Dash and Dot's Wild Ride

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“	An adventure that is always greener on the other side.	„
	~ Tagline

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Dash and Dot's Wild Ride
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Matthew O'Callaghan
Screenplay by	Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger
Story by	Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger Brian Lynch Chris Morgan
Based on	Characters by PBS Kids
Produced by	Brian Grazer
Executive Producer(s)	Ron Howard David Kirschner Jon Shapiro Chris Meledandri Ryan Kavanaugh James Whitaker Ken Kaufman John Cohen
Starring	Colin Ford Grace Rolek Chris Parnell Allison Janney Madison Pettis Kelsey Grammer
Cinematography	Janet Lucroy
Editing by	Julie Rogers John Carnochan
Music by	Christopher Lennertz
Production company(s)	Universal Animation Studios Relativity Media Imagine Entertainment PBS
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	August 22, 2009 (2009-08-22) (Crystal City) September 6, 2009 (2009-09-06) (Universal Studios Hollywood) September 18, 2009 (2009-09-18) (United States)
Running time	90 minutes
Language	English
Country	United States
Rating	PG (MPAA)
Budget	$45 million
Box office	$1.142 billion

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride is a 2009 American animated adventure comedy film based on the PBS Kids mascots of the same name, produced by Universal Animation Studios, Relativity Media, Imagine Entertainment and PBS, and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan from a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who co-wrote the story with Brian Lynch and Chris Morgan, it stars Colin Ford and Grace Rolek as the respective voices of the titular characters, alongside Chris Parnell, Allison Janney, Madison Pettis, and Kelsey Grammer. In the film, siblings Dash and Dot live happily in their neighborhood with their parents, Dennis and Denise. But when they return from school after the last day to see that their parents are gone, they find out that they were taken hostage by a criminal named Mason, who demands a ransom of $5,000. Not willing to let him get away with kidnapping their parents, Dash and Dot set out beyond their neighborhood to save them.

While directing Curious George, O'Callaghan pitched the idea of a feature-length film based on Dash and Dot to Universal, but they declined after they had an overbearing roster of upcoming films at the time. After several times of persisting, Universal signed a deal with O'Callaghan in 2007. This came after O'Callaghan pitched the film to Nickelodeon Movies, Warner Bros. Pictures, and 20th Century Fox Animation, all of which rejected the offer. Production began in late 2007, with Aibel and Berger signing to write the screenplay. Brian Grazer signed with Universal to produce the film. Ford and Rolek were cast as Dash and Dot in 2008, while Parnell, Janney, Pettis, and Grammer were cast in the months following. The film combines the use of traditional 2D animation with computer-animated backgrounds and panoramas, as well as cel-shading to give scenes and environments more depth.

The film was released in the United States on September 18, 2009 after having its premiere in Crystal City, Virginia on August 22, and after a screening in Universal Studios Hollywood on September 6 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Dash and Dot. It was accompanied by the short film Woodpecking Problems. Upon release, Dash and Dot's Wild Ride received universal acclaim from critics, audiences, and those who grew up on the PBS Kids block, with praise given towards the voice acting, charm, screenplay, its adventure aspects, pacing, depiction of the titular characters, Matthew O'Callaghan's direction of the source material, Christopher Lennertz's musical score and the animation style, the last of which was reminiscent of the bumpers on PBS Kids from 2008 to 2013. It is quite frequently hailed by publications as one of the greatest animated films of all time.

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride grossed over $957 million worldwide against its production budget of $45 million, becoming a commercial success. It became the highest-grossing animated film of 2009, as well as the second-highest-grossing animated film to use traditional animation. Other PBS-related properties that bombed or performed poorly at the box office prior to Wild Ride's monumental success include: Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), Barney's Great Adventure (1998), The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999), Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004), and Curious George (2006). The success of the film led to it being the subject of numerous accolades since its release, with it also winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards, becoming only the fifth non-Disney/Pixar film to win said award, and the last to do so until Nickelodeon's Rango (2011). Colin Ford and Grace Rolek's voice performances of Dash and Dot also received several awards and nominations. In the years following its release, it has become a cult classic among the PBS Kids community, with home media sales making over $770 million.

