The Wild Thornberrys is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Klasky Csupo.
The series portrays the zany hijinks of a family of nomadic wildlife documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, which consist of the 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 particularly on Eliza, who has a magical 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. Episodes typically involve Eliza befriending an animal and subsequently finding herself in peril.
Originally pitched by Klasky Csupo as an adult animated sitcom for Fox, the series was then retooled as a family-friendly animated series for Nickelodeon and premiered on September 1, 1998, as the eleventh Nicktoon and the third overall produced by the studio following Rugrats and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. It ran for 5 seasons containing 91 episodes in total, with the final episode 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, in which Eliza embarks on a quest to save a cheetah cub from poachers, was theatrically released on December 20, 2002. Rugrats Go Wild, a crossover feature film with Rugrats, was released in theaters on June 13, 2003. Spin-off media include DVD releases and three video games.
Plot
The series focuses on a 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, multifunctional 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 freed 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.
Characters
Main (voiced by Lacey Chabert) is a nerdy 12-year-old girl and the youngest daughter of the Thornberrys. She has long red-orange hair that is usually worn parted in braided 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 in The Wild Thornberrys Movie when Eliza reluctantly tells two poachers her secret in order to save Debbie. However, 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 American mother and Nigel's wife. She is the daughter of Frank (Ed Asner) and Sophie Hunter (Betty White). She is the director and camerawoman of the Thornberry documentaries, even willing to put herself in danger to capture a shot. She mentions that she attended the University of California, Berkeley as revealed in "Rebel Without a Trunk". (voiced by Flea) is a feral boy adopted by the Thornberrys, who speaks mostly in gibberish and (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. Debbie is usually left taking care of Donnie and she is constantly trying to keep him in control. Donnie's age is 4, turning 5 in The Origin of Donnie. (voiced by Danielle Harris) is a typical, and pretty and popular 16-year old teenage valley girl and Eliza's sister who nags her family, especially Eliza, during her adventures. 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 does not 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 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 is not 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 tries to interfere in nature.
Recurring Kip O'Donnell (voiced by Keith Szarabajka) is a poacher and The Thornberrys’ sworn enemy who poaches and kidnaps animals with his partner Neil Biederman (voiced by Michael Jeter and replaced by Jerry Sroka). Whenever they are not 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". Kip always refers to Eliza as "The Thornberry Girl". 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 doesn't really understand the dangers of living in the wild. He's 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 him, however Debbie loses interest when Shane shows to have more similarities with Eliza than herself. Shaman Mnyambo (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a high shaman who granted Eliza the gift to talk to animals prior to the beginning of the series. Originally from a tribe that believed the spirits of humans and animals were joined together, Mnyambo nonetheless couldn't stand animals and was considered rude and careless by the rest of his tribe. After eating the highest shaman's prized sheep, he was turned into a warthog as punishment with the intention that he would never become human again, as the spell could only be broken if a human who truly cared saved him. In the flashback episode, "Gift of Gab", it is revealed that Eliza was the one who broke the spell after saving him from a trap; he subsequently granted her the gift to talk to animals as a reward. Shaman Mnyambo would later appear in The Wild Thornberrys Movie, where he helped guide Eliza and restored her ability to talk to animals after losing it. Santusa (voiced by Tia Texada) is a llama whom Eliza befriended in the Andes. 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 Phaedra's daughter, when Eliza helps her. Juka (voiced by Marquise Wilson) is the leader of the Maasai legend between his wise Grandfather Makai (voiced by Courtney B. Vance and replaced by 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) is a documentary filmmaker who serves as a friendly rival to Nigel Thornberry. 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) is a baby orangutan who was in the TV special. Saiful (voiced by Pamela Adlon), which was in the TV special. Adlon also 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) is a golden eagle, and his wife Brianag (voiced by Laraine Newman).
Guest stars Jeff Bennett as an officer in the episode "Vacant Lot". Jodi Benson as the Mother Cheetah in the episode "Cheetahs Never Prosper" Gregg Berger as Lemke, a Tasmanian devil in the episode "Pal Joey"; also voices a lion and a warthog in the episode "Flood Warning". A water buffalo and a doctor in the episode "The Dragon and the Professor". Bill Brochtrup as Collin, a Common dolphin who Eliza swam with in the episode, "Hello, Dolphin!". Georg Stanford Brown as Kito, the leader jaguar from the episode "Temple of Eliza". S. Scott Bullock as Snaga, a Tasmanian devil in the episode "Pal Joey"; also voices an African rock python and a forest hog Arthur Burghardt as Big Buffalo, an African buffalo from the episode "The Kung and I" and a rhinoceros from the Pilot episode. Bill Cobbs as the Chief in the episode "Dinner with Darwin". Danny Cooksey as Wanuug, a polar bear who appeared in "Polar Opposites". Jesse Corti as two crocodilians in the episode "Only Child". Chris Demetral as Mato, a Gray Wolf who appeared in the episode, "Pack of Thornberrys". Phyllis Diller as Samantha, a female tortoise who Eliza helped in "Two's Company". David Eccles as a hippopotamus in the episode "Matadi or Bust". Bill Fagerbakke as Dank, a black reindeer who appeared in "On the Right Track". Melissa Fahn as Katrina in "On the Right Track". Ron Fassler as Tak, a little rat who helped Eliza find the Bangaboo in "The Great Bangaboo". Jane Goodall as Herself, appears in the episode, "The Trouble with Darwin". Jess Harnell as a tortoise and a marsh deer in the episode "Vacant Lot". Estelle Harris as Iguana/Turtle from the episode "Eliza-cology". David Huddleston as a sea tortoise in the episode "Gold Fever".