The Rugrats Movie was enjoyable, not quite as good as Rugrats In Paris, but it is solid and colourful. Of course the film isn't without its flaws. The second half was rather loud for my liking, and while the story is simple, which is fine by me, there are bits where the film drags and it doesn't quite have the sense of fun that makes the show so enjoyable. That said though, the film is very, VERY cute and means well. While it is by all means a kids movie, there are a handful of laughs and references to other films for adults. I particularly loved Phil's "I didn't know she could fly"(in reference to Angelica) and Lil replies "I think it's because she's a witch." The animation is colourful and true to that of the show, and the soundtrack is great. The voice cast is especially strong, with Tara Strong, EG Daily and Christine Cavanaugh as standouts. Though as much as it pains me to say this, great actors like Whoopi Goldberg and Tim Curry have very little to do, and did disappoint. Overall, it's a decent movie, it is colourful cute and fun, but does have a tendency to drag and a bit loud in places. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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TheLittleSongbird29 October 2009
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rooboy8416 March 2002This movie was ok. I liked the series also. The toddlers have a bit of an accident and end up in the forest, where a big bad wolf is. So...their parents go to rescue the tots. It's ok for a kids movie but the plot is really weak. Still, it's an entertaining movie to watch but I wouldn't go and rent it. And despite going for just 79 minutes it's an animated movie so maybe thats an excuse for it and movies like it in the genre.
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CartoonKing24 June 2011Taking place immediately after the "Rugrats" episode "The Family Tree" where Didi finds out she's pregnant. "The Rugrats Movie" is when Tommy's new sibling is finally born. The Rugrats are very excited about Tommy's new sister, but when the baby is finally born, it's a boy. Baby Dil practically does nothing, but cry, scream, and poop. Tommy thinks he can take him back to the hospital in exchange for a new baby brother, but soon they all get lost in the woods. This is their first time in actual danger, not just their imaginations.
This is certainly not the best story for a movie, but it is okay. Baby Dil, however is very annoying. More-so in the later episodes of the show than this movie, because he constantly interrupts their adventures and makes every episode about baby-sitting Dil.
While "The Rugrats Movie" is a decent film, it has flaws.- It's starts the downfall of a once great cartoon show.
- Like in "Pokémon: The First Movie" this film tries a little bit too hard to be darker and more dramatic than the TV show it's based on.
- There are WAY too many jokes about poop, pee and other such gross things. I'm fine with crude humor when it's in small doses (like on "Rocko's Modern Life"), or when it's actually made funny (like on "The Ren & Stimpy Show"). But this movie (and the later episodes of the show) just over-do it.
There are good things too though.- I loved the opening sequence of the film.
- The animation is great, and perfect for the big screen.
- The voice acting is top-notch.
- Some parts were really funny. Like when they spoofed "Indiana Jones".
Overall this is a decent and mildly entertaining film. But it's certainly not one of the greatest animated movies ever. There are better movies of animated TV shows ("The Simpsons Movie"; "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"; "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm"), but there are also worse ones ("Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Colon Film for Theaters"; "Pokémon: The First Movie"). Funny, nicely animated, good voice acting, but a little bit too much potty jokes, and it added a horrible character to a great TV show.
Rating: 6/10 "Decent" -
bob the moo22 December 2006Tommy and his friends are excited and looking forward to the arrival of his new baby sister. However when young Dil arrives he turns out to be a boy as well as not being as much fun as had been expected. With Dill taking all his parent's attention away from Tommy, the other babies find themselves all marginalised by this screaming and pooping creature. Trying to return Dil to the hospital turns into a much bigger adventure than they planned when they wind out lost deep in the woods.
Some cartoons are aimed at kids but have plenty for adults to enjoy; some cartoons are so completely for kids that adults struggle to get anything from them. The Rugrats Movie falls somewhere in the middle, being engaging enough for adults without really having that much specifically for them. Of course for kids the simple plot will provide enough adventure to hold the attention while the baby jokes come fast enough to amuse. Adults will not be turned off by the film because it is professional enough to distract, but the adult references are few and far between and certainly not as clever as the Pixar films that adults will be used to.
The voice cast deliver the characters from the TV show well enough and will please fans by delivering more of the same but just over a longer running time. Guest turns from Curry, Goldberg, Spade, Clinton, Cho and Rhymes don't add a great deal but in their defence I suppose it was easy work for money. Overall then a professional and enjoyable film for child fans of the series which fills the running time well. However there isn't much for adults other than the promise that at least it won't grate the way some kids films do. -
prestonwardcondra7 August 2015The first thing that should be clarified here in this movie is that "The Rugrats Movie" is by far the darkiest, slimiest and moodiest point of anything pertaining to Rugrats that was ever made.
