THE RUGRATS MOVIE A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): **
THE RUGRATS MOVIE, being little more than a magnified version of the television series, will undoubtedly be well received by its fans. Those who think that movies should be more than extended length television shows will likely be disappointed. And parents of kids younger than 5 or 6 may be shocked to find all the frightening images and gross humor in an inappropriately rated G movie. Given the popularity of the series with the preschool set, the audience is likely to be filled with that age group.
"Hold on to your diapies, baby, we're goin' in," Tommy Pickles (voiced by Elizabeth Daily, who is also the new voice for BABE) commands his diaper wearing brigade in the movie's opening sequence. To the Indiana Jones tune, they are recreating in a dream sequence the famous boulder scene from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
The very talky picture is only sporadically funny. In the film's first act, the Pickles have a new arrival. Mrs. Pickles has a new baby called Dylan, Dil for short. Get it? Dil Pickles.
When they go to the maternity ward, there is a large board overhead as you would find in an airport arrivals lounge. As the signs flip over, they announce baby arrivals rather than planes. The kids in the audience may not get it, but it is one of the few jokes thrown to the adults to keep them awake.
Perhaps the movie's funniest scene occurs when the sleep-deprived dad goes hysterical and whines along with his baby. The wise mom knows just the cure. She grabs a pacifier and sticks it firmly in the Dad's mouth.
Although filled with bright colors, the film's animation has a cheap two-dimensional look to it as if they did the same slapdash job expected for a kid's television show. The backgrounds are almost always static with only the characters given motion.
The reason that another production company, Pixar, has deservedly won so much praise for their movies stems first from the imagination of the storyline with the technology being an important second. THE RUGRATS MOVIE fails on both of these measures. The scary story about young kids lost in the wilderness has no more originality than one would find in a weekly, television cartoon series.
Parents have a right to expect that G-rated movies should, without question or research in advance, be acceptable for all ages. THE RUGRATS MOVIE may find parents of little tykes feeling a need to walk out of the theater. The list of questionable activities for a G-rated movie is long, so I'll just touch on a few of them.
The kids are lost in a dark and ominous forest without their parents. They encounter a drooling wolf with razor sharp teeth that tries to bite off their heads. Menacing monkeys attack them in packs. To be fair, directors Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien put a happy gloss on the scary images.
Even if your kids have long since been anesthetized to violence, there is still the issue of the bathroom, or more precisely the poopy, humor. We have kids peeing in the air to make a rainbow. Boys look in their diapers to complain about circumcision. There is a vomit scene, and the movie is filled with defecating baby jokes. One of the characters sums it up well, "Hey, this is more fun than picking noses."
"I don't like this adventure anymore," Lil tells her twin Phil as their fortunes turn from bad to worse. And that is exactly what your preschoolers may tell you before the ending credits roll.
THE RUGRATS MOVIE runs 1:19. It is inappropriately rated G and would be fine for kids older than 5 or 6. People older than 10 will find little of interest in the movie.
My son Jeffrey, age 9, said that he's always loved the TV show, and this movie has the same activities so he really liked it. His favorites were the Reptar Wagon and the character of Dil.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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