Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (A Brighter Millennium Dawn)

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is a 2000 animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and the second film in the series. This film marks the first appearance of Kimi Watanabe and her mother, Kira. The film also marks the appearance of the first significant villains in the Rugrats franchise, the child-hating Coco LaBouche and her accomplice, Jean-Claude. The events of the film take place before the series' seventh season. The film was released in the United States on November 17, 2000.

The film was released in the United States on November 17, 2000, almost two years after the release of The Rugrats Movie in 1998. Rugrats in Paris: The Movie was more well-received than its predecessor and grossed over $103 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million.

## **Plot**

At the wedding reception of Lou Pickles and his new wife Lulu, a mother-child dance saddens Chuckie Finster and his father Chas with memories of Chuckie's mother and Chas's wife, who died shortly after he was born. The following night Tommy Pickles' father Stu is summoned to EuroReptarland, a Japanese amusement park in Paris, to fix a malfunctioning Reptar robot he built for the park's stage show.

The entire Pickles, Finster and DeVille families travel to EuroReptarland, where Angelica overhears a videophone conversation between the park's head - bad tempered and child-hating Coco LaBouche - and Mr. Yamaguchi, the president of the Reptar corporation. Coco wants to be the next president but when Yamaguchi tells her his successor must love children, she lies and tells him she is engaged to a man with a child. Angelica is then discovered and saves herself from being euthanized by telling Coco about Chas and how he is considering re-marrying.

Coco begins pursuing Chas with the help of her put-upon but kindhearted assistant, Kira Watanabe, who tells the babies the origin of Reptar - that he was a feared monster until his gentler side was revealed by a princess. Hearing this, Chuckie decides he wants the park's princess to be his mother and goes in search of her with the babies and Kira's daughter, Kimi, when spending the day in the park with Chas and Coco. Meanwhile, the Pickles' dog Spike gets lost in the streets of Paris in pursuit of a stray poodle named Fifi.

While Coco wins over Chas, Chuckie remains deeply distrustful of her. At the Reptar show's premiere Angelica informs Coco of Chuckie's wish to have the princess for his mother, prompting Coco to infiltrate the show disguised as the princess. She lures Chuckie on stage and into her arms, where he is horrified to discover the truth, but seeing his son embrace Coco confirms to Chas that she is right one for his family and decides to marry her immediately.

On the day of the wedding Coco has her accomplice, Jean-Claude, kidnap the babies and Angelica to keep them from intervening and Kira, threatening to reveal Coco's plan, is left on the streets of Paris en route to the ceremony. Jean-Claude locks the babies in the warehouse where the show's robots are kept, where Chuckie starts to cry in despair at his dad marrying a woman who doesn't like him. Angelica, in a rare display of guilt, reveals Coco's plan and her part in it then apologises to Chuckie. Now knowing the truth, Chuckie rallies the others to hurry to Notre Dame and stop the wedding in the Reptar robot, picking up Kimi along the way. Jean-Claude follows piloting Reptar's nemesis, Robosnail, but is defeated when Reptar knocks him into the Seine River.

The babies arrive in time to interrupt the wedding, with Chuckie bursting in screaming "No" (which is his first word to be understood by the grown-ups). Chuckie is followed by Jean-Claude who reveals Coco's true colours, leading Chas to call off the wedding in disgust. Mr. Yamaguchi, who is in attendance, fires Coco after Angelica betrays her former boss and informs him about Coco’s plan. Then Angelica steps on Coco's wedding dress, causing it to rip to have her underwear shown in front of everyone, including some people with cameras. Coco storms out of the cathedral humiliated and defeated while Spike chases Jean-Claude away, and both are later arrested and sent to prison for fraud and kidnapping.

As Chas apologizes to Chuckie for everything Coco has put them both through, Kira returns Chuckie's teddy bear taken from him by Coco and apologizes to Chas for not speaking up sooner. There, Chas and Kira realize they have feelings for one another and she, Kimi and Fifi (who they adopt) leave a ruined Paris for America, Returning home, they marry and the Finsters and Watanabes (who also adopt Fifi) become a new family. where Chas and Kira eventually marry. During the new family's first dance together, the entire reception erupts into an all-out food fight instigated by the babies.

## **Cast**

### **Main**

* Christine Cavanaugh as Chuckie Finster
* E. G. Daily as Tommy Pickles
* Cheryl Chase as Angelica Pickles
* Kath Soucie as Phil DeVille, Lil DeVille and Betty DeVille
* Tara Strong as Dil Pickles
* Dionne Quan as Kimi Watanabe
* Jack Riley as Stu Pickles
* Melanie Chartoff as Didi Pickles
* Michael Bell as Chas Finster and Drew Pickles
* Julia Kato as Kira Watanabe
* Tress MacNeille as Charlotte Pickles
* Phil Proctor as Howard DeVille

### **Supporting**

* Susan Sarandon as Coco LaBouche
* John Lithgow as Jean-Claude

### **Guest**

* Joe Alaskey as Grandpa Lou Pickles
* Debbie Reynolds as Lulu Pickles
* Cree Summer as Susie Carmichael
* Kenan Thompson as Himself
* Mako Iwamatsu as Mr. Yamaguchi
* Marlene Mituko, Darrel Kunitomi and Goh Misawa as the villagers of the "Princess Spectacular" show
* Tim Curry as a sumo singer
* Billy West as a sumo singer
* Kevin Michael Richardson as a sumo singer
* Paul DeMeyer as the street cleaner and dog catcher
* Phillip Simon as the animatronic bus driver
* Richard Michel as the French worker
* Charlie Adler as the inspector
* Phillipe Benichou as the ninja
* Dan Castellaneta as the priest
* Lisa McClowry as the princess
* Casey Kasem as the wedding DJ
* Roger Rose as the Finster wedding DJ
* Margaret Smith as the stewardess

## **Release**

The film was released on November 17, 2000, by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies.

## **Home media**

Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on VHS and DVD on March 27, 2001. In 2009, Paramount released the film via iTunes and the PlayStation Store.