Also following the success of the film, it spawned three short films, a follow-up television series, a sequel in 2013, a tie-in video game, a Netflix series, and a reboot film titled Dash and Dot, which was released on May 24, 2024. On September 6, 2019, coinciding with the 20-year anniversary of Dash and Dot, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment re-released Dash and Dot's Wild Ride on DVD and Blu-ray, which also included the extended cut of the film, titled Dash and Dot's Wild Ride: The Unseen Director's Cut. Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was inducted into the U.S. Library of Congress in June of 2024 for its "importance in the meanings of animation, and for being an influence on the legacy of PBS Kids". It was re-released on September 6, 2024 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of PBS Kids and made $184.6 million, bringing its final total gross to $1.142 billion.

Plot

7-year-old Dash and his 4-year-old little sister Dot live in the suburbs of Arlington County with their parents, Dennis and Denise, where they go along with their usual lives.

On the last day of school, Dennis and Denise drop off their children at school and bid farewell to them as Dash and Dot go inside the school to learn and play with their friends. After school ends, Dash and Dot stand outside the school waiting for their parents to pick them up, but they never show up even after a few hours have passed. Dot gradually grows impatient at their parents' absence before Dash suggests that they take the path back home by walking, which Dot begrudgingly agrees to. Once the two kids manage to make it home by night, they find the house empty with no one in sight, and search all over the house to find any traces of their parents, but to no avail. Growing increasingly devastated, Dot cries out for their parents and then breaks down in tears, so Dash comforts her and assures Dot that they will find them soon as he allows her to sleep in his bed to make her feel better.

The next morning, Dash and Dot try to theorize guesses on how their parents could have disappeared, but none of them are valid. Desperate to seek help, Dash and Dot produce several missing posters of their parents and plaster them all over the neighborhood, but nobody is able to recount the last thing that happened to Dennis and Denise. Walking back home, Dash and Dot almost lose hope until the former steps on something on the floor and picks it up, revealing that it is Denise's necklace. As Dash questions where their parents might have gone, Dot then finds something underneath the couch, takes it out and gives it to the former. To their shock, it is an anonymous note demanding a ransom of $5,000, which Dash takes as the second clue to their parents' disappearance and concludes that they haven't just disappeared, they've been kidnapped. Deciding that there's only one thing left to do, Dash announces that he and Dot will get out there and search for their parents, so he prepares a backpack, fills it with supplies that might help him and Dot and leads his little sister out of the house to begin their adventure.

However, a few moments as they make their way into the street, Dash and Dot come upon a heavy traffic jam on the highway that seems to take forever. As Dot ponders about what they are going to do now, a determined Dash walks around in a circle trying to think, and when he notices a nearby street light, he gets an idea. He climbs the street light, looks down at the long line of vehicles and jumps down from the pole, successfully landing on top of a car. He then helps Dot up onto the top of the car, but just as they are about to make their way across the street through the top of another, the traffic light suddenly flashes green and all of the vehicles start moving abruptly with the two kids on top of the car they were on. Jumping from vehicle to vehicle with Dash, Dot narrowly loses her footing and almost falls to the road below before Dash catches her, after which they finally get back down to the ground and keep moving.

Meanwhile, the culprit responsible for the disappearance of Dennis and Denise is revealed to be a kidnapper named Mason, who has kept them bound and gagged in his hideout. He speaks cordially in a mocking way to them before showing his true tone and demanding $5,000, which Dennis and Denise vehemently refuse to.

Continuing their journey across the town, Dash and Dot eventually come upon their grandparents, Duncan and Donnell, who assume that they've run away from home and allow them to stay with them. As Donnell makes their grandchildren feel cozy, Dash tells her and Duncan that the real reason they've been wandering alone is that their parents have been kidnapped and they've left home to search for them. Having flashbacks of yesterday, Dot starts to feel sad again, so Donnell shares with her granddaughter an experience she had as a child, where she thinks her parents have disappeared and left her distraught until they returned home. After some motivation from their grandparents, Dash and Dot eventually thank them and leave their house to resume their adventure.

After walking some more, Dot eventually tires out and starts complaining about having to walk any longer, so Dash, noticing that he and his sister had just passed by the junkyard, decides to lead her there so that they can find a more efficient way of traveling. They manage to construct a makeshift car out of a wagon, some old car parts and an engine and take it out for a test drive before driving it down the street. However, Dot, who is enjoying the ride a little too much, starts fighting with Dash over the steering wheel, causing them to go careening out of control and crash into a forest, wrecking their vehicle in the process.

