''The Wild Thornberrys'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

created by

Arlene Klasky Arlene Phyllis Klasky (born May 26, 1949) is an American animator, graphic designer, producer and co-founder of Klasky Csupo with Gábor Csupó. In 1999, she was named one of the "Top 25 Women in Animation" by ''Animation Magazine''. She is most ...

Gábor Csupó Gábor Csupó ( , ; born September 29, 1952) is a Hungarian-American animator, writer, director, producer and graphic designer. He is co-founder of the animation studio Klasky Csupo, which has produced shows like ''Rugrats'', ''Duckman'', ''St ...

Steve Pepoon Steve Pepoon is a television writer who has written for ''The Simpsons'', '' ALF'', and '' Get a Life''. He is also the co-creator of ''The Wild Thornberrys''. Filmography ; Writer: * ''Silver Spoons'' (1 episode, 1986) * '' ALF'' (14 episodes, 1 ...

, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

. The series portrays an American family of wildlife documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, which consist of the British nature documentary television host Nigel, his wife and camera operator Marianne, their 16-year-old daughter Debbie, their younger daughter Eliza, their adopted son Donnie, and a chimpanzee named Darwin. The series focuses in particular on Eliza, who has an ability to communicate with animals. The Thornberry family travels to every continent and wildlife environment in the ComVee, a recreational vehicle equipped with safety mechanisms to handle any terrain or body of water, to document their journeys in detail, with typical episodes involving Eliza befriending an animal and subsequently finding herself in peril. Originally pitched by

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...

as an adult animated sitcom for

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, the series was then retooled as a family-friendly animated series for

and premiered on September 1, 1998, as the eleventh

Nicktoon Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...

and the third overall produced by the studio following ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, ...

'' and ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

''. It ran for 5 seasons containing 91 episodes in total, with the series finale airing on June 11, 2004. The series' fourth season premiere, "The Origin of Donnie", is a television special focusing on Donnie Thornberry's life before he was adopted by the family. A feature film, ''

The Wild Thornberrys Movie ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' is a 2002 American animated adventure film based on the television series of the same name. Directed by Cathy Malkasian and Jeff McGrath, the film follows Eliza Thornberry, on her quest to save a cheetah cub named ...

'', in which Eliza embarks on a quest to save a cheetah cub from poachers, was theatrically released on December 20, 2002. ''

Rugrats Go Wild ''Rugrats Go Wild'' is a 2003 American animated crossover adventure film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats'' and ''The Wild Thornberrys''. It is the third and final installment in the ''Rugrats'' film series and the se ...

'', a crossover feature film with Nickelodeon's ''

'', was released in theaters on June 13, 2003. Spin-off media include

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

releases and three video games.

Plot

The series focuses around a nomadic family of documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, famous for their televised wildlife studies, as they travel the world in the "Comvee", a large,

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

, multifunctional overland

motorhome A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...

which doubles as their base of operations. It primarily centers on the family's younger daughter Eliza, and her secret gift of being able to communicate with animals, which was bestowed upon her after having rescued a shaman masquerading as a trapped warthog. The gift enables her to talk to the Thornberrys' pet chimpanzee Darwin. Together, the pair frequently venture through the wilderness, befriending many species of wild animals along the way, and discern moral truths and lessons through either their experiences or a particular animal species's lifestyle; often this means simply assisting the creatures by which they become acquainted in their difficulties.

Episodes

Characters

Main

* (voiced by

Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...

) is an 11-year-old girl and the youngest daughter of the Thornberrys. She has long red-orange hair usually worn in pigtails, and occasionally a ponytail, round eyeglasses, four big teeth connected by two braces, and freckles. She is able to communicate with animals, especially her chimpanzee sidekick Darwin. She must keep this gift secret or she will lose her powers (as revealed in the episode "Gift of Gab"). This happens during the film when Eliza reluctantly tells two poachers her secret in order to save Debbie. Luckily, after saving a herd of elephants from the same poachers later in the film, she is given her powers back. Despite her good intentions, she sometimes interferes with nature which causes more problems. * (voiced by

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

) is Eliza, Debbie, and Donnie's father and Marianne's husband. He is also the son of Radcliffe (also voiced by Curry) and Cordelia Thornberry (

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...

), an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

British couple. Born in the U.K. and having attended

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he travels around the world with his own family making wildlife documentaries. He is eccentric, enthusiastic, and cheerful even in the face of danger, and is also known for his exaggerated facial features and love of kippers which he offers frequently. * (voiced by

Jodi Carlisle Jodi Carlisle (born August 28, 1960 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American actress who has appeared in 46 television shows, 5 feature films, 6 videogames and 4 television movies as well as a number of stage plays. Carlisle is perhaps best known as on ...

) is Eliza, Debbie, and Donnie's mother and Nigel's wife. She is the daughter of Frank (

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

) and Sophie Hunter (

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indust ...

). She mentions that she attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and once competed in a rodeo as revealed in "Rebel Without a Trunk". * (voiced by

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

) is a feral boy adopted by the Thornberrys, who (as revealed in the 4-part TV film, "The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie") was raised by an

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

after his parents, Michael and Lisa, who were old friends of the Thornberrys, were killed by poachers. Donnie's age is 4, turning 5 in "The Origin of Donnie". * (voiced by

Danielle Harris Danielle Andrea Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress and film director. She is known as a " scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween'' franchise ('' Halloween 4'' and '' 5''; 19 ...

) is Eliza's older 16-year-old sister. After the events of the movie, she becomes the only family member to know about Eliza's power but is warned that she will be turned into a

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

if she ever tells anyone. Debbie dresses in 1990s clothing and has a long swept hairstyle. Unlike Eliza, Debbie doesn't like traveling and wants nothing more than to live in civilization and make friends with people her own age. * (voiced by

Tom Kane Thomas Kane Roberts (born April 15, 1962) is a retired American voice actor. He is best known for his work in animation and video games, most notably in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Career Kane began his voice-over career in 1977, at fifteen yea ...

) is the Thornberrys' pet

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

and Eliza's best friend. He usually wears a tank top with horizontal blue and white stripes (used to be Debbie's lucky tank top) and blue shorts. He speaks with a distinct, upper-class British accent. Although he isn't too fond of Debbie, the two do share the same preference to living in civilization over the wilderness. He also acts as the voice of reason for Eliza whenever she tried to interfere in nature.

Recurring

* Neil Biederman (voiced by

Michael Jeter Robert Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. His television roles included Herman Stiles on the sitcom ''Evening Shade'' from 1990 until 1994 and Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle, on the '' Elmo's World'' ...

& replaced by Jerry Sroka) is a poacher and The Thornberrys’ sworn enemy who poaches and kidnaps animals from above it, with his partner Kip O'Donnell (voiced by

Keith Szarabajka Keith Szarabajka (; ; born December 2, 1952) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Mickey Kostmayer on '' The Equalizer'', Daniel Holtz on ''Angel'', Gerard Stephens in '' The Dark Knight'' and Adam Engell in '' Argo''. ...

). Whenever they aren't poaching animals, they are conducting schemes to make easy money. They would eventually be apprehended by the authorities after causing an oil spill while attempting to steal oil from an oil tanker in the episode "You Otter Know." * Tyler Tucker (voiced by

Jonathan Taylor Thomas Jonathan Taylor Thomas (born Jonathan Taylor Weiss; September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on ''Home Improvement'' and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 film ''The Lion King'' and Pinocch ...

) is Eliza and Debbie's cousin. He is Marianne and Nigel's nephew through Marianne's sister Nancy Tucker née Hunter. He is a year older than Eliza but acts more immaturely than Eliza does. He does not really understand the dangers of living in the wild. He is a know-it-all but generally has a good head on his shoulders, and he cares about his cousins Debbie, Eliza, and Donnie. His parents are Dennis (voiced by

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on ''Mary Hartman, ...

