Paramount Home Video presents

Rugrats Tales from the Crib: Snow White (2005)

"What castle? What queen? I'll bet she's beautiful, just like me!"- Angelica (Cheryl Chase)

Stars: Elizabeth Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Katie Soucie
Other Stars: Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, Jeffrey Licon, Susie Carmichael
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:12m:22s
Release Date: 2005-09-27
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	A-	A-	B	C

 

DVD Review

Apparently, Paramount feels like the Rugrats have worn out their welcome in theaters, at least for now. Even though their last theatrical release, Rugrats Go Wild!, took in a very respectable (even by today's standards) $39 million at the box office, the studio has seen fit to send the latest feature, Rugrats Tales from the Crib: Snow White, straight to DVD. Still, that final number might not have looked as good given the $100 million the first film surprisingly generated in box office receipts, and the $75 million that Rugrats in Paris: The Movie earned.

This version of the time-honored fairy tale features Angelica as the evil queen who is trying to garner the title of "fairest of them all" from Snow White, herself. The rest of the Rugrats handle the roles of the Seven Dwarfs, who are trying to save Snow White from the queen's wrath. There really isn't anything else to the fairy tale part of the film, as there aren't many twists and turns that stray from what we already know and love from the tale.

However, Rugrats fans will love seeing their favorite characters embodying everyone from Dopey, Sleepy, and the rest of the Dwarfs, to even the most ancillary parts of the original story. When all is said and done, the show is stolen by Angelica (voiced by Cheryl Chase), who really gives the queen from the Disney version a run for her money. Chase brings all of Angelica's charms and annoying qualities that we love to hate into the mix, and she even makes us sympathize with the queen, regardless of her nasty intentions for Snow White.

We hear a few other, very familiar voices as well, including those of Kenan Thompson (Kenan & Kel, Saturday Night Live) and Amanda Bynes (The Amanda Show). While both actors are very popular among the target Rugrats audience, Thompson has the broader appeal given his work on SNL and appearance as the title character in the live-action Fat Albert movie. Vocal cameos by even the slightest of celebrities who aren't regularly in a particular series like this almost always add to the overall appeal of these movies, and that's definitely the case thanks to Thompson and Bynes' performances.

The brief, barely 70-minute runtime is perfect for this and any future Rugrats feature-length films. There's just enough time for each of these beloved characters to have their say in the grand scheme of things, especially when we're talking about a series where everyone has their favorite. Also, there isn't too much time devoted to pointless, filler dialogue that would instantly make kids actually long for a nap instead of sitting through another minute of such exposition. It seems as if the original version of the Rugrats will live on in feature-length films with the Tales from the Crib subtitle, and if Snow White is any indication of what's to come, fans have a lot to look forward to.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: A-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The film is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio and it looks even better than it recently did on TV. Vivid, super sharp colors bring all of the Rugrats to life, and the detailed, hand-drawn characters lend this a more theatrical feel that sets this apart from the series' episodes. There really aren't any problems worth mentioning, aside from the slightest bit of grain.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0, and it's slightly above average. The dialog never falters, and blends in nicely with the often enthusiastic music and other sound effects. The surrounds do come to life to provide some nice directional effects during a few sequences, and there's even some bass presence to add some punch at times.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Mad Hot Ballroom, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Fairly OddParents!, SpongeBob Squarepants
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Tales from the Crib: Snow White Music Video
2. Bonus Episodes

Extras Review: There are a couple of extras to go along with the feature film, including a pair of bonus episodes. These are in the form of the Rugrats Pre-School Daze shows Good News, Bad News and Picture Imperfect.

There's also a Tales from the Crib: Snow White Music Video and a collection of previews for other Paramount Home Video releases.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

It's been a long time since we've seen the Rugrats when they weren't All Grown Up!, but it was worth the wait, as Rugrats Tales from the Crib: Snow White is a great way to revisit these kids. Paramount Home Video brings the recently-broadcast-on-TV film to DVD with impressive audio and video presentations. There are also a pair of bonus episodes from Rugrats: Pre-School Daze, and a couple of other extras as well.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-09-29