'Rugrats Go Wild' Turns 20!: 10 Fun Facts About The Film

June 13, 2023 marks the 20th Anniversary of Rugrats Go Wild! The film, a crossover between Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, both produced by Klasky-Csupo, was the third and final theatrically released film for the Rugrats franchise, and the second of two theatrical releases for The Wild Thornberrys.

While Rugrats Go Wild! did not reach the same critical or commercial heights of it's prececessors in either franchise, the movie was still considered a modest Box Office success. In honour of it's twenty year milestone, let's look at some fun facts about the film.

1. 'Rugrats Go Wild!' is considered the series finale of both 'Rugrats' and 'The Wild Thornberrys'

Both Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys aired on Nickelodeon under the iconic Nicktoons banner. Rugrats premiered as one of the three original Nicktoons in August of 1991, while The Wild Thornberrys aired its first episode in 1998. By 2003, both series were headed towards wrapping up production, with their final episodes eventually airing in 2004.

While Rugrats Go Wild! was released in 2003, a year before either final episode had aired, the film was originally conceptualised as a grand finale to both series, with Klasky-Csupo considering it to be chronologically set after the two series end. While Rugrats eventually continued in the form of spin-off All Grown Up!, and a CGI reboot series, Rugrats Go Wild! remains the final chapter for The Wild Thornberrys.

2. The film was originally intended to be a TV special

Originally, the crossover was intended as an hour-long TV special, to be titled simply Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys. However, the nearly-complete special's impressive scores when screened to test audiences caused Nickelodeon to reconsider. The TV version was shelved, with the special being reworked for release as a theatrical film.

The change led to an expansion of the story and a much more generous budget, allowing Klasky-Csupo to aim higher with their casting choices. This led to the casting of Bruce Willis as the Rugrats' dog, Spike, and Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde as Siri, the Clouded Leopard.

3. The film includes many homages to classic Shipwreck films

The original Rugrats was a series known for doing parodies well. Rugrats Go Wild! is no exception. When Stu Pickles trades the gang's tickets for the luxurious Lipschitz Cruise in exchange for renting the rickety S.S Nancy, you know they are headed for trouble.

The early part of the film is packed to the brim with references to classic shipwreck and oceanic disaster films, including The Poseidon Adventure, Titanic, and even Jaws.

4. 'Go Wild!' is the only Rugrats film to feature Nancy Cartwright as the voice of Chuckie Finster

For most of the original Rugrats run and the first two movies, including, notably, the Chuckie-centric Rugrats In Paris, Christine Cavanaugh provided the voice of Chuckie Finster. However, during the final couple of seasons, Cavanaugh retired from acting to spend more time with her family. Nancy Cartwright, then best known as the voice of Bart Simpson, stepped in to voice Chuckie.

It took longtime viewers, and Cartwright herself, time to adjust, but she eventually perfected her own 'Chuckie' voice, going on to voice the character in Rugrats Go Wild!, the remainder of the original Rugrats run, and All Grown Up!. Cartwright is currently reprising the role of Chuckie in the Rugrats reboot.

5. It is also the only 'Rugrats' film to include Susie Carmichael as a major character.

For most of the original Rugrats run, Susie Carmichael is an important recurring character. Susie acts as a foil to Angelica Pickles, always kind and honest with the babies, as opposed to Angelica, who is often cruel and unafraid of lying to meet her own ends.

Susie appears only briefly in the first two movies, as her voice actor, Cree Summer, could not fit a full film's worth of voice recording into her schedule. During production of Rugrats Go Wild!, Summer's schedule had opened up, allowing the character to be given a larger role. Susie joins in on the ill-fated vacation, trying to protect the babies when Angelica manipulates them into giving her the title of Island Princess.

6. Tim Curry features in all three 'Rugrats' films

Tim Curry, best known to many audiences as Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, voices his Wild Thornberrys character, nature show host Sir Nigel Thornberry, in Rugrats Go Wild. Following the wreck of the S.S Nancy, Tommy, a fan of Nigel, leads his friends into the jungle on the Island they have been stranded on, believing they will find Nigel. In a happy, convenient coincidence, Tommy is right, but unfortunately, a head injury causes Nigel to regress to age three, leaving him unable to actually help the babies for most lof the film.

Curry also appears in the first two Rugrats films. In The Rugrats Movie, Nigel voices the annoying and rather insensitive news reporter, Rex Pester, while in Rugrats In Paris, he voices one of the singing Sumo Wrestlers whom Angelica joins for Karaoke.

7. It is the final 'Rugrats' project to include actor Tony Jay

Tony Jay, best known to most audiences as Judge Claude Frollo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, provided the voice of child-development expert Doctor Werner Lipshchitz throughout the Rugrats franchise. Didi takes the word of Lipshcitz as gospel, sometimes annoying other characters.

In Rugrats Go Wild!, Jay, as Lipschitz, is heard in voiceover in scenes featuring the Lipschitz Cruise. He passed away three years later, making Go Wild! his final appearance in the franchise.

8. 'Rugrats Go Wild!' is the only 'Rugrats' film not to feature Reptar

Reptar, a heroic, Godzilla-like dinosaur creature who serves as the ultimate idol of Tommy and the other babies, featured prominently in the first two Rugrats films. The babies spend the majority of The Rugrats Movie travelling in the Reptar Wagon, while Rugrats In Paris takes place primarily inside the theme park Euro-Reptarland, with the climax featuring the babies boarding a giant, animatronic Reptar for a race to Notre Dame to prevent Chuckie's Father's ill-advised wedding.

Given Reptar's front and centre role in the first two films, his complete absence from Rugrats Go Wild! is sometimes jarring for fans watching the films in a a marathon. Unfortunately, Reptar had to be phased out of Rugrats final season when Toho, the owners of Reptar's inspiration, Godzilla, launched a copyright infringement suit against the show. This also accounts for the character's absence from Rugrats Go Wild! It was eventually decided that Reptar, as a parody, fell under fair-use, allowing him to appear in All Grown Up!, and more recently, the Rugrats reboot.

9. In some countries, 'Rugrats Go Wild!' was released with Smell-O-Vision

This meant that a scratch-and-sniff card with various items and scents was released alongside the film. At various points, a symbol would appear onscreen, prompting the audience to scratch-and-sniff the corresponding symbol on their Smell-O-Vision card.

The cards could be collected at the Ticket Box, or, in some areas, available as part of a promotion in Burger King and Blockbuster stores. Unfortunately, there were many complaints that the cards didn't work very well.

10. E.G Daily, the voice of Tommy, contributed a song to the film's soundtrack.

Prior to embracing voice over work as her primary career, E.G Daily, the voice of Tommy Pickles, starred in a number of live-action films including Valley Girl and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, and also recorded a few music albums. Aside from singing in-character as Tommy and other characters, Daily has continued to record new music periodically, and in 2013, competed on The Voice as a boost to the musical side of her career, joining Blake Shelton's team.

Daily contributed the song 'Changing Faces' to Rugrats Go Wild!. The song plays over the final section of the film's credits, and features on the soundtrack album.

In 2018, Daily joined her Rugrats co-star Tara Strong (The voice of Tommy's brother, Dil) to record a song lampooning then-President Donald Trump. She is currently reprising the role of Tommy in the Rugrats reboot.

Happy Anniversary, Rugrats Go Wild!