Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies have announced that the third installment of the RUGRATS movie franchise will team the precocious tykes with the characters from Nick's THE WILD THORNBERRYS. Los Angeles animation house Klasky Csupo, who produces the TV versions of THE RUGRATS and THE WILD THORNBERRYS, will produce the feature film with Paramount distributing it. No release date has been set of yet. The second edition of the theatrical franchise, RUGRATS IN PARIS, now in theaters, has grossed US$60.5 million to date and reportedly cost only $30 million to make. The first RUGRATS movie made $100.5 million and was the first non-Disney animated feature to hit the coveted $100 million mark. The features are based on the top rated TV series THE RUGRATS, created by Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo and Paul Germain in 1991. THE WILD THORNBERRYS debuted on Nickelodeon in 1998 to rave reviews and follows the Thornberry family of nature documentarians whose 12-year-old daughter can speak with the animals. In addition, Klasky Csupo has been long developing a separate THORNBERRY feature of its own. This new move might be a set up for that film fearing that THE THORNBERRYS couldn't pack theaters unassisted.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
