A big-screen bow for Nickelodeon's plucky cartoon adventurers, The Wild Thornberrys is a Frankenstein's monster of a movie. Think Dr Dolittle meets Indiana Jones, add a dash of Nancy Drew and you're just about there.
One minute Eliza is on an African safari shooting a documentary with the family (none of whom know she can talk to animals). The next she's globetrotting with her pet chimp, pursuing poachers who have made off with a cheetah cub she's grown fond of.
Utilising 3-D Serengeti Plain backgrounds to trippy effect - they come as a surprise when you consider the flatly rendered Thornberrys who stand before them - this sparky little movie will have ankle-biters feeling warm and fuzzy and parents just about entertained. Okay, so it's not exactly up to Lion King standards, but if you enjoyed the Rugrats' cinematic outings you'll no doubt take to this as well.
If nothing else, adults will appreciate the neat voicework by Tim Curry, Lynn Redgrave, Marisa Tomei, Brenda Blethyn and Rupert Everett, while having Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea voice Eliza's younger stepbrother Donnie adds cred.
