Review of Rugrats Movie, The

Introduction

The intrepid explorers get an adventure they were not expecting when trying to return Tommy’s new baby brother Dil to the Hospital. They commandeer the Reptar wagon, inadvertently get lost, and have to find there way back via the magical “lizard.”

Well I must admit I am quite partial to a bit of Rugrats now and again, especially the episodes that have Reptar in.
This is the first Rugrats outing into big movie land and the production has been bumped up considerably.
With a bigger budget and a greater running time the Rugrats have now been upgraded to big movie status and it shows. The animation is better, there’s plenty of shading in the characters to make them appear more 3 dimensional and the backgrounds are sumptuously detailed. Cinematography has been upgraded too with proper camera angles, the use of depth of field and some nice 3D work especially in the opening Indy sequence.

The film also has plenty of songs, the usual nappy humour and all the other things people find so good about the series. The thing with the Rugrats and the reason it is so popular is because it is aimed at young and old alike. Kids love it for the adventure and nappy jokes, adults for the parenting “in jokes“ and although maybe a little slow and lacking in story in places, its all good fun and the kids will love it.

Video

DVD is the only place for animation in any home (not that horrible VHS rubbish), and this title shows just how good it can be. After all the hard work the animators put in it would be a crying shame to see the results destroyed by an inadequate print, but I am pleased to say all their fine efforts shine through on this disc. Those detailed backgrounds come alive, helped I am sure by the 1.85 anamorphic picture which provides that added resolution and colour saturation that titles like this really need and deserve.

Colour saturation is spot on with no colour bleed apparent and the black and shadow detail are both very good. At no time were there any digital artifacts or over-enhancements and the only fault I could find throughout the film (being picky) was a couple of instances of dust, although you have to be looking for it to really notice it. Altogether a top encoding job by Paramount.

Given that the subject was taken from TV the animation is really quite good as its been spruced up and has been given more of a 3D look. The backgrounds have lots of detail and depth, the characters look more rounded through the use of shadow and there is even a bit of 3D work thrown in for good measure. Alright it’s not exactly Dreamworks or Disney but it still looks very good and I’m sure the kids will love it.

Audio

If theres one thing a kids film needs it’s a good soundtrack and I’m sure you or the kids will not be disappointed by this one. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack here is really quite active for an animation title giving all your speakers something to do with many split rear and panning effects (voices at the party) and the occasional sub rumble.
Needless to say all audio was clear and concise with no distortion and music seemed dynamic and well presented.
But oh, did that Indy theme in 5.1 have me desperate for more.

Features

Not much here which is a shame. We do get a short Cat/Dog cartoon (and I mean short) called “Winslows Documentary” which is quite good but alas (you guessed it) far to short. We also get the usual theatrical trailer.
Languages include 5.1 soundtracks for our European friends: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Danish and English/hearing impaired subtitles.

Conclusion

A good effort from Paramount. Visual/Audio quality is high and the only real let down on the disc is the lack of extras. A short “making of" would have been nice or maybe even some more cat/dog cartoons to round off the package. As it stands though this disc is a must have for Rugrat fans young or old. Lots of nappy humour abounds, there’s plenty of catchy tunes for the kids and loads of the usual parenting jokes for the adults.