The Wild Thornberrys
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The Wild Thornberrys was an American animated television series produced at Klasky-Csupo for Nickelodeon, which follows the adventures of a fictional wildlife-documentary-making family, the Thornberrys, and particularly of Eliza Thornberry, who can talk to animals. It premiered in October 1998, and was the first Nicktoon to exclusively use 30 minute stories (previously, other Nicktoons used the two-fifteen-minute-stories format for most episodes, using 30-minute eps on occasion).
Nigel and Marianne Thornberry (voiced by Tim Curry and Jodi Carlisle) travel around the world with their family making wildlife documentaries, with Nigel as narrator and Marianne as the camerawoman. They have three children:
- their older daughter Deborah, or Debbie (Danielle Harris), a "typical teenager" who longs for a normal suburban life;
- their younger daughter Elizabeth, or Eliza (Lacey Chabert), a girl who (unbeknownst to her family) gained the ability to speak with animals after an encounter with an African shaman (as shown the episode Gift of Gab, also dealing with why it's such a secret; this fact would be played on in the first film). Often portrayed as a geek, or a "supergeek".
- their adopted son Donnie (Flea), a feral boy who (as would be made known in their 2001 4-part telefilm, Origin of Donnie) was raised by orangutans before the Thornberrys adopted him, and who talks very wildly and incoherently.
Contents
Episodes
Season 1: 1997-1999
- Flood Warning (9/1/1997)
- Dinner With Darwin (9/3/1997)
- Bad Company (9/8/1997)
- Gold Fever (9/10/1997)
- Matadi or Bust (9/15/1997)
- Temple of Eliza (9/17/1997)
- Vacant Lot (9/22/1997)
- Only Child (10/1/1998)
- Iron Curtain (10/6/1998)
- Valley Girls (10/13/1998)
- Naimina Enkiyio 10/22/1998
- Blood Sisters (10/27/1998)
- Eliza-cology (11/5/1998)
- Flight of the Donnie (11/17/1998)
- Lost and Foundation (3/16/1999)
- Nigel Knows Best (3/18/1999)
- The Great Bangaboo (3/23/1999
- Rumble in the Jungle 3/25/1999)
- The Dragon and the Professor (3/30/1999)
- Born to Be Wild (4/1/1999)
Season 2: 1999-2000
- Rebel Without a Trunk (8/16/1999)
- Pal Joey (8/17/1999)
- Rain Dance (8/18/1999)
- Darwin Plays the Palace (8/19/1999)
- Stick Your Neck Out (8/23/1999)
- No Laughing Matter (8/24/1999)
- Chimp Off the Old Block (8/25/1999)
- Koality and Kuantity (8/26/1999)
- Chew if by Sea (8/30/1999)
- Clash of the Teutons (8/31/1999)
- You Ain't Seen Nothin', Yeti (9/1/1999)
- On the Right Track (9/2/1999)
- Polar Opposites (9/6/1999)
- Two's Company (9/7/1999)
- Show Me the Bunny (9/13/1999)
- Reef Grief (9/14/1999)
- Thornberry Island (9/15/1999)
- Dances With Dingoes (9/16/1999)
- Tamper-Proof Seal (10/19/1999)
- You Otter Know (10/20/1999)
- Have Yourself A Thornberry Little Christmas (11/29/1999)
- Luck Be an Aye-Aye (2/15/2000)
- The Kung and I (2/16/2000)
- Dear Diary (2/17/2000)
- Black and White and Mom All Over (2/21/2000)
- Tiger by the Tail (2/22/2000)
- Forget Me Not (2/24/2000)
- Song for Eliza (2/25/2000)
- Gift of Gab (2/26/2000)
- Bogged Down (3/6/2000)
- Monkey See, Monkey Don't (3/6/2000)
- A Shaky Foundation (3/13/2000)
- Where the Gauchos Roam (3/13/2000)
- Cheetahs Never Prosper (3/20/2000)
- Gobi Yourself (3/20/2000)
- Every Little Bit Alps (3/27/2000)
Season 3: 2000-2001
- Dragon Me Along (9/12/2000)
- Time Flies (9/19/2000)
- Horse Sense 9/26/2000
- Tyler Tucker, I Presume (10/2/2000)
- Critical Masai (10/3/2000)
- Queen of Denial (10/4/2000)
- Island Trade (10/5/2000)
- Birthday Quake (10/6/2000)
- The Legend of Ha Long Bay (10/10/2000)
- Spirited Away (10/28/2000)
- Family Tradition (11/22/2000)
- Happy Old Year (12/27/2000)
- Happy Campers (12/30/2000)
- All Work and No Play (1/12/2001)
- New Territory (1/12/2001)
- Operation Valentine (2/14/2001)
- Hello, Dolphin! (2/19/2001)
- April Fool's Day (4/1/2001)
- Gem of a Mom (5/10/2001)
- The Anniversary (5/14/2001)
Season 4: 2001-2004
- The Origin of Donnie (1) (8/18/2001)
- The Origin of Donnie (2) (8/18/2001)
- The Origin of Donnie (3) (8/18/2001)
- The Origin of Donnie (4) (8/18/2001)
- The Trouble With Darwin (10/31/2001)
- Hot Air (6/1/2002)
- The Wild Snob-Berry (2/3/2003)
- Ice Follies (2/4/2003)
- Fool's Gold (2/5/2003)
- Clash and Learn (2/6/2003)
- Sir Nigel (1) (3/30/2003)
- Sir Nigel (2) (3/30/2003)
- Look Who's Squawking (4/4/2003)
- Eliza Unplugged (6/11/2004)
Feature Films
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) (Academy Award Nominated)
- Rugrats Go Wild (2003)
Trivia
- Wildlife conservationist Jane Goodall appeared as herself in the episode titled The Trouble With Darwin.
- This is a very rare role for Tim Curry in which he is not a villain; few of his roles are neutral.
- In early February 2003, Nickelodeon devoted a week to the five episodes that take place after the movie (the last episodes produced), which have the Thornberrys in Alaska with a pop guitarist staying over with them (Shane G, voiced by Christopher Masterson). After the fourth of the five episodes aired, Nick then aired a promo for the fifth episode Eliza Unplugged to air on Saturday, February 8. However, they ended up airing The Fairly OddParents instead; that episode wouldn't air for another 16 months (June 11, 2004).
- Despite being nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2001, the show has its share of detractors, mostly those bothered by main character Eliza's look (pigtails, glasses, freckles, and braces on her big teeth), and the fact that she constantly endangers herself while talking to wild animals.
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