| The Rugrats Movie | |
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Mark Mothersbaugh[1] |
| Production Companies: | Paramount Pictures Nickelodeon Movies Klasky Csupo |
| Distributor: |
|
| Runtime: | 80 minutes[2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $24 million |
| Gross: | $140.8 million |
The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated 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 Charendoff, 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. 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. However, the contract ended after Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures' parent company Paramount Communications in 1994.[4] 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.[5]
The film was followed by two sequels: in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys.
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, 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.
See main article: List of Rugrats characters.
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.[6] [7] [8] [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 .[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 | |
| Type: | soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various Artists |
| Released: | November 3, 1998 |
| Recorded: | 1998 |
| Genre: | R&B, hip hop, pop |
| Length: | 41:51 |
| Label: | Interscope, Nickelodeon |
| Chronology: | Rugrats soundtrack |
| Next Title: | Rugrats in Paris: Music from the Motion Picture |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
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 Weeklys 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]
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.[25] [26] 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.[27] [28] [29]
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.[30] [31]
The Rugrats Movie Storybook, released on the same date and using the same illustrators and publishers, was written by Sarah Wilson.[32] 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.[33]
A novelization of the film written by Cathy East Dubowski was published on October 1, 1998, by Tandem Library.[34] 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.[35] In May 1999, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation released a book titled The Rugrats Movie.[36]
The film was released on November 20, 1998, and made $27.3 million in its opening weekend,[37] from 2,782 theaters, averaging about $9,821 per venue and ranking number one that weekend, beating Enemy of the State.[38] [39] It would be overtaken by A Bug's Life during its second weekend.[40] 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.[37]
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.[41] [42] [43]
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Rugrats Movie holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "Charming characters; loads of fun for kids and adults."[44] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[45]
Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four.[46] 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.[46] The New York Timess Anita Gates reviewed The Rugrats Movie positively, calling it a "delight".[47] 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."[48]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly graded the film with a B.[49] 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".[49] 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".[50] 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.[50]
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.[51]
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."[52]
The film was followed by the sequels in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, the latter of which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys.