Michael Patrick Bell Movies

Two of the most popular animated series on the children's cable network Nickelodeon get wrapped up in one big-screen package in this comedy-adventure, featuring the characters from Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Drew and Didi Pickles (voices of Michael Bell and Melanie Chartoff) decide to take a special vacation with their children, Tommy (voice of Elizabeth Daily) and Angelica (voice of Cheryl Chase), with their friends (both grown-ups and toddlers) coming along for the ride. However, the ship Drew has chartered isn't especially seaworthy, and their party ends up stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific. The kids figure the day is saved when they discover that famous explorer and television personality Sir Nigel Tornberry (voice of Tim Curry) is also on the island with his family, but after he gets a world-class knock on the head from a coconut, Nigel's upper intellectual register gets knocked out of commission. The Rugrats are then forced to turn to Nigel's daughter, Eliza (voice of Lacey Chabert), who not only knows the wilds, but can talk to animals, which comes as quite a surprise to Spike (voice of Bruce Willis), the Pickles' family pooch. Rugrats Go Wild also features the voice talents of LL Cool J, Cree Summer, Nancy Cartwright, Jack Riley, and Flea. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the popular Nickelodeon TV series Rugrats, this is the first full-length feature animated movie to star the little tots. It's the story of diaper-clad kids, told from a baby's point- of-view, and they were one of the hottest-selling toy franchises of the late '90s. The film features a hilarious musical number in the hospital nursery, where newborns have the voices of major rock stars that include Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan's son), Iggy Pop, Lou Rawls, Lisa Loeb, and Patti Smith, to name a few. The story escalates when self-proclaimed leader Tommy Pickles is thrust into an impossible situation with the birth of his new brother, Dil Pickles. This new kid is grabbing all the attention and won't stop crying. With the help of other toddlers Lil and Phil, Tommy decides that the baby should be returned to the hospital for fixing. They all hop on their little wagon and take a high-speed ride straight into the deep woods where they realize they're lost. Chased around by animals (or so they think), the Rugrats clan must get home in one piece. Other celebrity voices include Whoopi Goldberg and The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Tim Curry, as well as Saturday Night Live's Andrea Martin and David Spade. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi

Two dogs and a cat, separated from their human family, must find their way home and face the dangers of a big city for the first time in this adventure story for the whole family. Bob Seaver (Robert Hays) and his wife Laura (Kim Greist), who live in Northern California, are taking their kids on a camping vacation in Canada, and they're bringing along their pets -- spunky bulldog Chance (voice of Michael J. Fox), self-centered Himalayan cat Sassy (voice of Sally Field), and wise old Golden Retriever Shadow (voice of Ralph Waite). However, Chance doesn't like being cooped up in his travelling cage at the airport, and when he escapes, Sassy and Shadow follow him to the nearest city, San Francisco. After a scary night on their own, the trio are befriended by a gang of stray dogs and cats who have learned to live on their own after running away from their cruel masters. However, Chance, Sassy, and Shadow soon realize that life on the streets is not for them, and they set out to find the Seaver house they call home. Sports fans take note: Bob Uecker, Tommy Lasorda, and Al Michaels appear as themselves and also provide the voices of their pets. The voice of Shadow was performed by Don Ameche in the preceding film Homeward Bound; it proved to be Ameche's last film released before his death in late 1993 (his final film, Corrina, Corrina, didn't reach theaters until several months after his passing), leading the producers of this sequel to cast Ralph Waite in the role. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

