Chase | 1:57 |
7. | "One Way or Another" | Cheryl Chase | 3:17 |
8. | "Wild Ride" | Kevi featuring Lisa Stone | 2:43 |
9. | "On Your Marks, Get Set, Ready, Go!" | Busta Rhymes | 3:41 |
10. | "Witch Doctor" | Devo | 3:33 |
11. | "Take the Train" | Rakim and Danny Saber | 4:05 |
12. | "Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Yum" | E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh & Kath Soucie | 2:18 |
Total length: | 41:51 |
A side-scrolling video game titled The Rugrats Movie was released for Game Boy and Game Boy Color in 1998 and 1999 respectively. It was developed by Software Creations and released by THQ. [26] [27] Broderbund also developed and published a video game based on the film: The Rugrats Movie: Activity Challenge. It was released in September 1998, as part of the film's marketing campaign. [28] [29] [30]
Several books were released by Simon & Schuster's Simon Spotlight branch and Nickelodeon inspired by The Rugrats Movie. Tommy's New Playmate and The Rugrats Versus the Monkeys were also released on October 1, 1998, authored by Luke David and illustrated by John Kurtz and Sandrina Kurtz. [31] [32]
The Rugrats Movie Storybook, released on the same date and using the same illustrators and publishers, was written by Sarah Wilson. [33] The same date saw the release of The Rugrats Movie: Hang On To Your Diapies, Babies, We're Going In!: Trivia from the Hit Movie!, a trivia book written by Kitty Richards. [34]
A novelization of the film written by Cathy East Dubowski was published on October 1, 1998, by Tandem Library. [35] The following month, a 144-page guidebook, The Making of The Rugrats Movie: Behind the Scenes at Klasky Csupo, was released on November 1, 1998, by MSG. [36] In May 1999, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation released a book titled The Rugrats Movie. [37]
The film was released on November 20, 1998, and made $27.3 million in its opening weekend, [38] from 2,782 theaters, averaging about $9,821 per venue and ranking number one that weekend, beating Enemy of the State . [39] [40] It would be overtaken by A Bug's Life during its second weekend. [41] The film closed April 4, 1999 in total, The Rugrats Movie made $140.9 million; $100.5 million from the domestic market and $40.4 million from its foreign release. [38]
The film was released in the United Kingdom on March 26, 1999, and topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being dethroned by The Faculty . [42] [43] [44] [39]
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Rugrats Movie holds an approval rating of 59% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Charming characters; loads of fun for kids and adults." [45] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [46]
Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four. [47] Ebert wrote that the film's target audience was primarily younger children, and that, while he as an adult disliked it, he "might have" liked it if he were younger and would recommend it for children. [47] The New York Times 's Anita Gates reviewed The Rugrats Movie positively, calling it a "delight". [48] Neil Jeffries of Empire gave the film three out of five stars, saying, "Fun for kids, but, despite some adult references, appeal for the over 10s is limited." [49]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly graded the film with a B. [50] Schwarzbaum praised the movie for its appeal to both adult and child audiences, "juxtaposing the blithely self-absorbed parallel universes of small, diapered children and their large, Dockered parents". [50] However, other Entertainment Weekly reviewer Ty Burr gave The Rugrats Movie a B−, criticizing that the film's issues sprung from it being "bigger" than the original series, thus it's having more cultural references, out-of-place CGI scenes, and "[going] into scary territory". [51] Burr did praise the "escaped circus monkeys" for being "scary in a good way", as well as a joke that was accessible to younger audiences. [51]
Rugrats co-creator/co-writer Paul Germain (who, along with the other original writers, left the series in 1993) has stated that he felt that the film's writers did not understand what the series was about, and he thought that the scene in which Stu gives a watch to Tommy did not work, as the adults were not supposed to recognize the babies' intelligence. In addition, he felt that by giving Tommy a baby brother, Tommy was no longer the baby, which changed the series from what Germain intended it to be. [52]
Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film three stars out of five, saying that it was "'90s animated tale has some cartoon violence, peril." [53]
The film was followed by the sequels Rugrats in Paris: The Movie in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, the latter of which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys .
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving life experiences that become much greater adventures in the imaginations of the main characters.
All Grown Up! is an American animated television series developed by Kate Boutilier, Eryk Casemiro, and Monica Piper for Nickelodeon. It serves as a sequel to Rugrats, and explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles, his little brother Dil and his childhood friends, now tweens/adolescents. The concept for the series was based on the Rugrats episode "All Growed Up", which served as the original series' 10th anniversary special and proved successful with audiences.
Rugrats Go Wild is a 2003 American animated crossover adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. It is the final installment of both the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys film series and the sequel to both the films Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) and The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002). The film was the first to feature Nancy Cartwright as the voice of Chuckie Finster following original voice actress Christine Cavanaugh's retirement in 2001. The film follows the Rugrats and their famillies as they prepare for their planned vacation, but eventually get stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific, where they meet the Wild Thornberrys for the first time.
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is a 2000 animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats. It is the second installment in the Rugrats film series and the sequel to The Rugrats Movie (1998). This film marks the first appearance of Kimi Watanabe and her mother, Kira. The film also marks the appearance of the first significant villains in the Rugrats franchise, the child-hating Coco LaBouche and her accomplice, Jean-Claude. The events of the film take place before the series' seventh season, and it focuses on Chuckie Finster as he and the rest of the Rugrats embark on an adventure in Paris, France while he is searching for a new mother.
