Toon tots Tommy, Chucky, Angelica and the rest of the Rugrats gang have managed to capture the interest of not only young viewers but quite a few adults too since their debut on US TV.
But, despite the cartoon kids' global popularity, there is always a difficulty when it comes to compiling an album for an animated film. Disney, for example, manage to get the film itself right each time, catering for both young and mature tastes. But why should any of us care about this soundtrack away from the movie?
In this case, the producers of this album have got it very wrong, as none of the songs on the album appear to belong, and the mish-mash of genres and mostly second rate artists - such as Aaron Carter (brother of Backstreet Boy Nick), Jessica Simpson (Britney wannabe), Baha Men (please...) and Geri Halliwell (Spice reject) - fails to create an initial buzz.
Meanwhile, TLC's T-Boz gives us 'Lovely Day', which, unfortunately, continues where 'The Rugrats Movie''s 'Take Me There' left off, a performance that Mase, Blackstreet and Mya have yet to live down. It's true T-Boz has recently become a mother, but c'mon, why go there? Throwing Sinead O'Connor and Cyndi Lauper in for good measure just adds insult to injury - Sinead's trademark sombre performance is enough to make anyone, old or young, press the fast forward button.
In an era where children mature twice as fast, productions like this leave a
lot to be desired and seriously underestimate the intelligence of young people. The weakly-tuned ditties have nothing in common with the exuberant spirit usually associated with 'The Rugrats', aside from the fact that the tracks are as immature as the film's subjects.
Adenike Adenitire
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