The Nickelodeon cartoon series The Wild Thornberrys gets its first feature-length animated film, directed by show creator Cathy Malkasian with a screenplay by Kate Boutilier (writer of Nickelodeon's Rugrats in Paris). The main character is 12-year-old Eliza Thornberry (voice of Lacey Chabert), a braces-and-glasses-wearing eccentric girl in an adventurous family of travelers. Due to an interaction with a shaman, she has been granted the special power of communication with animals, as long as she
promises not to tell anyone about it. Her powers are challenged when her parents, Nigel (voice of Tim Curry) and Marianne (voice of Jodi Carlisle), decide to take the family on an African safari to make a nature documentary. Also along for the trip is snobby sister Debbie (voice of Danielle Harris), feral youngster Donnie (voice of Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and pet chimpanzee Darwin (voice of Tom Kane). After her new Cheetah cub friend is stolen by poachers, Eliza is determined to get involved. However, the stuffy Thornberry grandparents get in the way by sending her to boarding school. It's up to Eliza and Darwin to defeat the poachers and save the cub. Also featuring the voice talents of Brenda Blethyn and Lynn Redgrave. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Doesn't do more than expand a TV show to movie length. However, it's pleasant enough and its ecological, pro-wildlife sentiments are certainly welcome.
Nickelodeon's animated explorer family runs into poachers in Africa in a sometimes-fun adventure that occasionally collapses into flat, savanna-like stretches.
Evokes a little of the fear that parents have for the possible futures of their children--and the sometimes bad choices mothers and fathers make in the interests of doing them good.
The Game Demo alone is a notable ROM feature, but even then hardcore fans of the Nickelodeon show may already have the full version on their computers.
It may not pull off any state-of-the art animation coups, but The Wild Thornberrys Movie understands that strong characters and involving storytelling are still the bottom line in a quality kids' film.
The animation may not be in the same class as The Lion King, but co-directors Jeff McGrath and Cathy Malkasian deserve praise for their attempts to render Africa's wildlife as authentically as possible.
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