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 vehicle, amphibious, multifunctional overlanding, overland motorhome 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) 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) 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), an aristocratic British couple. Born in the U.K. and having attended Harrow School near London, 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) is Eliza, Debbie, and Donnie's mother and Nigel's wife. She is the daughter of Frank (Mel Brooks) and Sophie Hunter (Betty White). She mentions that she attended the University of California, Berkeley and once competed in a rodeo as revealed in "Rebel Without a Trunk". * (voiced by Flea (musician), Flea) is a Feral child, 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 in Borneo 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) 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 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) is the Thornberrys' pet Common chimpanzee, chimpanzee 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 & 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). 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) 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) and Nancy Tucker (voiced by Mary Kay Place). * Shane G. (voiced by Christopher Masterson) 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) is a supremely annoying llama whom Eliza befriended in the Andes. * Bim (voiced by Greg Ellis (actor), Greg Ellis) is a Koala who has a British accent and befriended by Eliza, Darwin, & Donnie. * Shango (voiced by Bradley Pierce) is an African Elephant who Eliza first met. * Phaedra (voiced by Jane Wiedlin) is a female African Elephant who appears in the episode, "Forget Me Not", and who Eliza and Darwin were riding at the beginning of ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie''. * Zita (voiced by Andrea Thompson) 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) 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 people, Maasai legend between his wise Grandfather Makai (voiced by Courtney B. Vance & replaced by Steve Harris (actor), Steve Harris) * Ben (voiced by David Gallagher) is a friend of Eliza's that Debbie teases her for having a crush on. * Franz Fensterkopt (voiced by Bronson Pinchot) * Dr. Jomo (voiced by Brock Peters) 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) is a young Proboscis monkey who helps Eliza get back to her family, and his father, Baduk (voiced by Dwight Schultz). * Lugan (voiced by Maureen Quinn), who was in the TV special. * Saiful (voiced by Pamela Adlon), which was in the TV special. and Adlon voiced Tano, a Cheetah Cub 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) is a baby panda, and Mei-Mei (voiced by Bai Ling), a mother panda. * Conal (voiced by Michael Gough (voice actor), Michael Gough) is a golden eagle, and his wife Brianag (voiced by Laraine Newman).Guest stars
* Candi Milo as Emily, a female wombat from the episode, "Chew if by Sea". * Susanna Voltaire, Russi Taylor, Melissa Fahn are Anna, Igna, and Katrina in "On the Right Track". * William H. Macy as Skoot, a male reindeer who Eliza raced with in "On the Right Track". * Bill Fagerbakke as Dank, a black reindeer who appeared in On the Right Track. * Tom Kenny as Joey, a baby Kangaroo who Eliza babysits in Pal Joey. * Cree Summer as Rosie, a "teenage" Asian elephant in "Rebel Without a Trunk". * Georg Stanford Brown as Kito, the leader jaguar from the episode "Temple of Eliza". * Danny Cooksey as Wanuug, a polar bear who appeared in Polar Opposites. * David Ogden Stiers as Karroo, an Aye-aye from "Luck Be an Aye-aye". * Ron Fassler, Anne Lambton, & 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 as Rebecca, an elephant 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 as Jake, a male tortoise who Eliza helped in Two's Company. * Phyllis Diller as Samantha, a female tortoise who Eliza helped in Two's Company. * Kelly McGillis & Peter Onorati are Winema and Pava, the leader Gray Wolf, Gray Wolves 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 as Collin, a Common dolphin who Eliza swam with in the episode, Hello, Dolphin!. * Jane Goodall as Herself, appears in the episode, The Trouble with Darwin.Production
''The Wild Thornberrys'' was produced byBroadcast
The show aired in reruns on "Nickelodeon on CBS, Nick on CBS" for two years from September 14, 2002, to March 6, 2004. The show aired on Nicktoonsters in the United Kingdom.Home media
Nickelodeon released all five seasons on DVD in Region 1 via Amazon.com through its CreateSpace 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 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, Shout! Factory released ''The Wild Thornberrys: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 DVD, Region 1. In Australia, all 5 seasons have been released via Beyond Home Entertainment. 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. * ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' (2002): This theatrical film earned an Academy Award nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Song, Best Original Song. * ''Rugrats Go Wild'' (2003): This theatrical film was also the final ''Video games
A video game based on the television series titled ''The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures'' was released only for PlayStation (console), PlayStation 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 on October 1, 2001. Characters from the series also appear in the Nickelodeon crossover games ''Nicktoons Racing'', ''Nickelodeon Party Blast'', ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' (where Nigel is voicced by Jim Meskimen), and ''Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis''.Reception
Box office performance
Critical response
''Common Sense Media'' 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 The 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