First telecast August 29, 1996, "Rage's Burning Wheel" served to introduce "apocalyptist" villain Ezekial Rage to The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (voiced by both David Ackroyd and Michael Bell, who took over the role). Hijacking a space capsule, Rage intends to use the vehicle to destroy the earth's ozone layer. Fortunately for mankind, Dr. Quest and Hadji are on board the capsule, and they are able to communicate their plight to Jonny and Jessie back on earth. There's still more danger ahead in the form of Rage's fanatical disciples, who have overrun Questworld's Mission Control. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three members of the Quest team go to the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey in search of the legendary Jersey Devil. The heroes find themselves in the middle of a feud between descendants of the Redcoats and Minutemen of the Revolutionary War, with the orginal Declaration of Independence as the bone of contention. While the script veers toward Scooby-Doo territory with a human villain posing as a supernatural monster, there's a neat and satisfying twist at the end of "The Spectre of Pine Barrens," which originally aired on September 17, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Travelling to the Czech Republic, the Quest team endeavors to make heads or tails of an ancient artifact. It turns out that the device activates the gargantuan Golem from the old Prague ghetto -- a monstrous statue that is dearly coveted by a power-hungry former KGB agent who hopes to assassinate the Czech president. Listed by some cartoon historians as having first aired on Septmeber 27, 1996, "Rock of Rages" bears a debut date of December 12, 1996 in other sources. Don Messick, the original voice of Dr. Quest, re-creates his role in one or two brief scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kenneth Grahame's celebrated children's tales of mischievous Mr. Toad return to life in this animated adaptation. The Wind in the Willows follows Mr. Toad as he purchases a motor car, and his pals Ratty, Badger, and Mole are forced to come to his rescue after a series of misadventures, as well as a brush with the law. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The popular animated duo of cat and mouse team up again to appear this time on the big screen. Homeless, the 'toons end up helping out a young girl who stays with a nasty auntie while she is separated from her father. Will the young Robyn be reunited with her loving father? Will the odd pair make it on the streets? Will they find a home? ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Opus n' Bill in: A Wish for Wings That Work, adapted from the comic strip Bloom County, concerns the plans of Bill the Cat to help his friend Opus the Penguin achieve his dream of flying. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In this entertaining feature for the 3- to10-year-old set, the wicked witch Hydia (voice of Cloris Leachman) and her two nasty daughters, Reeka and Draggle (voices of Rhea Pearlman and Madeline Kahn) are scheming to flood Ponyland with a strange liquid called Smooze. The ponies find allies in the Grundles, who have already been made homeless by the Smooze. The challenge is to stop the witch and her daughters, send them back into their volcano, and retrieve the lost land of the Grundles from under its cover of Smooze -- not to mention protecting Ponyland from the worst. Not an easy agenda, even after several adventures gear everyone up for the grand finale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Transformers was one of several syndicated half-hour cartoon series of the 1980s designed to promote a line of toys. In this instance, the playthings, marketed by Hasbro, were tiny robots that could be "transformed" into automotive vehicles, and vice versa. It was not for nothing that the series' theme song boasted that its characters were "more than meets the eye." Basically, the series chronicled the eons-old battle between two branches of the Transformer family: the Autobots, mentored by Optimus Prime, and the Decepticons, headed by Megatron. After battling for centuries on their home planet Zobitron (also known as Cybertron), the two warring factions decided to move their battleground to another world, and in the process crash-landed on a prehistoric Earth. Released from suspended animation in 2005 A.D., the good-guy Autobots (bearing such names as Inferno, Grapple, Red, and Smoke Screen) and the bad-guy Decepticons (numbering among their ranks the likes of Dirge and Thrust) resumed their conflict as though no time had passed at all. The Autobots managed to win several humans over to their side, notably earthlings Spike and Sparkplug, and, when the battle returned to the Autobots' home planet, Marrisa Fairborne of the Earth Defense Command. Although the animation was mediocre, The Transformers boasted excellent writing and story values, thanks to the input of such fantastic-fiction specialists as Donald F. Glut and Marv Wolfman. Also, the writers did a nice job weaving the Hasbro-licensed characters into the action, rather than have them merely show up as walking and talking advertisements. Debuting in daily "strip" syndication in September of 1984, the series remained in active production for three years. After its syndicated run, The Transformers was rebroadcast by cable's Sci-Fi Channel from 1992 to 1997. The series has also spawned a number of sequels, among them Beast Wars, Beast Machines, and several Japanese anime versions of the property, released in the U.S. under such titles as Transformers: Robots in Disguise and Transformers Armada. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi