The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jeff McGrath Cathy Malkasian
Written by	Kate Boutilier
Based on	The Wild Thornberrys byArlene Klasky Gábor Csupó Steve Pepoon David Silverman Stephen Sustarsic
Produced by	Arlene Klasky Gábor Csupó
Starring	Lacey Chabert Tom Kane Danielle Harris Jodi Carlisle Tim Curry Lynn Redgrave Rupert Everett Marisa Tomei Flea
Edited by	John Bryant
Music by	Drew Neumann[1]
Production company	Klasky Csupo[1]
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures[1] Nickelodeon Movies[1]
Release date	December 20, 2002 (2002-12-20)[1]
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million[2]
Box office	$60.7 million[2]

The Wild Thornberrys Movie (or justThe Wild Thornberrys) is a 2002 American animatedadventure film based on thetelevision series of the same name.^[3] It was produced byKlasky Csupo and distributed byParamount Pictures andNickelodeon Movies. Directed by Jeff McGrath and Cathy Malkasian, written byKate Boutilier, and starring the voices ofLacey Chabert,Tom Kane,Danielle Harris,Jodi Carlisle,Tim Curry,Lynn Redgrave,Rupert Everett,Marisa Tomei, andFlea, the film follows the show's protagonist, Eliza Thornberry as she goes on a quest to save a cheetah cub from ruthless poachers. The film was released on December 20, 2002, to mostly positive reviews and grossed more than $60 million worldwide. It is the first installment inThe Wild Thornberrys film series.

The film was nominated forBest Original Song at the75th Academy Awards forPaul Simon's "Father and Daughter", making it the first film based on a Nickelodeon series to receive anAcademy Award nomination. A sequel to the film, as well as a crossover with characters fromRugrats titledRugrats Go Wild, was released on June 13, 2003.

Eliza Thornberry plays with a family ofcheetahs inEast Africa'sKenya after being left in charge of the cubs by their mother Akela. When Eliza strays far from the cheetahs' home, one of the cheetah cubs Tally is kidnapped by poachers. Eliza is determined to save the cub, which prompts her grandmother Cordelia to bring her to a boarding school inLondon for her safety. Upon arriving, Eliza discovers that her petchimpanzee, Darwin, stowed away in her suitcase. He attempts to blend in but gets both him and Eliza in trouble.

After having a dream in which Shaman Mnyambo tells her to save Tally, Eliza and Darwin return to Kenya. While taking a train fromNairobi, they encounter an injured malerhinoceros, who was shot at the river by the same poachers who kidnapped Tally. They save the rhino with the help of veterinarians Sloan and Bree Blackburn. Meanwhile, Eliza's older sister Debbie is left alone with her feral adoptive younger brother Donnie at their RV, the Comvee, while their parents, Nigel and Marianne, go to film a solar eclipse at Tempo Valley. Eliza returns to the Comvee for supplies; after a small confrontation, Debbie pursues her, Darwin, and Donnie. Cordelia and her husband, Colonel Radcliffe, meet up with Nigel and Marianne to inform them of Eliza's escape, and they also begin searching for Eliza to force her back to school.

Darwin, Eliza, and Donnie meet agorilla who mentions seeing people setting up a fence across Tempo Valley. Then, they run into the Blackburns again. Eliza concludes that the poachers are targeting the elephant herd traveling through the valley. Later, the trio finds Tally in the Blackburns' RV, exposing their true nature as the poachers. The Blackburns capture them and reveal the fence is electrified. Meanwhile, Debbie meets a localMbuti boy named Boko, who is sent by his village elders to assist her. The two reach the Blackburns' RV, but Sloan holds Debbie hostage after she reveals she is Eliza's sister. When Sloan threatens to kill Debbie if Eliza doesn't tell him how she found out their idea, Eliza admits it was because of her ability to talk to animals. A storm arrives and takes away Eliza's powers while the Blackburns flee.

They reach Tempo Valley in time to see theelephant herd heading for the electric fence. When Eliza becomes doubtful of herself, Debbie reminds her that she has been helping animals long before gaining her powers, restoring her confidence. The Blackburns, riding a helicopter, order their men to set off explosives, scaring the elephants and making them charge toward the fence. Eliza triggers the fence's electricity prematurely, causing the herd to stop temporarily, and then convinces the lead elephant to turn around. Infuriated by this, Sloan throws Eliza into a river. He then attempts to shoot the elephants, but they pull the Blackburns' helicopter out of the air by its rope ladder and destroy it, causing him and Bree to fall. They survive the fall, but are arrested by the park rangers soon after as the eclipse ends. Eliza nearly drowns until she is saved by Shaman Mnyambo, who tells her she saved the elephants using her heart instead of her powers. As a reward, he gives her back her powers.

