Main cast: Elizabeth Daily (Tommy Pickles), Christine Cavanaugh (Chuckie Finster), Cheryl Chase (Angelica Pickles), Kath Soucie (Phil, Lil, Betty DeVille), Jack Riley (Stu Pickles), Debbie Reynolds (Lulu Pickles), Joe Alaskey (Grandpa Lou), Susan Sarandon (Coco LaBouche), and John Lithgow (Jean-Claude)
Directors: Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer

The charm of the Rugrats cartoon, where I am concerned, is watching the world from babies’ point of view. When garbage trucks are monsters that feed on garbage, when the sandpit’s a pirate island, that’s when I also know life can’t be taken too seriously. The show is often a brilliant parody and sometimes satire of the adults’ way of looking at life.

On big screen, however, it’s a different story. If Rugrats the Movie is charming if somewhat lacking, this pointless sequel, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is even more lacking. That’s because without the sandbox and cute attempts from the babies at understanding grown-ups, the story is just not interesting anymore. it turns out to be a generic road trip story, and an unadventurous, unexciting one at that.

This time around, the whole gang moves to Paris. Chuckie is wishing for a mommy, and he may gets his wish when the nasty Coco LaBouche decides to marry his father Chas for some promotion. Will Chas ever open his eyes and realize that his true love is in the shy, timid, but motherly personal assistant of Coco?

The whole “I just want a mother to love…” angle can be moving as well as disgustingly cutesy. If you have unresolved issues with your mother, you will hate this movie, trust me. But too often than not, this movie relies on toilet jokes and babies trashing hotel rooms too much to keep things going. In a sense, Rugrats which pokes fun at Disney cartoons has morphed into something that aspires to be one. It’s quite sad, really.