Dash and Dot's Wild Ride

Theatrical release poster

***Dash and Dot‘s Wild Ride*** is a 2009 American animated adventure comedy film based on the PBS Kids mascots of the same name, directed by Matthew O'Callaghan from a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who co-wrote the story with Brian Lynch. It stars Colin Ford and Grace Rolek as the respective voices of the titular characters, and are joined by Chris Parnell, Allison Janney and Peter Greene. In the film, siblings Dash and Dot live happily in their neighborhood with their parents, Dennis and Denise. But when they return from school after the last day of it to see that their parents are gone, they find out that they were taken hostage by a criminal named Mason, who demands a ransom of $5,000. Not willing to let him get away with kidnapping their parents, Dash and Dot set out beyond their neighborhood to save them.

Produced by Universal Animation Studios and Imagine Entertainment (as its second theatrical animated film after 2006’s *Curious George*), in association with PBS, the film was released in the United States on September 18, 2009 by Universal Pictures after having its premiere in Crystal City, Virginia on August 22. It received mostly positive reviews, with praise given to the voice acting, charm, James Newton Howard's musical score and animation, the last of which was reminiscent of the bumpers on PBS Kids from 2008 to 2013, while some critics had more divisive feelings on the film, criticizing its somewhat derivative story, darker moments and the way it handled the titular characters. Despite being well-received, the film was a disappointment at the box office, grossing over $19 million against its budget of $45 million, not including marketing costs.

In the years following its release, it has become a cult classic among the PBS Kids community, with home media sales making $80-125 million in revenue. A short film taking place after the events of the film, titled *Shot-to-Dot* was released on December 25, 2009 as a special exclusive on the film's DVD release. A follow-up television series, titled *The Adventures of Dash and Dot*, premiered on PBS Kids in March 2010. A sequel, *Dash and Dot's Next Adventure*, was released direct-to-video on August 23, 2013 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

## Plot

7-year old Dash and his 4-year old little sister Dot live in the suburbs with their parents, Dennis and Denise, where they go along with their usual lives.

On the last day of school, Dennis and Denise drop off their children at school and bid farewell to them as Dash and Dot go inside the school to learn and play with their friends. After school ends, Dash and Dot stand outside the school waiting for their parents to pick them up, but they never show up even after a few hours have passed. Dot gradually grows impatient at their parents’ absence before Dash suggests that they take the path back home by walking, which Dot begrudgingly agrees to. Once the two kids manage to make it home by night, they find the house empty with no one in sight, and search all over the house to find any traces of their parents, but to no avail. Growing increasingly devastated, Dot cries out for their parents and then breaks down in tears, so Dash comforts her and assures Dot that they will find them soon as he allows her to sleep in his bed to make her feel better.

The next morning, Dash and Dot try to theorize guesses on how their parents could have disappeared, but none of them are valid. Desperate to seek help, Dash and Dot produce several missing posters of their parents and plaster them all over the neighborhood, but nobody is able to recount the last thing that happened to Dennis and Denise. Walking back home, Dash and Dot almost lose hope until the former steps on something on the floor and picks it up, revealing that it is Denise’s necklace. As Dash questions where their parents might have gone, Dot then finds something underneath the couch, takes it out and gives it to the former. To their shock, it is an anonymous note demanding a ransom of $5,000, which Dash takes as the second clue to their parents’ disappearance and concludes that they haven’t just disappeared, they’ve been kidnapped. Deciding that there’s only one thing left to do, Dash announces that he and Dot will get out there and search for their parents, so he prepares a backpack, fills it with supplies that might help him and Dot and leads his little sister out of the house to begin their adventure.

However, a few moments as they make their way into the street, Dash and Dot come upon a heavy traffic jam on the highway that seems to take forever. As Dot ponders about what they are going to do now, a determined Dash walks around in a circle trying to think, and when he notices a nearby street light, he gets an idea. He climbs the street light, looks down at the long line of vehicles and jumps down from the pole, successfully landing on top of a car. He then helps Dot up onto the top of the car, but just as they are about to make their way across the street through the top of another, the traffic light suddenly flashes green and all of the vehicles start moving abruptly with the two kids on top of the car they were on. Jumping from vehicle to vehicle with Dash, Dot narrowly loses her footing and almost falls to the road below before Dash catches her, after which they finally get back down to the ground and keep moving.

Meanwhile, the culprit responsible for the disappearance of Dennis and Denise is revealed to be a kidnapper named Mason, who has kept them bound and gagged in his hideout. He speaks cordially in a mocking way to them before showing his true tone and demanding $5,000, which Dennis and Denise vehemently refuse to.

Continuing their journey across the town, Dash and Dot eventually come upon their grandparents, Duncan and Donnell, who assume that they’ve run away from home and allow them to stay with them. As Donnell makes their grandchildren feel cozy, Dash tells her and Duncan that the real reason they’ve been wandering alone is that their parents have been kidnapped and they’ve left home to search for them. Having flashbacks of yesterday, Dot starts to feel sad again, so Donnell shares with her granddaughter an experience she had as a child, where she thinks her parents have disappeared and left her distraught until they returned home. After some motivation from their grandparents, Dash and Dot eventually thank them and leave their house to resume their adventure.

After walking some more, Dot eventually tires out and starts complaining about having to walk any longer, so Dash, noticing that he and his sister had just passed by the junkyard, decides to lead her there so that they can find a more efficient way of traveling. They manage to construct a makeshift car out of a wagon, some old car parts and an engine and take it out for a test drive before driving it down the street. However, Dot, who is enjoying the ride a little too much, starts fighting with Dash over the steering wheel, causing them to go careening out of control and crash into a forest, wrecking their vehicle in the process.

Realizing that Dot has ruined their chance of getting closer to where their parents are kept hostage at, Dash loses his temper and goes on a long tirade towards her, where she responds by backtalking to Dash. After a hostile and aggressive argument between the two ensues, Dash ends the argument by disowning Dot, telling her that she is not his sister anymore, and walks away to find their parents himself, leaving a devastated and guilt-stricken Dot behind as it starts raining. As he goes on his way though, Dash takes out a picture of him, Dot and their parents out from his backpack and looks at it with vague reconsideration before putting it back inside and going along.

Meanwhile, Dot, who is struggling to survive in the rain by taking refuge underneath a tree, starts to feel anxious about the woodland creatures lurking about before a bear suddenly comes out of nowhere and starts chasing her. Dash hears her screams for help in the distance, has a change of heart and rushes back to save his sister. Before the bear can kill Dot, Dash jumps on the bear and starts hitting it, giving Dot a chance to escape. Dash is eventually pinned down by the bear and is about to be killed by it before it is suddenly stopped by Dot tossing stones and rocks at it. After the bear flees in response to Dot yelling boldly at it, Dash thanks his sister for saving his life, with Dot likewise returning the favor. Dash then apologizes to Dot for his earlier behavior and reconciles with her before remembering that it is raining and they are still lost in the forest, so they decide to look for shelter. They eventually come upon an abandoned cabin and stay in it for the night before going to sleep, at which point the rain finally stops.

The next morning, Dash and Dot wake up and walk through the forest until they come upon a road, but still have no idea how to get back to the city. Just then, they spot a pickup truck driving in the distance and stick out their thumbs, catching the attention of its Southern-accented driver, who then offers to pick up the two kids and drive them back into the city. As Dash and Dot pass the time by playing a game of I spy, the driver finally arrives at the city, and after disembarking the truck, they thank him as he drives off. Now back in the city, Dash and Dot trudge along some more, pondering on where exactly their parents are until they hear some screaming coming from a nearby abandoned one-story building, so they make their way to said building to investigate. After entering the building, Dash and Dot find, much to their shock, their parents bound and gagged on chairs. Dennis and Denise are likewise just as shocked at the fact that their children have had the strength to go on their own and find them, and when Denise asks what Dash and Dot are doing here, the former says that they have no time to explain as he and Dot set to work untying their parents.

However, Mason comes in to see the two kids trying to free his victims and tries to stop them, so Dash and Dot run around trying to evade him. During this, they manage to get the better of the kidnapper in somewhat comical ways such as Dash tripping him over with his leg and Dot kicking his shins, all while their parents watch in shock. Eventually, Dash manages to trick Mason into falling into the basement and pins the door down as he instructs Dot to untie their parents. Dot initially struggles to do so before finally succeeding and is rewarded with a hug from Denise. Unable to hold the basement door down any longer, Dash calls out to his father to hand him a chair, which Dennis obliges to, and weighs the door down with it before escaping Mason’s hideout with his family.

Outside, Dash, Dot and their parents happily exchange a brief celebration over their reunion, but they hear Mason, who has managed to escape from the basement, coming after them and quickly make a run for it. Not wanting to lose his chance of getting the ransom, Mason hops into his van and drives after the kids and parents. Having boarded a bus with his family, Dennis thinks that they are safe now until they see Mason in his van driving next to the bus. Mason deliberately bumps the bus with his van, causing the passengers inside to tremble and the driver to almost lose control of his vehicle, so Dash and Dot, after convincing Dennis and Denise to stay in the bus out of fear that Mason might kidnap them again, leap out of the bus and into Mason’s van, where they gang up on him out of vengeance for abducting their parents.

Eventually, the van is heading towards a river. Seeing this, Mason quickly jumps out and onto the ground, saving himself, but Dash and Dot are unable to react in time as the van plunges into the river. Satisfied with having seemingly gotten rid of Dash and Dot, Mason walks away in stride, only to come face to face with the kids’ angry parents. Before he can flee, Denise knocks Mason unconscious by hitting him across the face hard with her slipper as revenge for kidnapping her and Dennis, but then she and Dennis notice the van in the river and watch as it sinks to the surface below.

Thinking that Dash and Dot have died as they were still in the van at that time, Denise drops to her knees and cries as an equally sad Dennis comforts her. However, the two kids are revealed to have survived as they managed to get out of the van and swim to safety. After coming back up to the surface, Dash and Dot take pity on their heartbroken mother and comfort her as she still assumes that her kids are dead. It isn’t until she bats an eye at them that she realizes that they’re still alive and embraces them in a fit of relieved joy. Dennis likewise is also overjoyed and embraces his wife and kids as he declares that no one will ever be able to tear them apart again.

One day later after they return home with their parents, Dash and Dot get up from bed and have breakfast as they watch a news broadcast on the TV reporting that Mason has been arrested with charges of kidnapping and child endangerment. Dot remarks that yesterday’s adventure was indeed a “wild ride”, and Dash agrees, suddenly deciding that he and Dot should have a new adventure, but this time just for fun. After saying goodbye to their parents and leaving the house, Dash and Dot walk down the sidewalk and into the distance to start their next adventure, during which Dot constantly asks Dash about what kind of adventure they’ll be having as the film ends.

In a post-credits scene, Dash and Dot finally return to their house after their recent planned outing. As they walk into the living room, Denise, who is doing some cleaning work, asks the two kids about their adventure. Dash responds by stating that it was fun, but steps on a toy truck left on the floor and almost slips and falls before he is caught by Dot, who apologizes for it and places it on the coffee table before going on the couch with Dash to relax. As he and Dot recline on the couch, Dash sighs peacefully, states "Life just keeps getting even better by the moment" and switches the TV on with the remote control to watch with Dot.

## Cast

* Colin Ford as Dash, a 7-year old boy who is Dot’s older brother and the son of Dennis and Denise. He acts as the leader to Dot in their adventure to search for their missing parents.
* Grace Rolek as Dot, a 4-year old girl who is Dash’s younger sister and the daughter of Dennis and Denise. She tags along with her brother on their quest to find Dennis and Denise when they go missing.
* Chris Parnell as Dennis, Dash and Dot’s father and the husband of Denise. He and his wife’s mysterious disappearance is what drives their children to go looking for them.
* Allison Janney as Denise, Dash and Dot’s mother and the wife of Dennis. She and her husband’s mysterious disappearance is what drives their children to go looking for them.
* Peter Greene as Mason, the main antagonist of the film. He is a kidnapper who is revealed to be responsible for Dennis and Denise’s disappearance, holding them hostage for a ransom of $5,000. He has a dislike of kids that extends to Dash and Dot themselves.
* John Goodman as Duncan, Dash and Dot’s grandfather. He temporarily allows his grandchildren to stay with them during their journey, and eventually gives them the motivation they need to keep searching for their parents.
* Betty White as Donnell, Dash and Dot’s grandmother. She temporarily allows her grandchildren to stay with them during their journey, and eventually gives them the motivation they need to keep searching for their parents.
* Madison Pettis as Sally, an 8-year old girl with a red dress and a ponytail who is Dash's closest friend.
* Brandon Baker as Matt, a slightly clumsy boy who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Jimmy Bennett as Mike, a smart boy who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Eden Riegel as Alisa, a cheeky and playful girl who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Heather Goldenhersh as Caroline, a meek yet sweet girl who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Zack Shada as Pablo, a boy with curly hair and a big nose who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends as well as the oldest out of them.
* Jackson Brundage as Estuardo, a boy with thin curly hair who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Dakota Fanning as Kaleigh, a tomboyish girl who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Ariel Winter as Demi, a sassy girl who is one of Dash and Dot’s friends.
* Kristen Wiig as Ms. Smith, Dash and Dot’s teacher at school.
* Regina King as Janet, a female police officer whom Dash and Dot briefly encounter during their makeshift car ride.
* Kevin James as Carteret, a male police officer whom Dash and Dot briefly encounter during their makeshift car ride.
* Brad Garrett as Mason's goons
* Richard Kind as the pickup truck driver
* Jeremy Renner as the anchorman

## Production

### Development

The idea for *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* was first conceived by Matthew O'Callaghan, a former animator at DreamWorks Animation, while he was directing *Curious George* (2006). He initially pitched it to Universal Pictures as a possible film idea during the development phase of the first one but was rejected due to Universal's overbearing focus on other projects. Prior to the pitching to Universal, he originally pitched the idea to Nickelodeon Movies, of which they turned down the idea in 2004. Then, he turned to 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, a subsidiary of the former company. While Blue Sky president Christopher Meledandri liked the idea, he turned it down due to the company working on *Robots* (2005) and *Ice Age: The Meltdown* (2006) back-to-back at the time. However, after Meledandri left Blue Sky Studios in 2008 following the release of *Horton Hears a Who!* (2008), he served as an executive producer.

O'Callaghan persisted, however, and by 2007, he and Universal Animation Studios had secured the rights to the PBS Kids mascots Dash and Dot. By then, they began to plan out the story, characters, and designs for the film for around a year before they finally started production in late 2007. Imagine Entertainment, who was involved with the production of *Curious George*, had producer Brian Grazer be a part of the project. Originally with the working title *Dash and Dot's First Big Movie*, the title was changed to *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* after screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger revealed that the film would take on more serious matters, while still keeping the story faithful to the bumpers. Brian Lynch wrote the story with Aibel and Berger.

### Casting

The film’s two titular characters, Dash and Dot, were respectively voiced by Colin Ford and Grace Rolek, both of whom were cast in the roles following auditions for a then-mysterious animated film project. Ford initially thought that the project was secretly for an animated Disney film before finding out that the project was for Universal, and that it was in fact for *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride*. Rolek heard of the project through online casting sites and requests, and when she was successful at an audition, she thought nothing of it until receiving a call for another audition a few months later.

The rest of the main voice cast, including Chris Parnell, Allison Janney, John Goodman, Betty White, and Madison Pettis, were set between mid-2008 and early 2009 during pre-production. Brandon Baker, Jimmy Bennett, Eden Riegel, Heather Goldenhersh, Zack Shada, Jackson Brundage, Dakota Fanning and Ariel Winter were added to the film's additional casting during pre-production. Kristen Wiig provided the voice for Ms. Smith, Dash and Dot's school teacher, alongside Regina King and Kevin James as officers Janet and Carteret, Brad Garrett as Mason's goons, Richard Kind as a pickup truck driver, and Jeremy Renner as an anchorman.

Originally, during casting sessions, director Matthew O'Callaghan opted to have *Fast and Furious* actor Vin Diesel provide the voice for Mason, the film's antagonist. He delivered a much sinister performance, with some comparisons to Sideshow Bob, a character featured on the animated television series *The Simpsons*. However, test audiences found Diesel's performance to be "too frightening for children", so they hired Peter Greene to voice the character, who delivered a less sinister sounding performance, with some comedic plays added to the character. However, Vin Diesel's original performance as Mason is available in the director's cut of the film, available on the Blu-ray release on September 6, 2019.

### Animation

*Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* was animated in traditional animation by Primal Screen, Yowza! Animation, Premise Entertainment, Neomis Animation, Fat Cat Animation, Duncan Studio, Bardel Entertainment, Wang Film Productions, July Films, Sunwoo Entertainment, TMS Entertainment, Toon City Animation, and Rough Draft Studios. Pre-production was done in-house at Universal Animation Studios while visual effects, compositing, and ink & paint services were provided by Mercury Filmworks and Warner Bros. Animation. CGI animation by Reel FX Creative Studios was used to create certain effects, environments, scenes, and transitions.

To reflect the look and feel of the PBS Kids bumpers of the same era, the animation style was heavily inspired by those bumpers, as well as the art styles of other PBS Kids programs such as *Arthur* (1996-2022) and *Curious George* (2006-2022). This style of animation was used to draw viewers of the channel's programming block to the theaters.

## Music

*Main article: Dash and Dot's Wild Ride: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack*
The film's score was composed by James Newton Howard.

## Release

### Marketing

* The teaser trailer was released on August 1, 2008, and was shown before films such as *Star Wars: The Clone Wars*, *Henry Poole Is Here*, *Igor*, *Beverly Hills Chihuahua* and *High School Musical 3: Senior Year*. The teaser featured Dash and Dot in a pitch black environment, holding a flashlight and searching for something they lost, before finding a rope that revealed the film's official logo after it was pulled.
* The first theatrical trailer was released on January 29, 2009, and was shown before films such as *Coraline*, *The Pink Panther 2*, *Race to Witch Mountain*, *Monsters vs. Aliens* and *Fast & Furious*. The trailer featured clips from the film, including scenes that never made the final cut.
* Hasbro teamed up with PBS Kids and Universal Pictures with the promoting of 10 collect-them-all figurines of the characters featured in *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride*.
* McDonald's and Burger King began a tie-in campaign with PBS Kids and Universal Pictures with included toys in their Happy Meal and King Jr. meals, with two rare and exclusive holographic figurines of Dash and Dot.
* PBS Kids and Universal Pictures partnered with goods consumer product company Procter & Gamble, and ran promotional advertisements that featured their products, including those of Mr. Clean, Tide, Dawn and Febreze, and were advertised by Dash and Dot with the combination of live-action scenery and traditional animation. Additionally, Universal and PBS Kids partnered with cereal brand giant General Mills to promote their Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios cereal line.
* Nintendo promoted an exclusive line of Dash and Dot-styled DSi's for the film's campaigns.
* TV spots promoting the film aired from July to September 2009.

### Theatrical

Originally scheduled for release in January 2009, Universal Pictures slated the release date to September 18, 2009. *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* was theatrically released on September 18, 2009 in the United States after having its premiere in Crystal City, Virginia on August 22, 2009. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for "mild language, crude humor and thematic elements".

For the premiere, the Crystal City neighborhood was painted with 4,500 liters of lime green as part of its marketing to represent the colors of the PBS Kids mascots Dash and Dot. When the premiere concluded on August 23, 2009, Universal Pictures and PBS Kids opted to have the town remove the green paint. However, Crystal City decided to keep the lime green color for years after the premiere concluded. The same idea was later carried on for the Spain premiere of the Sony Pictures Animation film *The Smurfs*, where the town of Júzcar painted the town in approximately 4,000 liters of blue paint to match the theme of the Smurfs.

### Home media

*Dash and Dot’s Wild Ride* was released on DVD on December 25, 2009, and later got a Blu-ray release on September 6, 2019 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of PBS Kids, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The DVD’s bonus features are as follows:

* The short film *Shot-to-Dot*
* Character interviews
* A behind the scenes documentary
* A video explaining who Dash and Dot are to the audience
* A tutorial on how to draw Dash and Dot
* A *Dot’s Story Factory* promo that was aired on PBS Kids
* The *Curious George* episode *“Curious George Flies a Kite/From Scratch”*
* The *Super Why!* episode *“The Three Little Pigs”*
* The *Dinosaur Train* episode *“Beating the Heat/Flowers for Mom”*
* The *Thomas & Friends* episodes *"Too Hot for Thomas"* and *"Fish"*
* *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride: The Never-Before-Seen Director's Cut* (Blu-ray release only)

## Video game

*Main article: Dash and Dot's Wild Ride (video game)*
A tie-in video game based on the film was released on August 25, 2009. It was developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Activision for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. A Nintendo DS port of the game was developed by Amaze Entertainment and released on September 2, 2009.

## Reception

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 91 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.85/10. The website's consensus reads: "PBS Kids' most recognizable mascots, Dash and Dot, set out on their most *Wild Ride* yet in a way we have never seen them before, risking it all to save their parents in this beautifully-animated, emotionally-moving adventure." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade "A+" on its A+ to F scale.

Richard Roeper of the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave it an A−, saying that it had "one of the most creative and entertaining stories to come out of a major animated studio in months. The combination of traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI animation made for some fun sequences."

Doug Elfman of the *Chicago Tribune* gave it 3 out of 4 stars, writing that, "It's a pleasant surprise for adults that this kids movie is not pure goo of sticky sap. The old-fashioned cartoon style of animation evokes nostalgia in a clever way and delivers funny people and gags for all ages, with some satirical jabs aimed at over-consumptive parents. But most important, the movie takes on the subject of a family in peril, and that provides it a heart."

Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "This beautifully animated adventure of brother and sister duo Dash and Dot is on full display with *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride*, a film that develops the perfectly crafted story that embarks PBS Kids' beloved mascots on their biggest adventure yet, to save their parents from the dastardly clutches of Mason. The film takes your breath away with its close calls, and hits people in the feels with its undoubtedly heart-wrenching scenes." Bradshaw gave significant praise for its animation, with him stating that it "looks exactly how the classic 2000s bumpers. It takes kids back to the good old days in 2004, coming home after a good day at school and watching shows like *Thomas & Friends*, and seeing those brightly colored bumpers featuring the world's most beloved children's television station mascots." He gave additional praise for James Newton Howard's musical score, stating; "When it comes to James Newton Howard's music, it shows genuine passion and sympathy in the best moments of any movie. Take *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* as an example. His composition for the film is unbeatable, and shows the true love for what it is about. But in the case of this wild adventure, Howard delivers something that can't be outmatched with any other heart-wrenching movie out there. His music is nothing short of majestic, whimsical, emotional, and uplifting."

Despite the praise for the film, there was criticism for how the titular characters, Dash and Dot, were handled in the film, with the other significant targets of criticism being its more mature themes and its story. William Thomas of *Empire* gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing: "*Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* is all joyous and entertaining to watch, but its mature themes - including the assumption that the titular characters would've been dead near the end of the film - throws it off. The animation is at its peak and the music is amazing, however." He also gave criticism for its story, stating: "It's not the most cleverly adapted story for two characters who only appear on PBS Kids bumpers, and its connection for the film overall just falls flat on its face in some parts."

Peter Travers of *Rolling Stone* rated it one-and-a-half stars out of four, stating: "A movie where it puts PBS Kids' iconic mascots in the face of danger to save their parents from an evil psychopathic man holding them hostage, *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* simply doesn't work in the most sense." His criticism derived from the film's plot and story, where he wrote: "Lynch clearly never understood the appeal of the film and what the characters meant for a broadcasting station, and Aibel and Berger aren't any better. Characters like Dash and Dot are not meant to be put in harm's way. The PBS Kids bumpers wouldn't show the characters getting hurt in any way, as kids these days don't want to see that. You're better off watching a movie like *Poltergeist* if you want to get scared." Despite his negative reaction to the story and plot, and how the film handled the characters, he gave praise for the music in the film, writing "Howard's music is a standout element, despite the film being bad. It has a sense of warmth and compassion that brings it all together."

