THE RUGRATS MOVIE A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 1998 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 stars (out of ****)
"Rugrats." It's the most popular children's series on television, according to the Nielsen ratings, a show watched by more that 23 million viewers each week. So it would seem only natural that after seven successful seasons on the Nickelodeon cable channel, America's favorite toddlers--Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica--would make the leap to the big screen.
"The Rugrats Movie" is a just-in-time-for-Thanksgiving expansion of the weekly program, a commercial-free, 90-minute feature blown up from a heavily-sponsored, 15-minute television segment. The result is surprisingly watchable for kids and adults alike, producing only minimal fidgeting.
Judging from the closing applause, a sequel shouldn't be long in coming.
There's not much of a story--the irrepressible urchins get lost in the woods--but the plot set-up is fun and gets most of the film's big laughs. Stu and Didi Pickles are expecting and, with the birth of baby Dylan (aka Dil--get it?), big brother Tommy has to face sharing his parents' attentions for the first time. So demanding is Dil that Tommy and his pals conspire to return his bawling baby brother to the "hop-sickle" ASAP.
The hospital in question is a humongous, international airport of endless corridors, check-in lines, and tv monitors indicating due, delayed, and arrival times. The delivery room options are very creative, and the nursery provides one of the film's first of many musical montages, and the first of many references to bodily emissions, which had the under-twelves rolling in the aisles.
While the creative team behind "The Rugrats Movie" enthuse about the themes of family loyalty, bravery, and friendship that run through the film, the audience seemed more responsive to any and every reference to poop, pee, or spit-up. And Tommy getting hit on the head by a bottle or a rattle--well, that just cracked them up too.
Grown-ups are more likely to appreciate the first half of the film--when the writers take amusing potshots at the universally-recognized chaos that surrounds the birth of a baby--than the second. Once Tommy and his pals head for the great outdoors aboard Stu's latest invention, the fire-breathing, Darth Vadar-sounding Reptar Wagon, the humor gets a little more predictable.
In the forest, pursued by the tempestuous Angelica and her "butthound" Spike, the Rugrats encounter a variety of dangers, including a "lizard" (some guy in a big pointy hat who grants wishes?), a wily wolf ("Red Riding Hood got eaten by one, but they got her out"), and a bunch of simian escapees from the Banana Brothers Monkey Circus.
Fortunately one of the savvier Rugrats must have planned ahead because there's a never-ending supply of bottles and "diapees" on hand. With little help from a couple of park rangers (guest voiced by Whoopi Goldberg and David Spade), the toddlers finally make it back to the safety and the security of their parents.
And no doubt back in time for "Rugrats 2."
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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