I will admit, there have been a lot of films based on cartoons that have come out over the years and its often one of two things. Either make it a live action film with the characters appearing as either CGI or what Roger Rabbit was able. Or make it fully animated so that it stays true to the source material. Its often the latter that is done well while the former just changes too much about the cartoon that the characters become unrecognisable and annoying. One of the earliest of the latter that I remember watching, is the Rugrats films. Based on the NickToon of the same name, these films have the comedy of the shows and they both were very successful. Did I say both? While I haven't seen Rugrats Go Wild, that's more of a crossover film than an actual Rugrats film. Yes it has the Rugrats, but I haven't seen it so we're just going to review the first two films today. So grab your diapers, fill your milk bottles and let's see some babies in action that aren't Baby Geniuses:
Oh and just to clarify, I'm only reviewing the two films that had a cinema release. For TV films, I haven't seen them and they are hard to come by so the chances of me reviewing them are pretty slim.
The Movie
So we find that Didi (reprised by Melaine Chartoff) is pregnant and is rushed to hospital to give birth to another son who she calls Dil, the baby brother of Tommy (reprised by Elizabeth Daily). Dil being seen as a spoilt brat, ultimately pushes the babies too far that they decide to take him back to the hospital, only to find themselves lost in a forest with a Raptar Wagon. As the babies try to find a way home, Tommy is put to the test as he takes on the responsibility of being big brother to Dil. I'll be honest, I never really liked characters or people in general who act like they are being spoilt brats. Just them saying that they are better than you and just being pathetic. But anyway, I liked this film. It's light hearted, its a historical moment in the show's history having a new baby to join the clan and its a lot of fun. The only criticism I have is that I'm not sure if anyone would want a child to see a film where within the first few minutes a baby is born. Just saying it could raise questions. But anyway, its a good film, probably one of Nickelodeon's best films since having their own film studios and just goes to show that a film based on a cartoon is better when its made by the actual creators of the show. 9/10
In Paris
So the film begins with a parody of the opening scene of The Godfather (and I will admit, when I first watched this, I was little so I didn't quite figure out the reference until recently when I watched the Godfather) where our main characters are at a family wedding and Chuckie (reprised by Christine Cavanaugh) feels left out when there is a dance for the kids and their mums as he only has a dad. But when Tommy and Dil's father Drew (reprised by Michael Bell) gets a call to come to Paris to work on a malfunctioned Raptar, he misunderstands and brings his family and friends along for a vacation while he works on the Raptar. Its here where Chuckie may find his new mum, but things may prove difficult when a villainous park manager tries to get in the way of Chuckie finding his new mum. This is probably one of those rare typical kids films that has pop songs, celebrity voices and everything else that would make a film like this be bad, but instead its actually good. Unlike the last film, this one features all or most of the characters from the show playing key parts and I'm glad that they manage to make things authentic seeing as the gang are in Paris. It would've not gone down well there if everyone had an American accent or worse. But no, its another great Nick film and once again, it manages to be a historical moment for the show as we meet Chuckie's new mother at the end. 9/10
They are both great films that seem to have fallen off the radar over the years and I wish we had more films like these now, but you can't get everything. Both films stay faithful to the show, they manage to make what would be a half hour cartoon into a feature length one and they are both fun to watch. 9/10
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