Rugrats Go Wild

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VSPACE="0"></B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> êêê</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com"><U><U>Reviewed by Lee Shoquist</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> I must admit, I'd never seen the Rugrats or the Wild Thornberrys before setting foot in the new Rugrats film, <B>Rugrats Go Wild</B>.  But a ton of laughs and 80 lightning-fast minutes later, I was very happily surprised to find a colorful and intentionally raucous comedy with a perfunctory moral message, not to mention a handy scratch and sniff card.  </div> <bR> <div> The Rugrats have been running around in diapers on Nickelodeon for over a decade, have made three films and a spin-off, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFF33" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Wild Thornberrys Movie</B></FONT>, so I guess it's safe to call them a bona fide phenomenon.  It's easy to see why.  The new film, <B>Rugrats Go Wild</B>, is a blending of both the Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys, as the Rugrats get marooned on a tropical island whose sole inhabitants happen to be the Thornberrys, and the combination of both proves hilarious.  </div> <bR> <div> The story is simple - the Rugrats gang gets together for a family vacation that goes awry, quickly finding themselves stranded on what seems to be an uninhabited island.  It turns out that the Thornberrys are there as well creating a nature documentary, and all manner of comic mix-ups and hijinks ensue.  </div> <bR> <div> The jokes are fast and furious, most of them the gross-out, dirty diaper variety but some of them truly inspired, with winks to <B>Titanic</B>, <B>Gilligan's Island </B>and<B> The Poseidon Adventure </B>(at one point, devilish little Angelica actually sings the theme song - <I>The Morning After</I> - from that maritime camp classic).  </div> <bR> <div> Bruce Willis is on hand as the voice of Spike, the Rugrats' faithful pooch, and contributes an exuberant musical number, which like the rest of the film, gets by on speed and good humor.  </div> <bR> <div> Of course, thrown in for good measure, there's a redeeming message about the importance of connecting with and spending time with the family.  But this is hardly the point, and it's tacked on to the end of the film perfunctorily.  What counts here are the number of scatological and gross-out references, from the dangers of bird poop and dirty diapers to the bare buts of the Rugrats mooning each other gleefully.  The film fulfills those requirements in spades, and the kids in the audience are the ones who really go wild here.  </div> <bR> <div> If there's one detrimental thing to say about the film, I confess I don't love the way the kids in the Rugrats speak, which is almost always grammatically sloppy and wrong - I kept reminding the five-year-old with me that the language was off and the words were wrong just to "be funny."  But on the whole, this is a fun and inspired little film, with a lot of color, some cool animation and big laughs for kids and adults.  </div> <bR> <div> The only real complaint is that the scratch and sniff card doesn't work at all.  There's next to no smell from any of the scratch-offs, from the flowers to the smelly feet to the strawberry.  Not sure why this doesn't work, but the kids were a little confused.  </div> <bR> <div> Recommended</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div>   80 minutes</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div>   Rated G</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div>  Nothing Objectionable </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="617"><div> <B>Lee Shoquist © 2003</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com"><U><U>Leeshoquist.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>