"You babies don't know nothin'"

The Rugrats are in Paris, France so Tommy's Dad can fix the giant Reptar robot at the EuroReptarland amusement park. Everyone is excited about the trip except for Chuckie who's feeling sad about not having a Mom of his own. Chazz, Chuckie's Dad, is also starting to feel lonely since his wife died and is beginning to think he should remarry or at least date. This falls right in line with the plans of Cocoa LaBouche, the single, child-hating head of EuroReptarland, who is looking for a husband, preferably one with a child, since her next promotion hinges on proving her love of children and family to her bosses by getting married. Will the Rugrats, even with the help of the giant Reptar robot, be able to thwart Cocoa before she tricks Chuckie's dad into marriage?

Ok, kids are absolutely wonderful. They're fun, they're sweet, they're full of love, trust and joy and I like being around them, but let's face it, they can also be awfully gross. As a Dad I have made contact with just about every type of bodily fluid there is inside a small child and have accepted it with a smile as part of being a father, but even so it's not something upon which I wish to dwell. Rugrats In Paris: The Movie doesn't just dwell on it, it revels in it engaging in some of the worst low brow bathroom humor, if you can call it humor, that I've ever seen in an animated film. I'll admit that a few jokes about poop or pee, as related to babies, can be funny, but every few minutes of Rugrats In Paris: The Movie had a reference to poop, pee, eating something nasty, upset tummies, etc., ad nauseum. The charm and wonderment of being a child, shown so well in the first Rugrats feature film, was replaced by playing with full barf bags and passing gas. The result was a very disappointing, gross and offensive film.

Though most of the characters, especially the adults, were not given the attention they deserved there were some sweet moments regarding Chuckie, who's Mom died when he was a baby, wanting a new Mom. A wonderful sense of sweet sadness passed between Chuckie and his Dad in several scenes such as when they stood together on the sidelines at a family dance while all the other kids were out on the dance floor with their moms. The emptiness in their lives as contrasted by the joy of the children as the moms held them during their dance was very touching. Taken as a whole the music was better in Rugrats In Paris: The Movie then in the first film though no one piece was as good as the first movie's "This World Is New To Me." Two new, and interesting, characters were introduced to the cast who will probably provide new story lines for the new season of the television show. The ending, filled as it was with joyous laughter, was the best part of the film and had the entire movie been made in that spirit it would have been the better for it.

The Rugrats can do better then this film and, if they can't, then they need a time out.

Grade: C

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