Rugrats Go Wild

Rugrats Go Wild (originally titled The Rugrats Meet the Wild Thornberrys) is a 2003 American animated crossover adventure 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; Cartwright replaced Christine Cavanaugh in the role in the television series in 2002.

The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Klasky Csupo and released in theaters on June 13, 2003, by Paramount Pictures. Rugrats Go Wild grossed $55.4 million worldwide and unlike its predecessors, it received unfavorable reviews from critics. The film used "Odorama", which allowed people to smell odors and aromas from the film using scratch and sniff cards (reminiscent of 1960s Smell-O-Vision). This is the only Rugrats film to receive a PG rating by the MPAA.

Plot
The Rugrats go on an imaginary safari: Tommy impersonates Nigel Thornberry, who is his role model, and spoofs his nature show. The babies and their families are about to go on vacation on a tropical cruise ship, courtesy of Tommy's father, Stu. Upon arriving at the pier to depart, they discover that he has instead rented a ramshackle boat as their real vacation. The families are angered that Stu did not consult them on his plans, and during their journey, the boat is flipped over by a rogue wave during a tropical storm. Everyone is forced to abandon the ship and board a life raft as the ship sinks; the group blames Stu.

The next morning, they arrive on a small, seemingly uninhabited island in the South China Sea. The adults make Betty the leader after Didi forbids Stu from volunteering, much to his chagrin. On the opposite side of the island is the famous globe-trotting family, the Thornberrys, out to film a clouded leopard. The kids, except for Angelica, set off to find Nigel to get his help to get them home, for they suspect he is somewhere on the island. Along the way, Chuckie gets lost and runs into the Thornberry's son Donnie, who steals his clothes, forcing Chuckie to wear Donnie's shorts.

Meanwhile, Eliza Thornberry is exploring the jungle with Darwin, her chimpanzee companion, and runs into Spike, the Pickles' dog. Since Eliza can talk to animals, Spike is heard speaking; he informs her that his babies are lost somewhere on the island. Under the impression that Spike means he is looking for puppies, Eliza and a reluctant Darwin agree to help him find them. Following a close encounter with Siri, an angry clouded leopard, they learn that he meant human babies.

Simultaneously, Eliza's father, Nigel, finds the lost babies. He heads in their direction but ends up tumbling down a hill and suffers amnesia after a coconut falls on his head, which reverts him to his three year-old self. They encounter Siri, but Donnie fends her off; Chuckie finds him and they swap back their clothes. After escaping from Siri on a high-speed pram, the gang lands in a crater. Angelica runs into Debbie Thornberry, and takes off with Debbie in the Thornberry's all-purpose mobile communication vehicle (commvee). To get back more quickly, Angelica steals the Thornberry's bathysphere and accidentally sinks the commvee in her attempt to pilot it. She manages to find and retrieve the babies and Nigel.

Meanwhile, Stu, has managed to create a working coconut radio. He and the other parents run into Donnie. After chasing him down the beach, they run into Marianne Thornberry, the mother of Eliza and Debbie and the wife of Nigel. Stu's coconut radio picks up the babies, as Angelica accidentally turned on the bathysphere's radio. Angelica and Susie, while fighting for control, crash the bathysphere at the bottom of the ocean. Nigel hits his head in the crash and reverts back to his normal self. Stu comes up with a plan to raise the commvee, and Marianne then uses the automatic-retrieval system to rescue Nigel and the babies just as the air runs out.

The babies and Nigel are reunited with their respective families, with Stu being thanked and forgiven, and everyone gets on board the cruise they had wanted originally. The Thornberrys join them, too, deciding that they should take a vacation, much to Debbie's delight, and Spike vows never to lose his babies again.

Characters from Rugrats

 * Tommy Pickles: E. G. Daily
 * Chuckie Finster: Nancy Cartwright
 * Phil DeVille and Lil DeVille: Kath Soucie
 * Kimi Watanabe-Finster: Dionne Quan
 * Angelica Pickles: Cheryl Chase
 * Dil Pickles: Tara Strong
 * Susie Carmichael: Cree Summer
 * Spike: Bruce Willis
 * Stu Pickles: Jack Riley
 * Didi Pickles: Melanie Chartoff
 * Drew Pickles: Michael Bell
 * Charlotte Pickles: Tress MacNeille
 * Chas Finster: Michael Bell
 * Kira Watanabe-Finster: Julia Kato
 * Betty DeVille: Kath Soucie
 * Howard DeVille: Philip Proctor
 * Grandpa Lou Pickles: Joe Alaskey

Characters from The Wild Thornberrys

 * Eliza Thornberry: Lacey Chabert
 * Darwin Thornberry: Tom Kane
 * Debbie Thornberry: Danielle Harris
 * Donnie Thornberry: Flea
 * Nigel Thornberry: Tim Curry
 * Marianne Thornberry: Jodi Carlisle

One-shot characters

 * Dr. Werner P. Lipschitz: Tony Jay (This was Jay's final film appearance before his death in August 2006.)
 * Siri the Clouded Leopard: Chrissie Hynde
 * Toa the Loris: Ethan Phillips

Release
During its initial theatrical run, Rugrats Go Wild was presented in "Smell-O-Vision". During certain scenes in the movie, an icon would pop up on screen with an item inside of it (example: a smelly shoe). When this happened, audience members would smell a scratch-and-sniff card (which were handed out at the box office) with the corresponding image.

Marketing
Among the biggest promotion the film received was Bruce Willis voicing Spike, and the use of "Odorama" cards to enhance the viewing experience, Burger King and Blockbuster released a scratch and sniff piece of cardboard that was to be scratched and sniffed during the run of the movie. The cards would later be released with the DVD release of the movie.

Controversy
There were some complaints with the Odorama cards, including the claim that the cards only smelled like cardboard. The Odorama card was considered an homage to John Waters' 1981 film Polyester. Waters felt he was ripped off and realized that New Line Cinema, the studio that released Polyester, did not renew the copyright for Odorama. He later said that "a cheque would have been an homage".

Home media
Rugrats Go Wild was released on VHS and DVD on December 16, 2003, by Paramount Home Entertainment. Most VHS copies included a "Smell-O-Vision" scratch-and-sniff card, as did most initial run DVDs. Later copies of the DVD did not include additional cards, but did retain the option to view the film with the scratch-and-sniff icons on.

On March 15, 2011, along with The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, the film was re-released in a three-disc movie trilogy collection DVD set, in honor of Rugrats' 20th anniversary. On August 29, 2017, Rugrats Go Wild was re-released on DVD. On March 8, 2022, along with The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the trilogy movie collection.

Box office
The film grossed $39.4 million in the United States and $55.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $25 million. The film opened at #4 behind Finding Nemo, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Bruce Almighty.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 39% based on reviews and an average rating of 5/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Rugrats franchise has gone from fresh to formulaic." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Neil Smith at the BBC gave the film 2 out of 5. Film4 stated the film was not as bad as other reviews suggested but "it just doesn't hold a candle to 2002's charming and superior The Wild Thornberrys Movie".

Soundtrack
An original soundtrack was released on June 10, 2003, from Hollywood Records.

The following is a list of songs that appear on the Rugrats Go Wild soundtrack.