### Box office

*Dash and Dot’s Wild Ride* opened in theaters on September 18, 2009 alongside films such as *Love Happens* (another film distributed by Universal), *Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs* and *Jennifer’s Body*. The movie opened with $558,302 at the box office, ranking at 15th place, with hard competition alongside *Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs*. It produced $1.65 million in its opening weekend in North America, while it made $3.12 million internationally.

Box office projections concluded on July 25, 2010. The movie finished with $10.9 million in the United States and Canada, while it made $8.1 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $19 million. Produced on a budget of $45 million (not including marketing costs, which would've made the budget $70 million), *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* was labeled as a box office failure.

### Awards and nominations

*Main article: List of accolades received by Dash and Dot's Wild Ride*
## Legacy

Since the release of *Dash and Dot's Wild Ride*, the film has been acclaimed by viewers of the PBS Kids programming block. As of January 24, 2024, the film holds a 97% audience score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The audience says, "*Dash and Dot's Wild Ride* is a film that pulls the heartstrings to make one of the most important pieces of PBS Kids media, spanning from the very beginning to the end." Occasionally, the film has aired on the PBS Kids block in the early-to-late 2010s.

### Sequel

*Main article: Dash and Dot's Next Adventure*
A sequel, *Dash and Dot's Next Adventure*, was released on August 23, 2013. Reprising the voices of Colin Ford, Grace Rolek, Chris Parnell and Allison Janney, and guest starring Jim Carrey, the film entered development in 2010. Norton Virgien was assigned to direct, with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the screenplay. Originally set for a theatrical release, due to the financial disappointment of *Wild Ride*, the sequel was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film failed to achieve the acclaim that its predecessor held, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus calling it "a semi-unfunny and painfully dull adventure". Christopher Lennertz composed the score.

### Television series

*Main article: The Adventures of Dash and Dot*
A television series, *The Adventures of Dash and Dot*, was pitched to PBS Kids in October 2009, a month after the release of the film. A pilot was developed and premiered on the block on January 5, 2010, before it was green-lit into a three-season program. The first season, directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, premiered via Syndication on PBS Kids on March 19, 2010. Jacob Hopkins and Hadley Belle Miller provided the voice of the titular characters, replacing Colin Ford and Grace Rolek. Gary Oldman, Allison Janney and Jennifer Hale provide the voices of Dennis, Denise and Ms. Smith respectively, with Janney being one of the many actors to reprise their roles. Christopher Lennertz composed the score for the show.

### Reboot film

*Main article: Dash and Dot (2024 film)*
During an interview on if there would be a reboot with director Matthew O'Callaghan, he stated that he would be "willing to make a reboot to *Dash and Dot’s Wild Ride*. But for now, it'll be on [my] mind for the foreseeable future."

On October 4, 2023, the reboot, titled simply *Dash and Dot*, was announced after being in the writing process for over a year, and is scheduled for release on May 24, 2024. Conrad Vernon is directing. Universal Pictures is in the process of producing the film, with them distributing it after they remained the rightsholder of the characters. On October 8, 2023, Christopher Lennertz was revealed to compose the score for the film, following his composition of *Dash and Dot's Next Adventure*. On October 16, Point Grey Pictures founders Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg announced that they were signed to the project. On October 19, Skydance Media was signed to the project.

On November 26, 2023, it was revealed that Nicolas Cantu and Libby Rue will provide the voices of Dash and Dot respectively, who are joined by Lara Jill Miller, Yonas Kibreab, Seth Rogen, Sandra Bullock and Ian McShane respectively voicing Dee, Del, Frank, Sarah and Larry. Kristen Wiig was later revealed to reprise her role as Ms. Smith. On December 24, *Sausage Party* co-composer Alan Menken revealed he would be joining Christopher Lennertz with scoring the film.

On January 1, 2024, *Dash and Dot* held its red carpet premiere in London, England.