Seriously. At one point, Drew Pickles puts his brother Stu Pickles in a choke-hold at one point or another in the movie, blaming him for losing his daughter Angelica.
There's definitely not that much humor to be have here in this movie. If you watch the cartoon, you'll know what I mean and that is definitely a turn off point for some and why "The Rugrats Movie" as a whole, received a polarizing response by critics.
There are definitely some parts of the movie that drag on and on. The part where the babies get lost and stuck in the forest and wonder around aimlessly in hopes of getting back home, drag on WAY too long and Dil's overall presence in the movie is more irritating than it is pleasing to the typical viewer.
Then again if you are someone who isn't a fan of Rugrats, you shouldn't even be watching this in the first place.
I give the movie credit for taking a different direction and doing something it's not but, in 20/20 hindsight, it's not all perfect.
The songs that the cast of the characters sing throughout the course of the movie are hit and miss. The best one was probably Angelica's take on Blondie's "One Way Or Another" hit song from the 80's.
In all, I only recommend checking this movie out if you are a part of the Rugrats fan base. For everyone else, it's nothing special and you can safely skip it as there's better family movies out there. -
The Rugrats television series is almost twenty years old, which is surprising because when one watches the episodes of the TV series the color and overall look of the show looks like a 2000 television series. Enough with that, lets discuss the film. Its what every TV show movie adaptation is. Just an extended episode of the series. Though the sequel is something that is a step in the right direction to be different from the series. With this though, it's fitting to be a full length movie because to chop this down to a thirty minute film would be impossible. Though, this is a favorable TV show adaptation in many ways.
The plot is basic, but may be complex to a kid age five or six who this is targeted for. Parents may need to explain somethings about babies after the hospital scene. Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil are our protagonists in this ride and Tommy's mother Didi is having a baby. When welcoming what was thought to be a baby girl, is now a baby boy. They go with the name Dillon Prescott Pickles and now Tommy has a baby brother.
Instead of being a nice companion he becomes a big nightmare for the whole Pickles family because Dil will not stop crying. Both parents Didi and Stu are too focused on Dil to pay attention to Tommy which is how every family gets when a new child is born. Phil, Lil, and Chuckie get tired of the crying and put Dil in the new "Reptarmobile" which Tommy's dad made in an effort to take him back to the hospital because he's "broked". Tommy does the adult thing of trying to resist, but after some odd results, the four wind up lost in the forest with no one to help them.
The movie gets heartbreaking in a few sequences and tends to squeeze a tear out of audiences. Some of the humor and references will possibly be way over young kids' heads which is basically how every kids' movie can be sometimes. Watching this for the first time in about eight years I pointed out a lot more and understood more and more of it. The question remains me for me which children's film do I like more; The Rugrats Movie or Hey Arnold: The Movie? I think Hey Arnold's film made a bit more sense than this, but still both are fine pieces of film.
This was too Nickelodeon's film film to win a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award which I think is pretty lame. I don't think the company's film deserved to win the company's award. Thats like me patting myself on the back and giving me $100,000 for my review and giving it a "best" award. But I guess on a certain level it makes the smallest amount of sense. Either way though, this film deserves it and is still widely enjoyed by audiences today.
Starring: Elizabeth Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Tara Strong, and Charlie Adler. Directed: Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien. -
This is a loud movie which was fun for about 40 minutes but then it just gets to be too much, too abrasive with the yelling. Do they think kids are hard-of-hearing? Are they trying to make kids deaf?
Whatever. . I guess this is geared a lot more for young kids who are used to the TV blasting away at them. For me, that loudness is okay for awhile, but it gets tiresome. In fact, the simple storyline in here goes on for too long, too. This is an 81- minute film, which is not long, but would have been far better at no m ore than 70 minutes. An hour would have been just right.
Still, on the plus side, there are plenty of interesting scenes, the colors are bright and visually attractive, the sound is very good and there are some decent subtleties as well as slapstick humor. There are things in here adults would enjoy. -
thousandisland12 November 2000Warning: May contain SPOILERS.. I will confess.. I cried while watching this movie. TWICE! The scene where Tommy disowns Dill, and when he asks the "Wizard" to bring back Spike, were just heartbreaking! This film has a zany plot involving escaped circus monkeys and the kids getting lost in the woods. One thing that bothered me was the villain "Wolf".. For a show as unique and groundbreaking as "Rugrats," this unrealistic, completely fabricated and stereotypical villain was disappointing. Still, I enjoyed this movie and got caught up in it. At times the pace and content are a little TOO wild, but there's some really powerful scenes, drama and symbolism that are incredible for an animated film. There's action and humor, too, although the commode "comedy" was a bit much. (If there were ever a movie to detail why NOT to have babies, this is it. Between the screaming and the defecation, any viewer will think twice.) Overall, this was a cute movie. It delves into the characters of Tommy and Chuckie and is surprisingly deep. Rugrats fans should love it, and it's good for the whole family, too.