Realizing that Dot has ruined their chance of getting closer to where their parents are kept hostage at, Dash loses his temper and goes on a long tirade towards her, where she responds by back talking to Dash. After a hostile and aggressive argument between the two ensues, Dash ends the argument by disowning Dot, telling her that she is not his sister anymore, and walks away to find their parents himself, leaving a devastated and guilt-stricken Dot behind as it starts raining. As he goes on his way though, Dash takes out a picture of him, Dot and their parents out from his backpack and looks at it with vague reconsideration before putting it back inside and going along.

Meanwhile, Dot, who is struggling to survive in the rain by taking refuge underneath a tree, starts to feel anxious about the woodland creatures lurking about before a bear suddenly comes out of nowhere and starts chasing her. Dash hears her screams for help in the distance, has a change of heart and rushes back to save his sister. Before the bear can kill Dot, Dash jumps on the bear and starts hitting it, giving Dot a chance to escape. Dash is eventually pinned down by the bear and is about to be killed by it before it is suddenly stopped by Dot tossing stones and rocks at it. After the bear flees in response to Dot yelling boldly at it, Dash thanks his sister for saving his life, with Dot likewise returning the favor. Dash then apologizes to Dot for his earlier behavior and reconciles with her before remembering that it is raining and they are still lost in the forest, so they decide to look for shelter. They eventually come upon an abandoned cabin and stay in it for the night before going to sleep, at which point the rain finally stops.

The next morning, Dash and Dot wake up and walk through the forest until they come upon a road, but still have no idea how to get back to the city. Just then, they spot a pickup truck driving in the distance and stick out their thumbs, catching the attention of its Southern-accented driver named Forrest Tyson, who then offers to pick up the two kids and drive them back into the city. As Dash and Dot pass the time by playing a game of I spy, the driver finally arrives at the city, and after disembarking the truck, they thank him as he drives off. Now back in the city, Dash and Dot trudge along some more, pondering on where exactly their parents are until they hear some screaming coming from a nearby abandoned one-story building, so they make their way to said building to investigate. After entering the building, Dash and Dot find, much to their shock, their parents bound and gagged on chairs. Dennis and Denise are likewise just as shocked at the fact that their children have had the strength to go on their own and find them, and when Denise asks what Dash and Dot are doing here, the former says that they have no time to explain as he and Dot set to work untying their parents.

However, Mason comes in to see the two kids trying to free his victims and tries to stop them, so Dash and Dot run around trying to evade him. During this, they manage to get the better of the kidnapper in somewhat comical ways such as Dash tripping him over with his leg and Dot kicking his shins, all while their parents watch in shock. Eventually, Dash manages to trick Mason into falling into the basement and pins the door down as he instructs Dot to untie their parents. Dot initially struggles to do so before finally succeeding and is rewarded with a hug from Denise. Unable to hold the basement door down any longer, Dash calls out to his father to hand him a chair, which Dennis obliges to, and weighs the door down with it before escaping Mason's hideout with his family.

Outside, Dash, Dot and their parents happily exchange a brief celebration over their reunion, but they hear Mason, who has managed to escape from the basement, coming after them and quickly make a run for it. Not wanting to lose his chance of getting the ransom, Mason hops into his van and drives after the kids and parents. Having boarded a bus with his family, Dennis thinks that they are safe now until they see Mason in his van driving next to the bus. Mason deliberately bumps the bus with his van, causing the passengers inside to tremble and the driver to almost lose control of his vehicle, so Dash and Dot, after convincing Dennis and Denise to stay in the bus out of fear that Mason might kidnap them again, leap out of the bus and into Mason's van, where they gang up on him out of vengeance for abducting their parents.

Eventually, the van is heading towards a river. Seeing this, Mason quickly jumps out and onto the ground, saving himself, but Dash and Dot are unable to react in time as the van plunges into the river. Satisfied with having seemingly gotten rid of Dash and Dot, Mason walks away in stride, only to come face to face with the kids' angry parents. Before he can flee, Denise knocks Mason unconscious by hitting him across the face hard with her slipper as revenge for kidnapping her and Dennis, but then she and Dennis notice the van in the river and watch as it sinks to the surface below.