Reptar is a fictional character from the American animated television series Rugrats. It is a green T. rex with rounded, blue spike-like appendages on its back, which intentionally causes it to resemble and spoof Godzilla. Outside of Rugrats-related films, Reptar appears as a playable character in the Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl video game series.
Thomas Malcolm "Tommy" Pickles is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the animated children's television series Rugrats, the reboot, and its spinoff series All Grown Up!. He is also the protagonist of The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003), and a major character in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), as well as other various Rugrats-related media.
"All Growed Up" is a special episode of Rugrats and the pilot episode to the spin-off series All Grown Up! that aired on July 21, 2001, on Nickelodeon, to celebrate the series' tenth anniversary. The special serves as the 13th and 14th episodes of the seventh season of Rugrats, and the 143rd and 144th episodes of the series overall. The episode's premise was to focus on what the babies' lives would be like if they were ten years older. The episode proved to be popular enough for a series based on it to be made.
Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt is an interactive board video game developed by Realtime Associates for the Nintendo 64. It was published by THQ in 1999. The game is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats, which aired on the network from 1991 to 2004. It features the original voices from the Rugrats cast reprising their roles as Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil DeVille as well as supporting characters Grandpa Lou, Didi and Stu Pickles, Reptar, and series antagonist Angelica Pickles.
"Reptar on Ice" is the first segment of the 10th episode of the second season of the animated television series Rugrats and the first segment of the 23rd episode overall. The episode was written by Peter Gaffney and directed by Howard E. Baker. The episode originally aired on the television network Nickelodeon on November 15, 1992. "Reptar on Ice" followed the infant main characters, Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil going to an ice show with their parents that follows the love story of the babies' favorite monster, Reptar. There, the babies attempt to return a lizard to the actor, assuming it is his child.
"Take Me There" is a song by American quartet Blackstreet and singer Mya, featuring Bad Boy rappers Mase and Blinky Blink. It was written by Mase, Michael Foster, Madeline Nelson, Tamara Savage and Teddy Riley. Riley also produced the song. The song serves as the theme song for the animated feature film The Rugrats Movie and was released on November 30, 1998, as the lead and only single from the soundtrack. It also appeared on Blackstreet's third studio album, Finally.
Rugrats: Studio Tour is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by n-Space and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation on November 9, 1999, in North America and on December 15, 1999, in Europe. It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats.
"A Rugrats Passover" is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American animated television series Rugrats. It first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on April 13, 1995. The episode follows series regulars Grandpa Boris and the babies as they become trapped in the attic on Passover; to pass the time, Boris tells the Jewish story of the Exodus. During the episode, the babies themselves reenact the story, with Tommy portraying Moses, while his cousin Angelica represents the Pharaoh of Egypt.
"At the Movies" is the first segment of the third episode of the animated television series Rugrats. It originally aired on the television network Nickelodeon on August 25, 1991, during the series' first season. In the episode, The Rugrats go to a movie theatre to see The Dummi Bears and the Land Without Smiles, but Tommy is infatuated with seeing a monster movie, Reptar!. He and the babies sneak out of the theater room to catch a showing of Reptar! while leaving a wake of accidental mayhem and destruction as they do.
"Runaway Reptar" is a TV movie initially released as the 24th and 25th episodes of the sixth season of the animated television series Rugrats, and the 118th and 119th episodes of the series overall. It originally aired on the television network Nickelodeon on November 27, 1999. The plot follows the babies watching a Reptar movie and imagining themselves as part of the story. It was directed by John Holmquist and Jim Duffy, and was the first two-part episode in the series.
The animated television series Rugrats has been noted for its portrayal of Judaism, a dynamic rarely represented in American animated programming during the series' broadcast run (1991–2004). Six episodes of the series are devoted to Jewish holidays and to explaining their history, and the Pickles family is shown to be part-Jewish.
The Rugrats film series is a series of animated comedy-adventure films based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series, Rugrats, created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain. The three films were released in 1998, 2000, and 2003. The first and third films received mixed reviews, while the second received generally positive reviews. The series also experienced declining commercial success with each film.
Rugrats is a Nickelodeon media franchise created by Klasky Csupo consisting of television shows, films, video games, and other entries. It commenced in 1991 with the premiere of the television series of the same name. The franchise revolves around the adventures of a group of toddler friends who learn about the world and their relationship to it.
"Mother's Day", also known as the "Rugrats Mother's Day Special" or "Rugrats Mother's Day", is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Rugrats and the show's 67th episode overall. It revolves around the holiday from the perspective of a group of babies—Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil Deville. Tommy, Phil, and Lil attempt to find the perfect mother for Chuckie while sharing their favorite memories about their moms. At the end of the episode, Chuckie's mother is revealed to have died of a terminal illness. It concludes with Chuckie and Chas looking through a box of her belongings, including a poem she had written for her son. Meanwhile, Didi Pickles tries to plan the perfect Mother's Day with her mom Minka, while Betty DeVille helps Stu Pickles with his invention to help mothers.
Rugrats Adventure Game is an educational adventure point and click video game based on the Rugrats television series released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 30, 1998. It was developed and published by Broderbund. The game follows Tommy Pickles and friends Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as they try to rescue Tommy's beloved toy Reptar from being thrown out as garbage. The game incorporates point and click gameplay, with characters and objects appearing in different locations even after the player has visited them once. Angelica, the series' main antagonist, appears in the game to help further the story and ultimately become the game's main villain.
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