Eliza reunites with her family, who decide not to send her back to boarding school, while Boko returns to his village, keeping Debbie's watch as a memento. The Thornberrys return to the savanna, where Eliza reunites Tally with his family. Debbie is angered when Eliza tells her that she will turn into a baboon if she reveals her secret, and in the process frightens a group of baboons Nigel and Marianne are filming. One of them activates the radio, which plays music that the Thornberrys and thebaboons dance to.

The film opened in the U.S. box office on December 20, 2002, and finished at #6 for the weekend, with $6 million for 3,012 theaters, for an average of $1,997 per venue.^[4] The film ended up with a modest $40 million domestically, partly because the film released two days afterThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. But, in light of generally favorable reviews, it managed to out-gross its holiday animated feature behindTreasure Planet, which grossed about $38 million domestically.^[5]

It is one of a limited number of feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters, and still improve on its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 22.5% from $6 million to $7.4 million.^[6]

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 80% of 88 critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.7/10. The site's consensus states: "The Wild Thornberrys Movie brings its beloved clan to the big screen for an animated adventure that should prove entertaining for all ages."^[7] OnMetacritic the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[8] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.^[9]Roger Ebert andRichard Roeper both praised the film and gave it “Two Thumbs Up” on their television show.

Kevin Thomas of theLos Angeles Times called it "a witty and delightful Christmas present for the entire family". Thomas said it "balances some honest heart-tugging with a sophisticated sense of humor", making it rare among children's films.^[10] Writing forThe New York Times,Dave Kehr described it as an "extended Saturday morning cartoon" that is "bland but harmless", comparing it negatively to Disney'sThe Lion King.^[11] InUSA Today, Claudia Puig rated it 3/4 stars and wrote, "The Wild Thornberrys will no doubt brighten the day of parents looking for family activities during the holidays."^[12] It was also reviewed byBoston.com^[13] andFilm4.^[14]

The film was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song for "Father and Daughter" byPaul Simon, but lost to "Lose Yourself" byEminem for8 Mile.^[15]

Paramount Home Entertainment released the film onVHS andDVD on April 1, 2003.^[16]

A video game based on the movie was released byTHQ for theGame Boy Advance^[17] andPC.^[18] The game's story mode puts players in the role of Eliza in scenarios loosely based on the events of the movie, and contains mini-games that allow the player to control other members of the Thornberrys.^[18]

An original soundtrack for the film was released on November 26, 2002, on compact disc andaudio cassette by Zomba Music, Jive Records, and Nick Records.^[19] The executive producer was George Acogny.^[20] Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter", written for the film, was released as a single. It went on to be nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song^[15] and theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song.^[21]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[20]

The score was released on April 8, 2003, from Silverline Records, and includes the theme song "Bridge to the Stars", music byRandy Kerber (who composed the additional music for the score) andJ. Peter Robinson, with lyrics by Maribeth Derry and performed by Tracey Amos andLisa McClowry. The album is currently out of print.

A crossover sequel featuring characters fromRugrats (another series fromKlasky Csupo), titledRugrats Go Wild, was released on June 13, 2003.

• List of films featuring eclipses

• The Wild Thornberrys Movie atIMDb
• The Wild Thornberrys Movie atRotten Tomatoes

• 2002 films
• 2002 American animated films
• 2002 children's films
• American children's animated adventure films
• 2000s English-language films
• Interquel films
• Animated films about families
• Animated films based on animated series
• Animated films based on animated television series
• Animated films set in England
• Films about animal rights
• Films about missing people
• Films directed by Jeff McGrath
• Films set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Nickelodeon animated films
• Nickelodeon Movies films
• Paramount Pictures animated films
• Paramount Pictures films
• The Wild Thornberrys
• Films about cheetahs
• Animated films about elephants
• Animated films set in Kenya
• Animated films about father–daughter relationships
• Animated films about big cats
• Animated films about apes
• Films produced by Arlene Klasky
• Films produced by Gábor Csupó
• Klasky Csupo animated films

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