Thinking that Dash and Dot have died as they were still in the van at that time, Denise drops to her knees and cries as an equally sad Dennis comforts her. However, the two kids are revealed to have survived as they managed to get out of the van and swim to safety. After coming back up to the surface, Dash and Dot take pity on their heartbroken mother and comfort her as she still assumes that her kids are dead. It isn't until she bats an eye at them that she realizes that they're still alive and embraces them in a fit of relieved joy. Dennis likewise is also overjoyed and embraces his wife and kids as he declares that no one will ever be able to tear them apart again.

One day later after they return home with their parents, Dash and Dot get up from bed and have breakfast as they watch a news broadcast on the TV reporting that Mason has been arrested with charges of kidnapping, child endangerment, and attempted murder. The chief of the Arlington County Police Department praised Dash and Dot for their bravery and heroism. Dot remarks that yesterday's adventure was indeed a "wild ride", and Dash agrees, suddenly deciding that he and Dot should have a new adventure, but this time just for fun. After saying goodbye to their parents and leaving the house, Dash and Dot walk down the sidewalk and into the distance to start their next adventure, during which Dot constantly asks Dash about what kind of adventure they'll be having.

In a mid-credits scene, Dash and Dot finally return to their house after their recent planned outing. As they walk into the living room, Denise, who is doing some cleaning work, asks the two kids about their adventure. Dash responds by stating that it was fun, but steps on a toy truck left on the floor and almost slips and falls before he is caught by Dot, who apologizes for it and places it on the coffee table. At the same time, a familiar face to Dash appears at his doorstep; Sally. Dash was eager to tell her all about his and Dot's wild ride, before Sally plants a kiss on his cheek, showing her love for him. Dash, Dot and Sally all then go over to the couch to relax. As the three recline on the couch, Dash sighs peacefully, states "Life just keeps getting even better by the moment" and switches the TV on with the remote control to watch with Dot and Sally, as the credits began to roll.

In a post-credits scene, one year later, Dash and Dot (who are now eight and five years old respectively) are seen at home. A week ago, Denise had given birth to the third member of the family, Donna, making her the baby sister of Dash and Dot.

Cast

• Colin Ford as Dash, a 7-year-old boy who is Dot's older brother and the son of Dennis and Denise. He acts as the leader to Dot in their adventure to search for their missing parents.
  • Matt Rife as 8-year-old Dash
• Grace Rolek as Dot, a 4-year-old girl who is Dash's younger sister and the daughter of Dennis and Denise. She tags along with her brother on their quest to find Dennis and Denise when they go missing.
  • Abigail Breslin as 5-year-old Dot
• Chris Parnell as Dennis, Dash and Dot's father and the husband of Denise. He and his wife's mysterious disappearance is what drives their children to go looking for them.
• Allison Janney as Denise, Dash and Dot's mother and the wife of Dennis. She and her husband's mysterious disappearance is what drives their children to go looking for them.
• Kelsey Grammer as Mason, the main antagonist of the film. He is a kidnapper who is revealed to be responsible for Dennis and Denise's disappearance, holding them hostage for a ransom of $5,000. He has a dislike of kids that extends to Dash and Dot themselves.
• John Goodman as Duncan, Dash and Dot's grandfather. He temporarily allows his grandchildren to stay with them during their journey, and eventually gives them the motivation they need to keep searching for their parents.
• Betty White as Donnell, Dash and Dot's grandmother. She temporarily allows her grandchildren to stay with them during their journey, and eventually gives them the motivation they need to keep searching for their parents.
• Madison Pettis as Sally, an 8-year old girl with a red dress and a ponytail who is Dash's closest friend. In the mid-credits scene of the film, it is revealed that she has a relationship with Dash, and proves so by giving him a kiss on the cheek. This was a writing decision made by the film's screenwriters, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.
• Brandon Baker as Matt, a slightly clumsy boy who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Jimmy Bennett as Mike, a smart boy who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Eden Riegel as Alisa, a cheeky and playful girl who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Heather Goldenhersh as Caroline, a meek yet sweet girl who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Zack Shada as Pablo, a boy with curly hair and a big nose who is one of Dash and Dot's friends as well as the oldest out of them.
• Jackson Brundage as Estuardo, a boy with thin curly hair who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Dakota Fanning as Kaleigh, a tomboyish girl who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Ariel Winter as Demi, a sassy girl who is one of Dash and Dot's friends.
• Kristen Wiig as Ms. Smith, Dash and Dot's teacher at school.
• Wendie Malick as Mrs. Riggins, the principal at Dash and Dot's school.
• Regina King and Kevin James as Janet and Carteret, two police officers whom Dash and Dot briefly encounter during their makeshift car ride.
• Richard Kind as Forrest Tyson, a Southern-accented pickup truck driver whom Dash and Dot encounter after they exit the forest.
• Matt Damon as Paul Kharman, a news anchorman for WCVE-TV who documents Mason's arrest.
• Jennifer Lopez as Chloe Jenkins, a news reporter for WCVE-TV.
• Wallace Shawn as the chief of the Arlington County Police Department.
• Jason Statham and Sandra Bullock as Duncan and Donnell's parents, who appear in a flashback scene.
• Grey Griffin as Donna, Dash and Dot's baby sister. She was revealed to be in the movie after the film's post-credits scene was leaked online.

