Rugrats In Paris

''Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' is a 2000 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats''. It is the second installment in the ''Rugrats'' film series and the sequel to ''The Rugrats Movie'' (1998). Marking the first appearances of Kimi Watanabe and her mother, Kira, as well as the first significant villains in the ''Rugrats'' franchise, the child-hating Coco LaBouche and her accomplice, Jean-Claude. The plot takes place after the series' seventh season premiere, and it focuses on Chuckie Finster as he and the rest of the Rugrats embark on an adventure in Paris, France while he is searching for a new mother.

The film was released in the United States on November 17, 2000, to generally positive reviews from critics and over $103 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million. This was the final ''Rugrats'' film to feature Christine Cavanaugh as the voice of Chuckie, who retired from being a full-time voice actor in 2001 and died in 2014. A sequel, and a crossover with characters from ''The Wild Thornberrys'' franchise, titled ''Rugrats Go Wild'', was released on June 13, 2003.

Plot

At the wedding reception of Lou Pickles and his new wife Lulu, a mother-child dance saddens Chuckie Finster with memories of his mother, who died shortly after his birth. Realizing that he and his son miss that presence in their lives, Chas Finster starts thinking of re-marrying. Tommy Pickles' father Stu is then summoned to EuroReptarland, a Japanese amusement park in Paris, to fix a malfunctioning Reptar robot he designed for the park's stage show.

The entire Pickles, Finster, and DeVille families travel to EuroReptarland, run by the ill-tempered, child-hating Coco LaBouche, who desires to succeed her supervisor, Mr. Yamaguchi, as president of the Reptar corporation. Angelica Pickles overhears Coco falsely informing Yamaguchi, who insists his successor must love children, that she is engaged to a man with a child. Yamaguchi says he will consider her promotion once he has attended her wedding. Angelica is then discovered eavesdropping and saves herself by telling Coco about Chas.

Coco begins pursuing Chas with the help of her put-upon but kindhearted assistant, Kira Watanabe, who tells the babies how Reptar was a feared monster before his gentler side was revealed by a princess. Hearing this, Chuckie decides he wants the park's animatronic princess to be his mother and goes in search of her with the babies and Kira's daughter, Kimi. Meanwhile, the Pickles' dog Spike wanders the streets of Paris in search of a stray poodle named Fifi.

While Coco wins over Chas, Chuckie remains deeply distrustful of her. At the Reptar show's premiere, Angelica informs Coco of Chuckie's wish to have the princess for his mother, prompting Coco to infiltrate the show disguised as the princess. She lures Chuckie on stage, where he is horrified to see her true identity; however, seeing his son go to Coco convinces Chas that he should marry her immediately.

On the day of the wedding, Coco orders her accomplice, Jean-Claude, to keep the babies and Angelica from intervening. Kira learns of Coco's plot and threatens to tell Chas, but is thrown out enroute to the ceremony and hurries there by bicycle. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude imprisons the children in the warehouse where the show's robots are kept. When Chuckie despairs of having a new mother who does not like him, a guilt-ridden Angelica reveals Coco's plan and her part in it. Knowing the truth, Chuckie rallies the others to stop the wedding, and they hurry to Notre Dame in the Reptar robot, picking up Kimi along the way. Jean-Claude pursues them in the animatronic of Reptar's nemesis, Robosnail; the two eventually fight and the babies use Reptar to knock Robosnail into the Seine River.

Chuckie arrives at the church and stops the wedding by saying out his first word, "No!". Jean-Claude and Angelica then reveal Coco's plot and true nature; a disgusted Chas calls off the wedding and Yamaguchi dismisses her. When Coco then knocks over the babies as she attempts to leave, Angelica retaliates by ripping her dress. A humiliated Coco flees the church and Spike chases out Jean-Claude.

As Chas apologizes to Chuckie for everything Coco put them both through, Kira arrives and apologizes to him for not speaking up sooner. Realizing they have much in common, Chas and Kira develop feelings for each other. Returning home, they marry and the Finsters and Watanabes, who also adopt Fifi, become a new family.

