Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Rugrats Go Wild

Directed by Norton Virgien

and John Eng

Written by Kate Boutilier

Starring the voices of E. G. Daily, Nancy Cartwright, Cheryl Chase, Tim Curry, Lacey Chabert,

Flea and Bruce Willis

Classification: G

Rating: **

Two tribes find themselves on a deserted jungle island where they must face their deepest fears, form alliances and respond to a series of death-defying challenges in Rugrats Go Wild, or, as I like to call it, Survivor: Lost in Diapers.

The two "tribes" are Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys, both of which are award-winning, animated, kids' TV shows from Klasky Csupo studios (the original animators of The Simpsons). The Rugrats, about a group of toddlers and their parents, are big-screen veterans with two previous movies to their credit (Rugrats and Rugrats in Paris). The Wild Thornberrys, a family unit (the parents produce a show about wild life, one daughter talks to animals, the other is a petulant teen and the son has "gone native"), made their big-screen debut last fall.

The premise of how these two worlds happen to collide is sound enough. Stu Pickles, the father of Rugrats ringleader Tommy Pickles (E. G. Daily), plans a summer vacation for all the Rugrats families, plus an extra kid and the dog, Spike. Instead of the luxurious cruise they are all expecting, Stu has rented a tired old tugboat and, with comic reference to Gilligan's Island, the tiny ship is tossed. Adrift on an inflatable raft, they spot what appears to be a deserted island. Upon landing, they attend to the first order of survival -- building an enclosure for the toddlers, which, naturally, does not hold them for long.

Unbeknownst to the Rugrats, the Thornberrys have set up camp on the other side of the mountain. Adventurer Nigel Thornberry (the plummy British voice of Tim Curry) and his wife are trying to get footage of the rare white leopard, while their offspring cool their heels at their home on wheels, a large RV that comes equipped with an underwater bathosphere.

The plot is essentially a massive lost-and-found exercise, with danger lurking around every corner. Unlike the popular reality-TV show Survivor, nobody gets voted off the island. So although the "tribes" splinter into smaller groups, the multiple search-and-rescue storylines make Rugrats Go Wild a jumble in the jungle.

That being said, this is an absolutely dazzling work of animation. Klasky Csupo movies have a distinct and wild vibrancy in colour, detail and motion that is engaging to watch. And while the diapered set and their word-twisting babytalk can get tedious for the older viewer, the filmmakers always make sure to include something for the grownups. They poke fun at adult obsessions (one mom almost falls off the boat while trying to retrieve her cellphone) and include comic nods to movie and TV lore.

But the main nudge-nudge, wink-wink to the grownup viewers are the celebrity voices: Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show), whose Nigel Thornberry gets bonked on the head by a fallen coconut and reverts to toddler-like behaviour; and Bruce Willis, who gives voice to the Pickles family dog, Spike, and even gets his own song (a duet with Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde, who plays the white leopard).

The only disturbing thing, at least to parents who are teaching their children about caring for the environment, is the carnage to the natural wonders of the island. Part of a coral reef gets knocked out by the bathosphere run amok.

Rugrats Go Wild is perhaps too wildly ambitious in its goal to unite two powerful TV tribes to serve a common goal, but its unsentimental music (hip songs by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh) and visual delights will capture the imagination of young and old.