The Wild Thornberrys Movie is a 2002 American animated adventure film based on the television series of the same name. Directed by Jeff McGrath and Cathy Malkasian, the film follows Eliza Thornberry, on her quest to save a cheetah cub from ruthless poachers. It was produced by Klasky Csupo and distributed by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was released on December 20, 2002, to mostly positive reviews and grossed more than $60 million worldwide.
The film was also nominated for Best Original Song at the 75th Academy Awards, making it the only film based on a Nicktoon to be nominated. It is also the third film to be based on a Klasky Csupo series. A sequel to the film, and a crossover with characters from Rugrats titled Rugrats Go Wild, was released on June 13, 2003.
Plot
Eliza Thornberry plays with a family of cheetahs in East Africa's Kenya after their mother, Akela, puts her in charge of the cubs. When Eliza accidentally strays too far from the cheetahs' home, poachers in a helicopter kidnap one of the cheetah cubs, Tally. Eliza is determined to save the cub, causing her older sister Debbie to tell her family about Eliza's antics. This prompts her caring but straight-laced grandmother Cordelia to send Eliza to a boarding school in London for her safety - much to Debbie's dismay since Debbie wanted a normal life. Upon arriving, Eliza discovers that her pet chimpanzee, Darwin, is stowed away in her suitcase. He attempts to blend in but gets himself and Eliza in trouble.
After having a dream in which Shaman Mnyambo tells her that Tally is alive and to go rescue him, Eliza convinces her roommate Sarah Wellington to buy plane tickets for her and Darwin to return to Africa. While taking a train from Nairobi, they encounter an injured rhinoceros, who was shot at the river by the same poachers who kidnapped Tally. They jump off the train to save the rhino with the help of veterinarians Bree and Sloan Blackburn. Meanwhile, Debbie is left alone with her feral adoptive younger brother Donnie at their Comvee, while their parents, Nigel and Marianne, go to film a solar eclipse at Tembo Valley. Eliza returns to the Comvee for supplies and has a small confrontation with Debbie, who demands to know why Eliza ran away from London and gave up her chance for a normal life. Eliza locks her in a cage, but Debbie escapes and pursues her, Darwin, and Donnie using her parents' motorcycle. Cordelia and her husband, Colonel Radcliffe, try to find Eliza and take her back to London before Nigel and Marianne find out; however, they meet up with Nigel and Marianne to inform them of Eliza's escape. They also begin searching for Debbie, Eliza, Donnie, and Darwin.
Darwin, Eliza, and Donnie meet a gorilla who mentions seeing people setting up a fence across Tembo Valley. They then run into the Blackburns again, and Eliza concludes that the poachers are targeting the elephant herd traveling through the valley. The trio is invited to spend the night at the Blackburns' camp, but the next day, they find Tally inside the Blackburns' RV. The Blackburns reveal their true agenda as the poachers and capture them, revealing that the fence is electrified. Eliza and Darwin have a falling out, and when Darwin accuses Eliza of not knowing how to properly use her powers, Eliza angrily tells him to be quiet. Meanwhile, Debbie meets a local Mbuti boy named Boko, who assists her at the request of his village elders. The two reach the Blackburns' camp, but Sloan holds Debbie hostage after she reveals she is Eliza's sister. When Sloan threatens to kill Debbie if Eliza does not tell him how she discovered their plan, Eliza admits it was because of her ability to talk to animals. As Eliza has revealed her secret, something she was forbidden to do, a storm comes and takes away her powers while the Blackburns flee in their helicopter. Eliza, Debbie, Darwin, Donnie, and Tally escape by riding a log on the river.