The Wild Thornberrys (as a show that is) is better than the Rugrats, in my opinion. This movie is beautiful, and in my opinion, the best of the nickelodeon animated movies. I think the rating of 4.6 is just ridiculous, it's a kids movie, and an extremely good one at that. I wasn't expecting another Beauty and the Beast, I was expecting a film that was faithful to the show yet still was engaging for kids and adults, and The Wild Thornberrys Movie for me did that, and be thankful that the animation is so good, and the plot as simple as it was. It certainly isn't the best movie ever made, but I have seen much, much worse movies, honestly I have.It tells the story of Eliza (who you should never judge by her appearance), who tries to save a cheetah cub, and sets out to find him. The film was both funny and moving at the same time. The soundtrack was moving and beautifully sung by Paul Simon. The humour comes from Darwin and Nigel(wonderfully voiced by Tim Curry) who are both hilarious in the movie and the TV show. All the characters add something to the film, and I am sick of people dragging it down through the mud. The other voice talents are very good, a standout being Rupert Everett as Sloan who is a villain through and through, and can people stop associating villains as evil sorcerers bent on revenge! Honestly, even Disney are straying from that tired formula. I recommend this film, 8.5/10. Bethany Cox

I always loved this show when my children were little (7 and 5 when movie came out) so of course we went to the movie- I may have liked the show better than them. So I was not surprised to find it a high quality and well written movie. It is the perfect transition movie from kids being little kids to tweens. Basically it deals with her outwitting poachers who are trying to trick elephants into coming into a valley for slaughter. It has enough meat, message, and quality of script to entertain both adults and kids. It has a message of environmentalism, determination/sticktoitivness, family love, facing danger and also gives you a great animated version of Nairobi, the Serengeti, etc. It is totally logical and the twist of Eliza having to give up her gift in order to accomplish saving the elephants but remembering what she learned initially (about leading the elephants) is just enough plot for a 10 year old to handle. And the soundtrack, with Paul Simon, Baja Men, Diddy and many African groups is amazing. I get tears just writing this as I realized at the end it was the first "grown up" movie they ever saw. This is possibly the highest quality cartoon ever, many guest stars like Sting and others appeared during its run. The sister show "Origin of Donnie" was good too. The last one(Rugrats meet Thornberries) was nowhere near as good

The underlying theme in this movie is about family. You have the two parent engrossed in their work, an older sister who is incredibly self-involved, a disapproving grandmother, and a little sister who is left to her own devices to amuse herself. But even though everyone is so different, they come together to do what is best for their family. Okay, so little Eliza's ability to speak with animals helps out a lot. I enjoy the TV show, and I thought that the movie was a perfect extension of that. This movie is great for kids, and has talented talents like Tim Curry, Lyn Redgrave, and Flea (okay so that is an odd one to add to the mix) to appease the adults. But the story itself is one that is beautifully written, and told. It was worth the money to see it in the theater.

The thing that always gets me about cartoons featuring children heroes is how cruel the adults are to them, and what vengeance they take against them. Take, for instance, "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," where a poacher trying to kill elephants throws a small girl from his helicopter into a waterfall, after saying, "Too bad you won't get to see my plan finished!", or something like that. Of course she survives, to even doubt her survival is ludicrous, as it is a children's film, but how many times do you run into such mean poachers? Maybe there are poachers out there that would throw a girl from a helicopter, but who in his right mind and without any shame would yell at the girl and treat her like an adversary? I mean, it's a ten-year-old against a forty-year-old and this is the only way he can feel like he's accomplished something? By treating the girl as if she is his age? In fact, this film in many ways reminds me of "The Rescuers Down Under," in which the mean poacher from THAT film threw a child into a waterfall, much to the disapproval of two mice and an Albatross, voiced by John Candy. To call "The Wild Thornberrys" a clone of this film is an understatement.The only difference here is that the main character, Liza, can talk to animals. Hey, waitta minute, couldn't the kid in "The Rescuers Down Under" talk to animals, too? Okay, let's go over some other differences. "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" takes place in a desert area. Oh, wait, "The Rescuers Down Under" took place in Australian deserts. Umm, next one. In "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," the girl has essentially three pals helping her out: A monkey, a bushkid and her sister (her parents are nature filmers and get seperated from the kids). Now...correct me if I'm wrong: In "The Rescuers Down Under," didn't the main star of the film have three pals? Two mice and the bird? And in "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," the villains of the tale are a twosome. In "The Rescuers Down Under," there are two villains, a man and a lizard. Am I missing something here?There are some good voices in this movie. Tim Curry provides his vocal talents, as well as Flea from "Back to the Future" Parts II and III, better known as a bandmember from Red Hot Chillipeppers. But a good animated film is not put together soley on good voices. It has to have an original script. Sadly, this film does not. It's so blatantly a rip-off of the film I mentioned above that it is almost embarrassing. I suppose Nickelodeon thought that enough years had passed to try and pass this rip-off onto audiences without them realizing where the plot came from, but they didn't trick this critic."The Wild Thornberrys Movie" is, of course, based on the Nickelodeon telvision series. I've seen one or two episodes along the way, and must say this film is truthful and faithful to the series. The kiddies will not be disappointed. But if you are a parent going into this film, don't expect anything other than another typical retread on a subject carried off so expertly in "The Rescuers Down Under," which I would much rather pay to see again than this film.2.5/5 stars -John Ulmer