11.17.2000 00:23
A Rugrat reward for the family
By
VALERIE KUKLENSKI
Los Angeles Daily News
Movie
credits and review Rugrats in Paris
will have the adults in the audience laughing and their young charges bewildered at what's so funny, and that's just during the opening titles.
I won't give away the surprise (some other reviewer may ruin it, though), but
Rugrats
creators Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo have rewarded parents dragged reluctantly to the theaters, in the tradition established by those great Warner Bros. cartoonists, who frequently threw in references that sailed over little heads.
Of course, there's something in
Rugrats in Paris
for all ages. There's the high gross-out factor for the boys (I'll spare you the details but it rates a big "eeewwwww") and, for the giggly girls, "I see London, I see France. ..."
The premise this time is Chuckie's desire for a new mom. The red-haired, bespectacled 2-year-old with the perpetually stuffy nose lost his mother some time ago, and his father, Chas
--
also red-haired, bespectacled and perpetually stuffy
--
has decided it's time to look for a new wife.
Meanwhile, Stu Pickles, father of Tommy and Dil, has been summoned to Paris to work out the bugs in his giant mechanical Reptar that stars in a stage show at EuroReptarland. He surprises the amusement park's manager, the tyrannical Coco La Bouche (Susan Sarandon with a perfectly shrewish French accent), by dragging along his friends and their children for the trip.
Coco, anxious to misrepresent herself as a lover of children to impress her boss, puts up a front for the gullible Chas, aided by her sychophantic, sneering assistant, Jean-Claude (wonderfully performed by John Lithgow). Coco's secretary, Kira (Julia Kato), sees Chas and Chuckie as good companions for herself and her 2-year-old daughter, Kimi. But Coco is determined and, before long, has Chas heading down the aisle.
Along the way there are the usual perils: Kids separated from easily distracted parents, kids barely able to control a crazy contraption, kids dangling from high places
--
you know, things that make the rest of us feel better about our own children eating soap or dog kibble.
The
Rugrats
regulars
--
E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Cheryl Chase, Melanie Chartoff, Jack Riley and others
--
do their thing admirably, but the real stars here are the animators, who clearly had a field day taking the characters out of the suburbs and into not only the city of Paris and all its landmarks but also a high-tech, Japanese-flavored amusement park. From Coco's severe fashions to the interiors of Notre Dame Cathedral, there are visual treats everywhere.
The music also is a solid part of the package, a mixture of established hits
(Who Let the Dogs Out?
by the Baha Men) and original stuff (Isaac Hayes'
Chuckie Chan).
Though its main purpose is entertainment,
Rugrats in Paris
has two good messages to impart: First, be wary of someone who talks of love but whose actions say otherwise, and second, animated stepmothers don't have to be evil. Are you listening, Disney?
****
Rugrats in Paris
Starring
: Voices of Susan Sarandon, John Lithgow, Julia Kato, E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Cheryl Chase, Melanie Chartoff, Jack Riley, Michael Bell.
Producers:
Produced by Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo; directed by Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer; written by J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Jill Gorey, Barbara Herndon and Kate Boutilier.
Playing
: Apple Valley, Campus, Harbour Mall, Holiday, North Dartmouth Mall, Providence Place, Showcase North Attleboro, Showcase Seekonk 1-10, Showcase Warwick, Stonington and Tri-Boro cinemas.
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