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Why do filmmakers find it necessary to try to turn cartoons into musicals? I found the many star-studded music numbers irritating, and a poor attempt to appear "cool" to the adult viewers. The entire plot element of the train-wrecked monkeys added nothing to the film, and seemed senseless. My 7 year old son enjoyed it except for the singing. The TV show is better.
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RunningFromSatan24 November 1998This movie wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really good, either. Many parents who take their children to see this movie will be bored out of their minds! I mean I'm not saying this is the worst movie of all time, but I think whoever the writers were could do A LOT better because the series is fantastic. There was some LOL humor (i.e. the babies in the newborn room singing that song) and when Charlotte says "If born under Venus, look for a--" and gets cut off by her cellular phone. On a scale of 1-10, I rated it a 7. I will still watch the series, but I wouldn't go to see it again.
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disdressed123 March 2008this first animated Rugrats movie is somethings kids will enjoy,but it's not something for the whole family.adults will probably find it too loud.it also isn't very funny.i found it more of a downer than anything.the odd thing is that there are many pop culture and movie references that only adults will understand.i did find it amusing how the Rugrats spoke,messing up the English language.there is a lot of action,but i still found the movie boring and tedious.there is a lesson about friendship,but they don't hit you over the head with it.i recently watched Recess:School's Out,another animated cartoon which i found was fun for the whole family.as for The Rugrats Movie,my vote is a 4/10
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As a big fan of the Nickelodeon television show, "The Rugrats", I was really itching to see this when I first heard they were making a movie, and I am a teenager, too. I was there opening weekend, and lemme tell ya, you don't have to be a toddler to love animated movies. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. There was very good animation, a good little story, upbeat and catchy songs as well as lyrics, and the action will keep the little ones entertained. ***** out of *****.
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walnut-425 May 1999I agree along with many other people worldwide that this a fantastic and hilarious movie..............but, I believe that in some scenes they are going for cheap laughs that just turn out unsuitable for young children who watch the T.V show. It should be rated PG atleast. I give it 7 out of 10.
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Rune957 April 2002Seeing as this was a Klasky/Csupo production, I was hoping to see a cartoon reminiscent of the Duckman TV series also produced by Klasky/Csupo. Alas, this Rugrats dribble is a far cry from the comic genius of Duckman.
To think anyone would subject their children to this sort of nonsense is beyond me. Cartoons are supposed to be funny and provocative, not just so-so animation in vivid colour or a plot that never goes beyond a really badly written episode of Lassie. -
Ace-3821 November 1998Rugrats: A name I had never even heard until my daughter started watching it. My son soon followed and joined sis on the couch when the familiar theme song kicked in. They are 6 and 4 now and were thrilled when they announced the movie version of their favorite show. Mom and I promised to take them. As we arrived in the theatre, there were families all over just like ours. Once the film started, however, I was 6 years old again, watching my favorite cartoons. Rugrats movie is a joy for parents and kids alike. There is adult humor (referring to the sex of the new pickles baby, one parent says "if born under venus, look for a" ...before being cut off. There is kid humor too, multiple diaper jokes, and just plain FUN! Parents, and non-parents alike owe it to themselves to see this fun movie. If you have kids, it is a joy to see their faces light up when the theme song kicks in, and Tommy squirts the screen with his bottle (just as the SDDS sound kicks in, and the title breaks on-screen)
This is a great way to spend 85 minutes, and while my 4 year old got a little restless during the forest scenes (about 1/3 of the movie), my 6-year old sat through it with nary a word. A great time for kids of all ages, and a good way for parents and kids to spend some time together. -
=neil=13 April 1999I really enjoy the Rugrats on TV. I'm into most animated cartoons but the Rugrats is something special because of its gentle yet biting take on the world.
The Rugrats Movie feels more than just an episode stretched for the screen. The addition of a new character, baby Dil, into the mix gives rise to a whole new set of interactions between Chucky, Phil and Lil, Angelica and Tommy.
However, I didn't get the same sense of awe I got from The Lion King or Antz, or the sense of humour and emotion found in Toy Story or A Bugs Life.