) and Nancy Tucker (voiced by

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy ...

). * Shane G. (voiced by

Christopher Masterson Christopher Kennedy Masterson (born January 22, 1980) is an American actor and disc jockey known best for his role as Malcolm's oldest brother Francis on the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle''. He is the younger brother of Danny Masterson, and ...

) is a pop superstar who travels with the Thornberry Family for five episodes while they are filming in Alaska. The Foundation orders Nigel and Marianne to take him with the family to promote Wildlife preservation among young people and Shane's fans. Both Eliza and Debbie gain a crush on the him, however Debbie loses interest when Shane shows to have more similarities with Eliza than herself. * Santusa (voiced by

Tia Texada Tia Texada (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Sgt. Maritza Cruz on the NBC series ''Third Watch'', and her recurring role as an undercover agent Ribera on ''The Unit'' for CBS. Other rol ...

) is a supremely annoying

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

whom Eliza befriended in the Andes. * Bim (voiced by Greg Ellis) is a

Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

who has a British accent and befriended by Eliza, Darwin, & Donnie. * Shango (voiced by

Bradley Pierce Bradley Michael Pierce is an American actor, producer and cinematographer. Along with other roles and bit parts in television, films, direct-to-video animation, advertising, and video games, he played Peter Shepherd in ''Jumanji'', the original ...

) is an African Elephant who Eliza first met. * Phaedra (voiced by

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The The Go-Go's, Go-Go's. She has also had a successful ...

) is a female African Elephant who appears in the episode, "Forget Me Not", and who Eliza and Darwin were riding at the beginning of ''

''. * Zita (voiced by

Andrea Thompson Rebecca Andrea Thompson (born January 6, 1960)
Film Reference. Retrieved May 19, 2013. is an Ameri ...

) is an African Elephant who was Rebecca's daughter and the mother of Shango, from the episode, Forget Me Not. * Mali (voiced by

Christina Pickles Christina Pickles (born 17 February 1935) is a British-American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Em ...

) is an African Elephant who was Zita's aunt and Phadera's daughter, when Eliza helps her. * Juka (voiced by Marquise Wilson) is the leader of the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

legend between his wise Grandfather Makai (voiced by

Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Known for his commanding presence Vance started his career on stage before transitioning his career into film and television. He's received various accolades including a Tony Awa ...

& replaced by Steve Harris) * Ben (voiced by

David Gallagher David Lee Gallagher (born February 9, 1985) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor and model at the age of two, Gallagher is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee and Teen Choice Award winner. He is b ...

) is a friend of Eliza's that Debbie teases her for having a crush on. * Franz Fensterkopt (voiced by

Bronson Pinchot Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the ABC sitcom '' Perfect Strangers'' (1986–93). He also performed in films, such as ''Risky Business'' (1983), ''Beverly Hill ...

) * Dr. Jomo (voiced by

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...

) is a police officer who is a friend of Nigel Thornberry. * Sri Mayasandra (voiced by Alan Henry Brown) is a scientist who had found Donnie in the TV special. * Baru (voiced by

Cara DeLizia Cara Elizabeth DeLizia (born April 10, 1984) is a former American actress. She is best known for her role as Fiona "Fi" Phillips in the Disney Channel Original Series ''So Weird''. She is the younger sister of Melissa DeLizia, and the youngest d ...

) is a young

Proboscis monkey The proboscis monkey (''Nasalis larvatus'') or long-nosed monkey is an arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is found mostly ...

who helps Eliza get back to her family, and his father, Baduk (voiced by

Dwight Schultz William Dwight Schultz (born November 24, 1947) is an American television, film and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action series ''The A-Team'' and as Reginald Barclay in the ''Star Trek'' ...

). * Lugan (voiced by Maureen Quinn), who was in the TV special. * Saiful (voiced by

Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in ''Jungl ...

