Rugrats in Paris
Director: Stig Bergqvist, Paul Demeyer
Cast: Christine Cavanaugh, Elizabeth Daily, Cheryl Chase, Kath Soucie, Tara Strong, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Susan Sarandon, Julia Kato
When Stu Pickles (Jack Riley) is summoned to Euro-Reptar, an amazing new amusement park in Paris, France, to repair his malfunctioning Reptar animatronic, Tommy (Elizabeth Daily), Chuckie (Christine Cavanaugh), and the rest of the Rugrats gang, embark on an epic journey to the City of Love, to find Chuckie a new Mommy and make his wish come true.
One of the strongest themes in the film is the bond between Chuckie and his Mommy, and it is illustrated in two different ways as the story unfolds in the bond Chuckie shares with his birth mom, Melinda, and the bond that is born between Chuckie and his adoptive mom, Kira.
The first illustration of Chuckie’s desire for a Mommy comes when the babies are at Grandpa Lou’s wedding when each of the children is telling Angelica their wishes. While at first, Chuckie cannot articulate his wish, when he sees his friends dancing with their own Mommies, he tells Angelica that he wishes he could have a new Mommy, since his birth mom, Melinda, died when Chuckie was a baby.
Although we do not see Chuckie with his first mommy in the film, we do see Melinda’s love for her son shining through in different ways. One way that Melinda expresses her love is illustrated when we see Chuckie’s father, Chaz, giving Chuckie a well-loved teddy bear named Wawa. He tells his son that Chuckie’s Mommy made the bear just for him, and Chuckie keeps this bear with him throughout his journey to find a new Mommy. While Madame Le Bouche is repulsed by the tattered and careworn bear, even going as far as to take the bear from Chuckie, Kira rescues Wawa from Madame, and even hugs the bear to comfort him when Madame throws him away. She brings Wawa with her when she goes to the church to stop the wedding, and it is Kira who restores Wawa to Chuckie at the church. Later in the story, we see Chuckie share a sweet moment with his new sister, Kimi, and he tells Kimi that his first Mommy gave him his bear. When she asks Chuckie if he ever misses his Mommy, he admits that he does miss his Mommy, but he knows that Mommy Melinda is watching over him from Heaven, and he is happy, because now, he has two Mommies to love him and take care of him.
Chuckie’s ideal for a new mommy is realized when hears about the beautiful Princess. While the rest of the people feared Reptar and ran away from him, the Princess had compassion for Reptar because she saw how he was lonely and scared. So, she promised to stay with him and make sure he was loved and taken care of forever. As he listens to this story, Chuckie realizes that he wants the Princess to be his new Mommy.
I love how beautiful Kira is truly the perfect epitome of what Chuckie envisions his new forever Mommy to be. She perfectly embodies not only the Princess from her story, but also the qualities that Chuckie is wishing for: a Mommy who will love him and tell him stories and care about his teddy bear and his friends. Like the Princess, Kira also wears a beautiful, yellow dress during the special moments which connect her with Chuckie. When Kira first meets Chuckie, she is wearing a yellow dress, and she tells him the story of the beautiful Princess who loves Reptar. When she returns Chuckie's bear at the wedding, she's wearing yellow....and even at her own wedding to Chaz, Kira is wearing a beautiful, yellow wedding dress, as she and Chuckie have their special Mommy dance together. And much like the Princess, Kira becomes Chuckie’s Mom when she promises to stay with Chuckie and his father and take care of them forever and ever.
There are two women vying to be Chuckie's new Mom. Madame Le Bouche tries to pretend to be the Princess to impress Chuckie, but she is the opposite of the Princess. She's only interested in marrying Chuckie's Dad to fulfill her own, selfish ambitions of becoming President of Euro-Reptar. So, she pretends to be a sweet and devoted Mommy figure, to Chuckie, but she secretly loathes the idea of marrying and being Chuckie’s Mom. In the end, the true Princess (Kira) reveals herself, when she returns Chuckie's bear to him, and she recites the special poem to Chaz. It is this heartfelt moment which allows father and son to recognize that Kira is the forever Mommy they have been yearning for…not Coco. So, Chuckie truly got his Princess Mommy after all and now he has two Mommies to love him.
Chuckie has always been my favorite of the Rugrats. While Tommy is the leader and Angelica is the diva, there has always been a certain innocence and vulnerability in Chuckie's character that I connect with. It comes from sharing his emotions. I also know how it feels, not having a mom in my life…and there are times, even as an adult, that I need my mom too. I am glad he found his forever Mommy in the end.
© 2023 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Stig Bergqvist, Paul Demeyer
Cast: Christine Cavanaugh, Elizabeth Daily, Cheryl Chase, Kath Soucie, Tara Strong, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Susan Sarandon, Julia Kato
When Stu Pickles (Jack Riley) is summoned to Euro-Reptar, an amazing new amusement park in Paris, France, to repair his malfunctioning Reptar animatronic, Tommy (Elizabeth Daily), Chuckie (Christine Cavanaugh), and the rest of the Rugrats gang, embark on an epic journey to the City of Love, to find Chuckie a new Mommy and make his wish come true.
One of the strongest themes in the film is the bond between Chuckie and his Mommy, and it is illustrated in two different ways as the story unfolds in the bond Chuckie shares with his birth mom, Melinda, and the bond that is born between Chuckie and his adoptive mom, Kira.
The first illustration of Chuckie’s desire for a Mommy comes when the babies are at Grandpa Lou’s wedding when each of the children is telling Angelica their wishes. While at first, Chuckie cannot articulate his wish, when he sees his friends dancing with their own Mommies, he tells Angelica that he wishes he could have a new Mommy, since his birth mom, Melinda, died when Chuckie was a baby.
Although we do not see Chuckie with his first mommy in the film, we do see Melinda’s love for her son shining through in different ways. One way that Melinda expresses her love is illustrated when we see Chuckie’s father, Chaz, giving Chuckie a well-loved teddy bear named Wawa. He tells his son that Chuckie’s Mommy made the bear just for him, and Chuckie keeps this bear with him throughout his journey to find a new Mommy. While Madame Le Bouche is repulsed by the tattered and careworn bear, even going as far as to take the bear from Chuckie, Kira rescues Wawa from Madame, and even hugs the bear to comfort him when Madame throws him away. She brings Wawa with her when she goes to the church to stop the wedding, and it is Kira who restores Wawa to Chuckie at the church. Later in the story, we see Chuckie share a sweet moment with his new sister, Kimi, and he tells Kimi that his first Mommy gave him his bear. When she asks Chuckie if he ever misses his Mommy, he admits that he does miss his Mommy, but he knows that Mommy Melinda is watching over him from Heaven, and he is happy, because now, he has two Mommies to love him and take care of him.
Chuckie’s ideal for a new mommy is realized when hears about the beautiful Princess. While the rest of the people feared Reptar and ran away from him, the Princess had compassion for Reptar because she saw how he was lonely and scared. So, she promised to stay with him and make sure he was loved and taken care of forever. As he listens to this story, Chuckie realizes that he wants the Princess to be his new Mommy.
I love how beautiful Kira is truly the perfect epitome of what Chuckie envisions his new forever Mommy to be. She perfectly embodies not only the Princess from her story, but also the qualities that Chuckie is wishing for: a Mommy who will love him and tell him stories and care about his teddy bear and his friends. Like the Princess, Kira also wears a beautiful, yellow dress during the special moments which connect her with Chuckie. When Kira first meets Chuckie, she is wearing a yellow dress, and she tells him the story of the beautiful Princess who loves Reptar. When she returns Chuckie's bear at the wedding, she's wearing yellow....and even at her own wedding to Chaz, Kira is wearing a beautiful, yellow wedding dress, as she and Chuckie have their special Mommy dance together. And much like the Princess, Kira becomes Chuckie’s Mom when she promises to stay with Chuckie and his father and take care of them forever and ever.
There are two women vying to be Chuckie's new Mom. Madame Le Bouche tries to pretend to be the Princess to impress Chuckie, but she is the opposite of the Princess. She's only interested in marrying Chuckie's Dad to fulfill her own, selfish ambitions of becoming President of Euro-Reptar. So, she pretends to be a sweet and devoted Mommy figure, to Chuckie, but she secretly loathes the idea of marrying and being Chuckie’s Mom. In the end, the true Princess (Kira) reveals herself, when she returns Chuckie's bear to him, and she recites the special poem to Chaz. It is this heartfelt moment which allows father and son to recognize that Kira is the forever Mommy they have been yearning for…not Coco. So, Chuckie truly got his Princess Mommy after all and now he has two Mommies to love him.
Chuckie has always been my favorite of the Rugrats. While Tommy is the leader and Angelica is the diva, there has always been a certain innocence and vulnerability in Chuckie's character that I connect with. It comes from sharing his emotions. I also know how it feels, not having a mom in my life…and there are times, even as an adult, that I need my mom too. I am glad he found his forever Mommy in the end.
© 2023 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.