Additional voices

• Bill Farmer
• Bob Bergen
• Bridget Hoffman
• Candi Milo
• Carlos Alazraqui
• Carolyn Lawrence
• Colleen O'Shaughnessey
• Cree Summer
• Danny Mann
• David Cowgill
• Debi Derryberry
• Dee Bradley Baker
• Fred Tatasciore
• Gilbert Gottfried
• Grey Griffin
• Ian Sinclair
• Jan Rabson
• Jess Harnell
• Jesse Head
• Jill Talley
• Jim Ward
• John Cygan
• John DiMaggio
• Kari Wahlgren
• Lara Jill Miller
• Laraine Newman
• Lori Alan
• Mickie McGowan
• Mona Marshall
• Scott Menville
• Shane Baumel
• Sherry Lynn
• Susanne Blakeslee
• Tom Kenny
• Tress MacNeille

Production

Development

Director Matthew O'Callaghan at the premiere of Happy Feet Two in 2011.

The idea for Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was first conceived by Matthew O'Callaghan, a former animator at DreamWorks Animation, while he was directing Curious Georg (2006). He pitched it to Universal Pictures as a possible film idea during the development phase of the first one, but was rejected due to Universal's overbearing focus on other projects, which included The Bourne Ultimatum, Mr. Bean's Holiday and The Tale of Despereaux. Prior to the pitching to Universal, he originally pitched the idea to Nickelodeon Movies, of which they turned down the idea in 2004 to work on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Producer Julia Pistor opened on the cancellation by stating: "While Nickelodeon Movies is the proprietary studio for family entertainment, we don't produce films about properties that are strictly directed toward a toddler-centric audience."

Then, he turned Warner Bros. Pictures, with producer Christopher DeFaria expression passion for the idea. However, Warner executive turned down the idea. O'Callaghan then turned to 20th Century Fox Animation. While working with Blue Sky Studios, President Chris Meledandri commented on the idea in a March 2005 interview with Variety; "Well, this idea is certainly an interesting one at best. The idea of a movie centered around PBS Kids' recognizable hosts would definitely be incredible for many kids across America. However, we've made the decision to not pursue with the project, led by Matthew O'Callaghan, due to our focus on projects within our scope." In an interview with O'Callaghan by The Hollywood Reporter in December 2006, he stated: "I really, really want to do a project about PBS Kids' mascots. Dash and Dot are really adorable characters, and having them be put to screen is basically a child's dream. And I want to fulfill that promise by making something that's both entertaining, thrilling, and very exciting. Dash and Dot deserve their own film at this point."

O'Callaghan persisted, however, and by 2007, he and Universal Animation Studios had secured the rights to the PBS Kids mascots Dash and Dot. By then, they began to plan out the story, characters, and designs for the film for around a year before they finally started production in late 2007. Imagine Entertainment, who was involved with the production of Curious George, had producer Brian Grazer be a part of the project. Originally with the working title Dash and Dot's First Big Movie, the title was changed to Dash and Dot's Wild Ride. This change came after executives revealed that the film would take on more serious matters, while still being as faithful to the PBS Kids bumpers as possible. Ron Howard, David Kirschner, Jon Shapiro, Chris Meledandri, Ryan Kavanaugh, James Whitaker, Ken Kaufman, and John Cohen serves as the film's executive producers.