), which was in the TV special. and Adlon voiced Tano, a

Cheetah Cub The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

who Eliza tries to help find and who she, Darwin and Donnie help try to find his mother in the episode, "Cheetahs Never Prosper". * Shi Shou (voiced by

Dionne Quan Dionne Quan is an American voice actress, known for her roles as Kimi Watanabe in ''Rugrats'' and Trixie Tang in ''The Fairly OddParents''. Early life Quan was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Lori and Daryl Quan, who ran a sewing machine and ...

) is a baby

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...

, and Mei-Mei (voiced by

Bai Ling Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese-American actress known for her work in the films ''The Crow'', ''Nixon'', ''Red Corner'', '' Crank: High Voltage'', ''Dumplings'', ''Wild Wild West'', ''Anna and the King'', ''Southland Tales'', and ...

), a mother

. * Conal (voiced by

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

) is a

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

, and his wife Brianag (voiced by

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...

Guest stars

Candi Milo Candyce Anne Rose "Candi" Milo (born January 9, 1961) Timestamps: (00:27:12-00:27:45) Milo states that she is "firmly 51". (00:06:40-00:06:47) Milo states that she was born in Palm Springs. (00:16:23-00:16:25) She says her birthday is in Januar ...

as Emily, a female

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

from the episode, "Chew if by Sea". * Susanna Voltaire,

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until his ...

Melissa Fahn Melissa Fahn is an American actress and singer, best known as the voice of Gaz Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', as well as Hello Kitty in ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' and voicing many anime and video game characters like Edward from '' Cowboy Bebop'', ...

are Anna, Igna, and Katrina in "On the Right Track". *

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...

as Skoot, a male

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

who Eliza raced with in "On the Right Track". *

Bill Fagerbakke William Fagerbakke ( ; born October 4, 1957) is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom ''Coach''. He also appeared in 12 episodes of the sitco ...

as Dank, a black reindeer who appeared in On the Right Track. *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in ''R ...

as Joey, a baby

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

who Eliza babysits in Pal Joey. *

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...

as Rosie, a "teenage"

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

in "Rebel Without a Trunk". *

Georg Stanford Brown Georg Stanford Brown (born June 24, 1943) is an American actor and director, perhaps best known as one of the stars of the ABC police television series ''The Rookies'' from 1972 to 1976. On the show, Brown played the character of Officer Terry We ...

as Kito, the leader

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

from the episode "Temple of Eliza". *

Danny Cooksey Daniel Ray Allen Cooksey Jr. (born November 2, 1975) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his roles in television shows, such as ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (during the final three seasons), '' The Cavanaughs'', ''Xiaolin Showdown'' ...

as Wanuug, a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

who appeared in Polar Opposites. *

David Ogden Stiers David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in ''The Magic Show'', in which he appeared for four ...

as Karroo, an

Aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

from "Luck Be an Aye-aye". *

Ron Fassler Ron Fassler (born March 4, 1957 in New York City) is an American film and television actor and author. He is best known for his role as Bryan Grazer, the LAPD captain in the Fox Network cult science fiction TV series ''Alien Nation''. The series ...

Anne Lambton Lady Anne Mary Gabrielle Lambton (born 4 July 1954) is a British actress. Lambton is a younger daughter of Antony Lambton (formerly 6th Earl of Durham) and his wife Bindy ''née'' Blew-Jones. Her older sister is Lucinda Lambton, the British w ...

, & Jimmie Wood are Tak a little rat, Sheeba the eye patch wearing cat, & Bone, the three legged dog who helped Eliza find the Bangaboo in The Great Bangaboo. *

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Ellen Ross; October 25, 1928) is a American former actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom ''Happy Days'', on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and for which she receive ...

as Rebecca, an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

whom Eliza saved in Forget Me Not. She was originally saved by Nigel from poachers many years ago. At the end of the episode, the elephant dies of natural causes which makes Eliza cry after she passes away and her daughter Zita takes over the herd. *

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production, for which he won a Tony Award, and its 1967 film adaptati ...

as Jake, a male

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

who Eliza helped in Two's Company. *

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...

as Samantha, a female

who Eliza helped in Two's Company. *

Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); ''Made in ...