Those are truly great pieces of animation, The Rugrats Movie is only good. -
emm19 April 1999This animated film feature of the RUGRATS is a thrill of an adventurous joyride for its fans, and has a cutest sense of humor more unique than some in this type (like the "poopie" jokes). The familiar artwork is breathtaking and fares far better than the recent DOUG in movie form. Angelica gets to steal the show like she always does, and sings a sample of Blondie's "One Way Or Another". Simply put, a great way for kids to escape the horrors of network television. As all that can be best explained, you know exactly what to predict here. The songs are nice, but they're nothing to brag about except for when the end credits scroll by.
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jboothmillard19 September 2005Based on the second longest running cartoon on TV, (longest running is obviously The Simpsons) this is a good movie for the kids, and a bit for the adults. Basically best talking baby friends Tommy (Elizabeth Daily), Chuckie (Christine Cavanaugh), and the twins Phil and Lil celebrate the birth of a new baby, Tommy's new predicted sister. When the baby comes out it is a baby, but it doesn't matter, they name it Dil, he is a troublesome baby at first, but when the babies are thrown into the wilderness they must learn to like him. Basically they want to take Dil back to the hospital, but instead the head towards the "lizard" (Wizard) to have one wish. Also going their way is the mean Angelica (Cheryl Chase) after her Stacey doll. Also starring The Emporer's New Groove's David Spade as Ranger Frank, Whoopi Goldberg as Ranger Margaret and Tim Curry as Rex Pester. Good for kids, and adults will like some of it too. Worth watching!
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It's amazing really how long it took me to get round to seeing this all the way through. I was the generation that grew up with Rugrats, it was iconic. It often annoyed me but I kept watching nonetheless. My brother put in a good word for it as one of the less excruciating kids shows of its era since it is about infants, making all the grossness and stupidness contextually appropriate.
It was never a stupid show though and this is far from a stupid movie. It can be very lavatorial and it does irk me how the infant characters malapropize: (the "hopsicle", the "responsitivie" etc.). But this is just part of the deal and it is admittedly quite justified.
The most obvious aspect of the movie is its fascinating visualization of a world viewed from people one foot high and no frame of reference for anything. Imagery, always compelling.
Storywise it's actually got a a lot of conflict. At first it's the classic Freudian case of a child perceiving the loss of his parents to the younger sibling which then develops into a narrative of the same character trying to meet the duty that is expected of him by his family at the expense of doing right by his pre-established friends.
On a material level it's a formidable tale as well. The show frequently had the kids exploiting the unbelievable negligence of every adult they were entrusted with and wandering off alone. But here they are in the freaking forest. It's high stakes by any standard and the rugrats themselves are well aware of their own mortality. The possibility of just leaving the newborn alone to die is on the table, this picture neither lays it on too thick nor does it sugar coat the hard reality.
Angelica (you know, the evil one) has a good presence in it but thankfully does not dominate it. The adult characters are also very fleshed out with the one brother who dedicated his life to making money and the other who pursued a fulfilling career at the expense of stability. Though it is not a main focus, this and the other foolishness of the grown up pepper this talking infant movie very funnily.
I was glad they included songs but I felt cheated by they being only one original one (that didn't have parody lyrics) as good as it is (Beck is in it).
My main issue with the story is that they are stuck in the forest for most the runtime and they don't make much effort to mix up the imagery: it's just wood wood wood wood wood wood etc.
We do get some rather terrifying encounters with some wild animals (there's monkeys too just you know which are both funny and terrifying) so it's not all bad.
I'm not saying that it isn't rather excruciating and I wouldn't suggest watching it with people but you can tell that the people who made this took it really seriously and genuinely loved the characters they were working with. -
Movie-1223 December 1998I believe in walking into every movie open minded. I always try my hardest to review a film that I gave the benefit of a doubt to. After all, would it be fair to allow my expectations to take over my personal liking of a movie? I don't think so. But is it really fair to expect a person like me walk into a sell out performance in which every one of the boaster seats outside the doors are occupied somewhere in the theater, which is ninety percent engrossed with crying babies, whining children, screaming juveniles and restless kids, and think for one minute I am not going to massacre this film to no end in my review? No, there isn't any thinking to the question. Sitting though "The Rugrats Movie" was like being trapped in a little dungeon in middle of an infant nursery. I was thinking to myself "HELP ME, PLEASE."