Writing

Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger wrote the screenplay for Dash and Dot's Wild Ride.

Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi were originally interested in writing a script for a Dash and Dot film in July 2007, after they previously wrote the script for Snow Day. However, Matthew O'Callaghan stated they would not be involved with the project due to creative differences. He then hired veteran screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who were in the process of finishing the screenplay for the 2008 DreamWorks animated film Kung Fu Panda.

Aibel and Berger were thrilled to have the opportunity to write a story about Dash and Dot, with Aibel stating; "Let's say you have a draft of five movies that are laid in front of me and my pal Glenn, and you'd tell us which one we should choose. We look at them, and a Dash and Dot movie is one of them. I feel like it's a clear answer if you were to ask us what movie we'd do based on that pile alone." Aibel and Berger began writing the script on August 13, 2007. Shortly after, Brian Lynch was contracted to write the story with Aibel and Berger in March 2008, with Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan joining to write the story. The writing process concluded on April 8, 2008.

In the mid-credits scene of the film, Aibel and Berger had the idea of Sally, Dash's best friend, plant a kiss on his cheek, showing her love for him. Aibel stated this; "It was a bit of an odd writing choice. But considering how close Dash and Sally appear to be early on in the movie, we thought it would be perfect. So, we rolled with it and put it in there. Then, we watched it at a test screening with other audiences, and me and Glenn had a little chuckle at it. It was too funny."

Casting

Top: Colin Ford and Grace Rolek voice Dash and Dot.
Middle: Chris Parnell, Allison Janney and Kelsey Grammer voice Dennis, Denise and Mason.
Bottom: John Goodman, Betty White and Madison Pettis voice Duncan, Donnell and Sally.

The film's two titular characters, Dash and Dot, were respectively voiced by Colin Ford and Grace Rolek, both of whom were cast in the roles following auditions for a then-mysterious animated film project. Ford initially thought that the project was secretly for an animated Disney film before finding out that the project was for Universal, and that it was in fact for Dash and Dot's Wild Ride. Rolek heard of the project through online casting sites and requests, and when she was successful at an audition, she thought nothing of it until receiving a call for another audition a few months later. In test screenings of the film, the audiences were adored by Colin Ford and Grace Rolek's performances of Dash and Dot. Rolek's performance of Dot was so adoring, in fact, that the audiences in the test screenings were moved to tears for her almost genuine-sounding performance.

The rest of the main voice cast, including Chris Parnell, Allison Janney, John Goodman, Betty White, and Madison Pettis, were set between mid-2008 and early 2009 during pre-production. Brandon Baker, Jimmy Bennett, Eden Riegel, Heather Goldenhersh, Zack Shada, Jackson Brundage, Dakota Fanning and Ariel Winter were added to the film's additional casting during pre-production. Kristen Wiig provided the voice for Ms. Smith, Dash and Dot's school teacher, alongside Regina King and Kevin James as officers Janet and Carteret, and Richard Kind as pickup truck driver Forrest Tyson. Fresh off the production of The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon revealed in 2008 that he would be providing the voice of Paul Kharman, a news anchor for WCVE-TV who reported on the arrest of Mason at the end of the film. Jennifer Lopez and Wallace Shawn also revealed to be voice actors in the film, with the roles revealed to be: Chloe Jenkins, a news anchor for WCVE-TV; and the chief of the Arlington County Police Department.

Originally, in 2008, Mason was going to be voiced by Vin Diesel, delivering a deep and sinister performance that was compared to Dom Toretto of the Fast & Furious series. But, after test audiences found Vin Diesel's performance to be "too frightening for children", he was ultimately replaced by Kelsey Grammer. Grammer is widely known for giving menacing and dark performances, with one of his most notable roles being Sideshow Bob in the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons. Despite this, Vin Diesel's voice work of Mason still exists and is available in the film's director's cut on the Blu-ray release.

Animation

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride's animation style was difficult to decide. Darlie Brewster and Jeff Johnson, the lead animators for Dash and Dot, skimmed through various animation styles, before settling on a particularly interesting animation blend; traditional 2D animation with CGI-animated panoramas and backgrounds, with cel-shading for environments, buildings, and vehicles. Primal Screen creative director Doug Grimmett called it a "really interesting and diverse blend of animation styles", and said that it "actually works very well when we put it together on-screen."