Peter Onorati Peter Onorati (born May 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on ''Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on ''This Is Us'' (2017–2022), and Jeff Mumford ...

are Winema and Pava, the leader

Gray Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

that appeared in the episode, Pack of Thornberrys. * Chris Demetral as Mato, a Gray Wolf who appeared in the episode, Pack of Thornberrys. *

Bill Brochtrup William Brochtrup Jr. (born March 7, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his role playing PAA John Irvin, a gay police public assistant, on the ABC television drama '' NYPD Blue''. Early life and education Born William Brochtrup Jr. in ...

as Collin, a

Common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...

who Eliza swam with in the episode, Hello, Dolphin!. *

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best know ...

as Herself, appears in the episode, The Trouble with Darwin.

Production

''The Wild Thornberrys'' was produced by

. It was initially pitched as an adult animated sitcom under the name, ''Nigel Thornberry's Animal World,'' and was to be co-produced by

Fox Animation Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

for

, but it was ultimately rejected. It was then picked up by

under its own

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals ...

and was retooled as a family-oriented series with Nigel's youngest daughter Eliza (originally named Alex) being promoted to the main protagonist role. According to Eryk Casemiro, SVP of Creative Affairs at Klasky-Csupo Productions at the time of the series production, she was originally designed to look "quite frankly, very ugly" in order to contradict the stereotype that all young heroines are beautiful. However, her design was later retooled to look "cuter" at the request of Nickelodeon. It premiered on September 1, 1998, and was the first

to exclusively use 22-minute stories (episodes of other Nicktoons usually featured two 10 – 11-minute stories, using 22-minute stories only on occasion). The series was designed to have a focus on parents, after focus groups run by Klasky and Csupo uncovered that children were talking about the real struggles of the parent-child relationship; this was opposed to Nickelodeon's view of only featuring kids in children's programming. It was also designed with the potential of being used in science curriculums. To accomplish this, the production crew hired a specialist who did research on different regions of the world, different cultures, and different species of animals, all of which were provided to the writers to help them develop ideas for episodes.

Broadcast

The show aired in reruns on " Nick on CBS" for two years from September 14, 2002, to March 6, 2004. The show aired on

Nicktoonsters Nicktoonsters was a short-lived British and Irish television channel which launched on 18 August 2008 on Sky. It was a spinoff channel of Nicktoons. Programming *'' The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' *''All Grown Up!'' *'' As Told B ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Home media

Nickelodeon released all five seasons on DVD in Region 1 via Amazon.com through its

CreateSpace On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, is a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina as BookSurge and was acquired by Amazon in 2005. History CreateSpace publishes books conta ...

Manufacture-on-demand program in 2010. ''Season 1'' was released on June 24, 2010, and Seasons 2 through 5 were released on December 1, 2010. On February 16, 2011,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

announced that it had acquired the rights to release the series on home media and would be releasing Season 1 on DVD on May 17, 2011. ''Season 1'' was released on May 17, 2011, followed by ''Season 2, Part 1'' on November 8, 2011. ''Season 2, Part 2'' was released on April 24, 2012. ''Season 2, Part 3'' was released on January 15, 2013, as a Shout Select title. ''Season 3'' was released on June 11, 2013, as a Shout Select title. ''Season 4'' and ''Season 5'' were released in a box set on September 10, 2013, as a Shout Select title. On December 1, 2015,

released ''The Wild Thornberrys: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1. In Australia, all 5 seasons have been released via

Beyond Home Entertainment Beyond International Limited is an international television and film production company with operations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (), the company is involved in ...

. A 13-disc set titled ''The Wild Thornberrys: The Essential Episodes'' was released on June 3, 2015. ♦ – Shout! Factory select title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store.