The movie is based on the Nickelodeon television series called The Rugrats, aimed at very small children. The program, which I have viewed many unfortunate times, isn't my favorite, to say the least. What it does is take a pile of elements that regard pre-schoolers and younger children, presents them on the screen and expects people to care about a bunch of one-year-olds doing baby things. For example, I once saw an episode where the "Rugrats" had to find their pacifier. Another where they experience potty training for the very first time. Are you starting to see where I'm coming from. No one cares about what's it happening to the profoundly annoying characters; the Rugrats.
The movie, which certainly has the same quality as a fifteen minute television program, not surprisingly details the lives of five babies, Tommy, Phil, Angelica, Chuckie, Will and a brand new addition to the family, Dill. They live in a small standardized town with standardized parents and a standardized dog.
One day, under the supervision of their sleeping grandfather, they decide to go on an adventure in the wilderness, which causes a bunch of boring and literally agonizing commotion that lasts and lasts and lasts for over 80 minutes.
As bad as the story, characters and interest were in this movie, the musicals were ten times as bad. They spoofed the light rock song "One Way or Another," funk and rap melodies. The new born babies at a nursery sing, the Rugrats sing, monkeys sing, all in an array tormenting sequences that, literally, forced me to walk out and take a long visit to the bathroom.
I want to end my review by telling you that "The Rugrats Movie" is a very bad movie. Not that I have anything personal against the Rugrats themselves, but I know something depressing when I see it. I walked in to the theater with a frown on my face. I walked out in a madder of joy. Not because I enjoyed the movie, but because it was finally over with. -
The Rugrats Movie was the first theatrical film based on a Nicktoon and the first of three based on Rugrats. This movie seems very experimental. The test worked box-office wise and won admiration of some audience members, but not most critics. This movie is about Tommy's brother, Dil, getting born and the other babies don't like him, so they go on a musical adventure in the forest to find the hospital. Possibly the best scenes in the whole movie are when the idiotic news reporter (I read on IMDb that he's played Tim Curry)getting their names wrong, the Indiana Jones parody at the beginning, (though I think the Godfather parody was great and less obvious), Angelica singing a parody of "One Way or Another".There are several references to bathroom jokes and a few sexual innuendos. (It fits in with experimental: will adults like it with those innuendos?)If you like Rugrats, and you're given a choice of the three movies, think about it before pick this one. I would suggest you watch the second one. But if there's no choice, just pop this one in and watch.
My rating: 6/10 Rated G -
MolotoW14 September 1999I know its a movie for children, but isn't it a little bit TOO unrealistic? I mean, have you ever seen 1-2 year olds that can speak? Or that could remember any episode of "Indiana Jones"? Anyone who could drive a Godzilla ("Raptar")-Vehicle? How does it come the parents aren't already being sued when they "lost" their children? And last but not least: One baby that wouldn't starve when left in the forest alone?!?
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I'm a big fan of the TV show (my younger sister never misses it; I can't help but see a few minutes of it nearly every day), and I knew eventually a big-screen version would be made. I rented it and watched it on my own one Sunday morning. Okay, so it wasn't as good as I expected, but it was still worth renting. I didn't think that the musical scenes fit well with the rest of the movie, and Angelica really didn't have enough screen time. Chuckie was, as always, an adorable coward. Tommy was the cute little leader, and Phil and Lil were as charming as ever as bickering twins. A nice new addition to the cast was Baby Dil. Seeming to be a brat, you eventually warm up to him. Many a play on words were used, which always cracked me up. Computer animation was cool. And I must admit, as pathetic as it seems, there were a few scenes where I actually cried! Rent it if you're into cartoons, but otherwise, you might want to stay away from it. 8 out of 10.
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briancham199431 May 2020This is the sort of film which has some good scenes but doesn't amount to much overall. The premise is quite simple - the Rugrats characters get lost in the forest - and the film does its best to make this interesting. We get good scenes like the Reptar vehicle ones or the fight between Tommy and Dill, but there are also some bad ones like the monkeys that doesn't seem relevant.
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A-222 November 1998I actually kind of like the RUGRATS TV series. It's a perfect movie to watch with the kids that both of us like. So of course seeing the current RUGRATS MOVIE was a no-brainer.
No the movie is a no-brainer.
This film's 85 minute length feels like forever. They've taken the funny dialogue of the babies and changed them into a slew of "poo" and "pee" jokes.
SAMPLE SCENE: A group of babies at a hospital urinate into the air, which goes through light which creates a rainbow.
Now do you really want your children to see this movie?
It's not a total waste. A handful of jokes work and having David Spade voice a Park Ranger are major pluses. But they still can't help this movie which joins LOST IN SPACE and THE AVENGERS of good TV shows gone bad at the multiplex.