The animation for the film is heavily based on the PBS Kids bumpers that were shown from 2008 to 2013, which is evident from Dash and Dot's facial expressions and clothing colors. Dash's pants were originally going to be purple in the film, as they were that color in the 2008 bumpers, but the team eventually settled with giving Dash's pants a solid blue color as a throwback to the bumpers prior to 2008. The animation style was also influenced from other PBS Kids programs, which included: Arthur (1997-2022), Curious George (2006-2022), Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000-2003), and the latter's prequel series Clifford's Puppy Days (2003-2006).

Primal Screen, widely known as the animation provider for the classic PBS Kids bumpers, provided the animation for the film. Additional animation was produced by Yowza! Animation, Premise Entertainment, Neomis Animation, Fat Cat Animation, Duncan Studio, Bardel Entertainment, Wang Film Productions, July Films, Sunwoo Entertainment, TMS Entertainment, Toon City Animation, and Rough Draft Studios. Universal Animation Studios provided pre-production services in-house at both their Universal City and Glendale facilities, while visual effects, compositing, and ink & paint services were provided by Mercury Filmworks and Warner Bros. Animation. CGI animation by Reel FX Creative Studios was used to create certain effects, environments, scenes, and transitions.

The animation team heavily redesigned the locations that were already present in the PBS Kids bumpers, which included Dash and Dot's neighborhood and their school. Other locations, such as a Gwen's Kray-Kray Pizzeria, Greg's Toy Factory, the highway, the forest, Mason's hideout, and Duncan and Donnell's house were designed and drafted for the film. The highway that was seen in the car-jumping sequence was influenced by Interstate 66, which begins at Middletown, Virginia on the west, and ends at U.S. Route 29 in Washington, D.C. in the east. The cars were animated with CGI animation by Reel FX Creative Studios.

Post-production and funding

The sound effects were handled at Skywalker Sound, and post-production was handled at Universal Studios Post Production Services. The cinematography was done by Janet Lucroy, who had done the cinematic photography work for The Incredibles at Pixar. He helped in supervising with camera focusing shots. Financial backings for the film was provided by Relativity Media, and was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation.

Release

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was theatrically released on September 18, 2009 in the United States by Universal Pictures. Originally scheduled for release in November 21, 2008, it was pushed back to March 13, 2009. However, the film was in its post-production stage, so Universal pushed the film back by another 6 months to its current release date of September 18, 2009. After having its premiere in Crystal City, Virginia — the home of the PBS — on August 22, 2009, it premiered on September 6 at Universal Studios Hollywood, to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of Dash and Dot. Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for "mild language, peril, rude humor, thematic elements and mild violence". Matthew O'Callaghan said that Universal Animation Studios didn't want to go for a light-hearted G-rated film, stating that it would "really defeat the purpose of a breathtaking adventure". The release of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was accompanied by the animated short film Woodpecking Problems, which is based on the Walter Lantz character Woody Woodpecker.

For the premiere, the neighborhood of Crystal City was painted with 4,500 liters of lime green as part of its marketing to represent the colors of the PBS Kids mascots Dash and Dot. When the premiere concluded on August 23, 2009, Universal Pictures and PBS Kids opted to have the town remove the green paint. However, Crystal City decided to keep the lime green color for years after the premiere concluded. The same idea was later carried on for the Spain premiere of the Sony Pictures Animation film The Smurfs, where the town of Júzcar painted the town in approximately 4,000 liters of blue paint to match the theme of the Smurfs.

2024 re-release

On September 6, 2024, in commemoration of PBS Kids' 25th anniversary, Universal Pictures re-released Dash and Dot's Wild Ride into theaters for a limited time. The film was pulled from theaters on October 6 after one month.