Films

The franchise was extended through three movies (one television film and two theatrical films), which were released toward the end of the series' run: * ''The Origin of Donnie'' (2001): This television film prequel discovers Donnie's life before he was found by the Thornberrys. * ''

'' (2002): This theatrical film earned an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. * ''

'' (2003): This theatrical film was also the final ''

'' film, and a crossover between ''Rugrats'' and ''The Wild Thornberrys''.

Video games

A video game based on the television series titled ''The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures'' was released only for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

on November 8, 2000. During this time, another game was released, ''The Wild Thornberrys: Rambler'' on PC and Game Boy Color on August 7, 2000, and November 2000 respectively. ''The Wild Thornberrys Chimp Chase'' was released only for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

on October 1, 2001. Characters from the series also appear in the Nickelodeon crossover games ''

Nicktoons Racing ''Nicktoons Racing'' is a Nickelodeon crossover racing video game. The game was first developed by Pipe Dream and released for the Game Boy Color, while versions for different platforms were released in subsequent years. Most versions were develo ...

'', ''

Nickelodeon Party Blast ''Nickelodeon Party Blast'' is a party video game developed by English developer Data Design Interactive and published by Infogrames Interactive. ''Party Blast'' was released for Xbox in North America on October 30, 2002, and later in PAL regions ...

'', ''

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' is a crossover fighting game developed by Swedish developer Ludosity and Costa Rican developer Fair Play Labs, and published by GameMill Entertainment. It is the first console game in the ''Nickelodeon Super Brawl' ...

'' (where Nigel is voicced by

Jim Meskimen James Ross Meskimen (born September 10, 1959) is an American actor, comedian and impressionist, who is best known for his voice-over work in video games. Early life James Ross Meskimen was born in Santa Monica, California on September 10, 1959 ...

), and ''Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis''.

Reception

Box office performance

Critical response

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' gave the series a rating of 5 stars, praising it for its ability to encourage young viewers to be empathetic toward animals, to want to find out about other cultures and ways of life, and to understand the vastness and diversity of the world. Knight Ridder called the series "sympathetic". ''The Native Voice'' complimented the series on its commitment to fun, adventure, detail, accuracy, and honesty.

Accolades

, - , 1999 , Barbara Wright , Casting Society of America Artios Award for Best Casting for Animated Voiceover , , - , 1999 , Sabrina Wiener , Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice Over in a Feature or TV - Best Young Actress , , - , 2000 , Barbara Wright , Casting Society of America Artios Award for Best Casting for Animated Voiceover - Television , , - , 2000 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' episode "You Otter Know" , Environmental Media Award for Children's Animated , , - , 2000 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' episode "Hunting by Numbers" , Genesis Award for Television - Children's Programming - Animated , , - , 2000 , Lacey Chabert , YoungStar Award for Best Young Voice Over Talent , , - , 2001 , Joseph Scott, Dean Criswell, and Ron Noble for TV movie "The Origin Of Donnie". , Burbank International Children's Film Festival Award for Best Tele-Feature Animation , , - , 2001 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' , Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program , , - , 2001 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' episode "Happy Campers" , Environmental Media Award for Children's Animated Category , , - , 2001 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' for multiple episodes , Genesis Award for Television - Children's Programming - Animated , , - , 2001 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' episode "Forget Me Not" , Genesis Award for Television - Children's Programming - Animated , , - , 2002 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' episode "The Trouble With Darwin" , Environmental Media Award for Children's Animated Category , , - , 2003 , Barbara Wright , Casting Society of America Artios Award for Best Casting for Animated Voice Over, Television , , - , 2004 , ''The Wild Thornberrys'' , NAMIC Vision Award in Children's Category ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Thornberrys Nicktoons 1990s American animated television series 2000s American animated television series 1990s Nickelodeon original programming 1998 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s Nickelodeon original programming American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series Animated television series about apes Animated television series about children Animated television series about families Animated television series about teenagers English-language television shows Environmental television Television series about television Television series by Klasky Csupo Television series created by Arlene Klasky Television series created by Gábor Csupó Television series created by Steve Pepoon Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into video games