The Wild Thornberrys


The Wild Thornberrys is an American animated television series that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1998 to 2004.

Plot

The series focuses around a nomadic family of documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, famous for their televised wildlife studies. 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 enabled 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 or realizing moral truths and lessons through either their experiences or a particular animal species's lifestyle, or simply assisting the creatures, by which they become acquainted, in their difficulties.

Episodes

Characters

Main Characters

The Wild Thornberrys was produced by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. It premiered in September 1998, and was the first Nicktoon to exclusively use 22-minute stories.
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.

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.
CreateSpace ReleasesRelease DateDiscsEpisodes
Season 1June 24, 2010420
Season 2, Volume 1December 1, 2010513
Season 2, Volume 2December 1, 2010524
Season 3, Volume 1December 1, 20103N/A
Season 3, Volume 2December 1, 20103N/A
Season 3, Volume 3December 1, 20103N/A
Season 4December 1, 201026
Season 5December 1, 201028

On February 16, 2011, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series 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. Seasons 4 and 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.
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.

Broadcast

The show aired in reruns on "Nick on CBS" for 2 years from September 14, 2002, to March 6, 2004. The show aired on Nicktoonsters in the United Kingdom.

Video Games

A video game based on the television series titled The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures was released only for 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.
Another video game titled The Wild Thornberrys Chimp Chase was released only for the Game Boy Advance on October 1, 2001.

Films

The franchise was extended through four movies, which were released toward the end of the series' run:

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.
FilmRotten TomatoesMetacriticCinemaScore
The Wild Thornberrys Movie80% 69 A
Rugrats Go Wild40% 38 A-

Accolades