Devo founder and RugRats musical director
Mark Mothersbaugh has gainfully employed both the TV series and film's character voices and a slew of old new wave buddies on this soundtrack, which consists largely of specially written material very much in the mood of the edgy children's show.
Elvis Costello and his wife,
Cait O'Riordan, contribute "I Throw My Toys Around," which is performed by
No Doubt with
Costello chiming in here and there; he probably earned more money for this track on a platinum-selling soundtrack than he did for his
Burt Bacharach album. There are also appropriately written tracks by
Lisa Loeb and
Blackstreet, but the bulk of the songs are
Mothersbaugh's. One highlight is "The World Is Something New to Me," in which a "We Are the World" chorus including
Patti Smith,
Laurie Anderson,
Gordan Gano (
Violent Femmes),
the B-52's'
Fred Schneider,
Kate Pierson, and
Cindy Wilson,
Lenny Kravitz,
Beck,
Jakob Dylan, and
Iggy Pop reflect on infancy. Others include
Cheryl Chase, the voice of RugRats villainess Angelica, performing
Mothersbaugh's "A Baby Is a Gift from a Bob" and
Blondie's "One Way or Another" with some new lyrics, and
Busta Rhymes' "On Your Marks, Get Set, Ready Go!," a rap about our favorite RugRats character, the Godzilla-like Reptar. Of course,
Devo turns up playing the old hit "Witch Doctor." The result is a romp in keeping with the tone of the show and the film. ~ William Ruhlmann