RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE
Rated G - Running Time: 1:17 - Released 11/17/00
What's the holiday season without rugrats? With unsettling expedience,
the Nickelodeon-based, Klasky-Csupo-created babies are at it again,
forging ahead in their second big-screen adventure, directed by
Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer (both from the Duckman
TV series, but with no 'rats experience), and this time
they're in Paris. Joining in the trip over the water are the familiar
and wealthy voices of regulars Elizabeth Daily (as Tommy), Christine
Cavanaugh (Chuckie), Cheryl Chase (Angelica), and Kath Soucie
(Phil & Lil), with a few big-name additions like Susan Sarandon
and John Lithgow. The film is written by David N. Weiss and J.
David Stem, who penned the first feature, with help from newcomers
Jill Gorey, Barbara Herndon, and Kate Boutilier.
As it was with The Rugrats Movie
in 1998, Rugrats In Paris is surprisingly unspectacular,
seeming like little more than a longer version of the TV show
with music. The fact that most of it takes place in the City of
Light doesn't change this, as we barely see anything remotely
resembling Paris. The setting is Euroreptarland, a French amusement
park based on the Godzilla-style "Reptar" creature of
Japanese origin, so most of the décor is Japanese. The
'rats reason for being there is that Tommy's inventor father Stu
(Jack Riley), who designed the huge mechanical reptile that is
the centerpiece for the park, is the only one who can fix it when
it breaks. But as the story unfolds, we learn of a much more exciting
effect of the trip: Chuckie finds a mom.
Ever since Chuckie Finster's mother died, his dad, the shy
and unassuming Chas (Michael Bell) has been alone. This may have
been the cause of Chuckie's overanxious personality; at any rate,
he wishes for a mother who would love him and tuck him in at night.
Likewise, Chas would welcome a woman's company, but his introverted
style has prevented any prospects. When the group arrives in Paris,
however, he meets Stu's crafty and matrimony-seeking Parisian
employer, Coco LaBouche (Sarandon), who has learned that her appointment
as CEO of Reptarland depends on her ability to project a family-friendly
image. Although Chas appreciates Coco's attentions, the kids see
right through her, and when he announces their plans to marry,
they must endeavor to expose Coco for what she is even if it means
fighting off her stuffy henchman, Jean-Claude (Lithgow).
The production values for Rugrats leave something to
be desired. As simplistically animated as The Simpsons
but without nearly the wit, the franchise seems willing and able
to make major cash off the least necessary creative expense. The
writing team is adept at childish malapropisms and the skewed
perspectives of 5-year-olds, but the characterizations and plot
lines are witheringly simplistic, underscored by the techno-trash
background music by the one-time avant-garde Mark Mothersbaugh,
formerly of Devo. The film also provides yet another vehicle for
the Baha Men song "Who Let The Dogs Out?" — as
much a reason to avoid it as any other.
Rugrats, along with most of its Nickelodeon successors, relies on the depressing fact that kids will suck up whatever they are given in the cartoon field. One can't blame its producers for making a buck, but it would be nice if they put a little more heart into it. ***½