Voice cast

Main

* Christine Cavanaugh as Chuckie Finster
* E. G. Daily as Tommy Pickles
* Cheryl Chase as Angelica Pickles
* Kath Soucie as Phil DeVille, Lil DeVille and Betty DeVille
* Tara Strong as Dil Pickles
* Dionne Quan as Kimi Watanabe
* Jack Riley as Stu Pickles
* Melanie Chartoff as Didi Pickles
* Michael Bell as Chas Finster and Drew Pickles
* Julia Kato as Kira Watanabe
* Tress MacNeille as Charlotte Pickles
* Philip Proctor as Howard DeVille

Supporting

* Susan Sarandon as Coco LaBouche
* John Lithgow as Jean-Claude

Guest

* Joe Alaskey as Lou Pickles
* Debbie Reynolds as Lulu Pickles
* Cree Summer Franck as Susie Carmichael
* Mako Iwamatsu as Mr. Yamaguchi
* Marlene Mituko, Darrel Kunitomi and Goh Misawa as the Villagers of the "Princess Spectacular" Show
* Tim Curry, Kevin Michael Richardson and Billy West as the Sumo Singers
* Paul DeMeyer as the Street Cleaner and Dog Catcher
* Phillip Simon as the Animatronic Bus Driver
* Richard Michel as the French Worker
* Charlie Adler as the Inspector
* Phillipe Benichou as the Ninja
* Dan Castellaneta as the Priest
* Lisa McClowry as the Princess
* Casey Kasem as the Wedding DJ
* Roger Rose as the Wedding DJ for the Finsters
* Margaret Smith as the Stewardess

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album for the film, titled ''Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music from the Motion Picture'', was released on November 7, 2000 on Maverick Records and features new music from Jessica Simpson, Baha Men, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins of TLC, Amanda and Aaron Carter. Like the last soundtrack, it also contains an enhanced part: the theme song to the film "Jazzy Rugrat Love" by Teena Marie.

Release

The film was released on November 17, 2000 by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. In select theaters, the film was accompanied by the short film '' Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big''.

Home media

''Rugrats in Paris: The Movie'' was released on VHS and DVD on March 27, 2001 by Paramount Home Entertainment.

In 2009, Paramount released the film via iTunes and the PlayStation Store.

On March 15, 2011 (along with ''The Rugrats Movie'' and ''Rugrats Go Wild''), the film was re-released in a three-disc movie trilogy collection DVD set in honor of the original show's 20th anniversary.

On August 29, 2017, ''Rugrats in Paris'' was re-released on DVD.

On March 8, 2022 (along with ''The Rugrats Movie'' and ''Rugrats Go Wild''), the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the trilogy movie collection.

Reception

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus read: "When the ''Rugrats'' go to Paris, the result is Nickelodeon-style fun. The plot is effectively character-driven, and features catchy songs and great celebrity voice-acting." Metacritic gave a film a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating, "The point is, adults can attend this movie with a fair degree of pleasure. That's not always the case with movies for kids, as no parent needs to be reminded. There may even be some moms who insist that the kids need to see this movie. You know who you are." Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars, stating, "Eighty minutes of visual surprises, clever comedy." Empire gave the film a three out of five stars, stating, "Just as good as the last outing, this is great kiddie fare with some filmic references for the adults."

Jesse Florea of the fundamentalist activist organization Focus on the Family's entertainment review outlet Plugged In wrote, "If parents are wanting more of what they see on the ''Rugrats'' TV show (plenty of potty humor, disrespectful language and zero discipline), then this movie lives up to expectations. Never is a child scolded for making a mess or reprimanded for being rude (of course, some of this is due to the fact that many of the characters aren’t old enough to talk and only communicate with each other). The movie is cleverly written—it actually has the ability to hold adults’ attention for longer than three minutes—but it's not funny that chaos is the norm and children get to do whatever they want whenever they want. Neither is it appropriate for a children's film to tip its hat to such R-rated flicks as ''The Godfather'' and ''A Few Good Men''."

Box office

The film grossed $76.5 million in North America and $26.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $103.3 million, against a $30 million budget.

In the United States, it opened at #2 behind ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'', grossing $22.7 million in its opening weekend for an average of $7,743 from 2,934 venues. In the United Kingdom, it opened at #1 spot before it was dropped at #3 by its second weekend, behind ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' and ''Spy Kids''.

Crossover sequel

A sequel, titled ''Rugrats Go Wild'', that is a crossover with the characters from ''The Wild Thornberrys'' (another franchise from Klasky Csupo), was released on June 13, 2003.

References

External links

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{{Paramount theatrical animated features

2000 American animated films
2000 children's films
2000 directorial debut films
2000 films
2000s children's animated films
2000s English-language films
American children's animated adventure films
American children's animated comedy films
American sequel films
Animated films based on animated series
Animated films set in amusement parks
Animated films set in Paris
Films about babies
Films about vacationing
Films about weddings
Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh
Films with screenplays by David N. Weiss
Nickelodeon animated films
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award–winning films
Nickelodeon Movies films
Paramount Pictures animated films
Paramount Pictures films
Parody films based on The Godfather
Rugrats (film series)
Rugrats (franchise)
Films produced by Arlene Klasky
Films produced by Gábor Csupó