Marketing

• The teaser trailer was released on August 1, 2008, and was shown before films such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Henry Poole Is Here, Igor, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The teaser featured Dash and Dot in a pitch black environment, holding a flashlight and searching for something they lost, before finding a rope that revealed the film's official logo after it was pulled.
• The first theatrical trailer was released on January 29, 2009, and was shown before films such as Coraline, The Pink Panther 2, Race to Witch Mountain, Monsters vs. Aliens and Fast & Furious. The trailer featured clips from the film, including scenes that never made the final cut.
• Hasbro teamed up with PBS Kids and Universal Pictures with the promoting of 10 collect-them-all figurines of the characters featured in Dash and Dot's Wild Ride.
• Good Humor-Breyers' Popsicle brand teamed up with PBS Kids and Universal Pictures to promote ice cream resembling Dash and Dot. The ice cream they promoted was key lime and cherry punch flavored with gumball eyes.
• McDonald's and Burger King began a tie-in campaign with PBS Kids and Universal Pictures with included toys in their Happy Meal and King Jr. meals, with two rare and exclusive holographic figurines of Dash and Dot.
• The Coca-Cola Company partnered with Universal Pictures and PBS Kids to promote green-colored Coca-Cola bottles and cans. The commercials for the film's marketing included Coca-Cola's tagline, with PBS Kids' own twist on it. The tagline is: Coca-Cola. Open Happiness, With A Greener Side.
• PBS Kids and Universal Pictures partnered with goods consumer product company Procter & Gamble, and ran promotional advertisements that featured their products, including those of Mr. Clean, Tide, Dawn and Febreze, and were advertised by Dash and Dot with the combination of live-action scenery and traditional animation. Additionally, Universal and PBS Kids partnered with cereal brand giant General Mills to promote their Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios cereal line. The animation for Dash and Dot was produced by Primal Screen.
• Nintendo promoted an exclusive line of Dash and Dot-styled DSi's for the film's campaigns. In the lead-up to the video game New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo ran a promotional campaign with Dash, Dot, Dennis and Denise playing the game in a feature advertisement. Commercials for the game aired from July to August 2009.
• Mattel partnered with PBS Kids and Universal to market games such as Uno.
• TV spots promoting the film aired from July to September 2009.
• American TV cable channel Nickelodeon partnered with Universal Pictures to promote the film with their Orange Carpet marketing style.
• Dash and Dot were interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America as part of a marketing deal with the American Broadcasting Company, Universal Pictures and PBS Kids. The animation for Dash and Dot, like the Procter & Gamble and General Mills commercials, was produced by Primal Screen, while visual effects were produced by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
• At the 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2009, giant balloons depicting Dash and Dot were shown in the skyline of New York City.

Home media

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 25, 2009 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It was later re-released on September 6, 2019 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of PBS Kids. The Blu-ray and DVD combo pack included a Digital Copy disc for on-the-go viewing. The bonus features are as follows:

• The short film Shot-to-Dot
• The short film Taking Flight
• The short film Some New Friends
• Character interviews
• Deleted scenes
• Mason's Revenge DVD game
• A behind the scenes documentary
• A video explaining who Dash and Dot are to the audience
• A tutorial on how to draw Dash and Dot
• A Dot's Story Factory promo that was aired on PBS Kids
• The Curious George episode "Curious George Flies a Kite/From Scratch"
• The Super Why! episode "The Three Little Pigs"
• The Dinosaur Train episode "Beating the Heat/Flowers for Mom"
• The Thomas & Friends episodes "Too Hot for Thomas" and "Fish"
• The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! episodes "A Tale About Tails/Sticky Situation"
• Dash and Dot's Wild Ride: The Unseen Director's Cut

Video game

A tie-in video game based on the film was released on September 18, 2009. It was developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii. It was later released on Microsoft Windows on September 25. A Game Boy Advance port of the game was developed by Vicarious Visions, while a PlayStation Portable port and a Nintendo DS port of the game were developed by Amaze Entertainment and released on September 27, 2009. A Nintendo 3DS port was developed by Other Ocean Interactive and released on September 16, 2011.

Theme park attraction

A theme park attraction, titled Dash and Dot's Crazy Car Chase, opened in Universal Studios Hollywood on May 12, 2010, where it still remains as of December 4, 2024.

Reception

Box office

Prior to the release of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride, several publications wrote that the film would perform poorly at the box office following the failure of Universal's own Curious George, which was released three years before. Dash and Dot's Wild Ride opened in theaters on September 18, 2009 alongside films such as Love Happens (another film distributed by Universal), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Jennifer's Body. The movie opened with $5.9 million at the box office, ranking at third place, with hard competition alongside Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It produced $56 million in its opening weekend in North America, while it made $82 million internationally.

Heading into its first week, it generated $61 million domestically, while it made $77 million internationally. It dropped by 58% in its second weekend, making $12.2 million domestically and $19.7 million internationally. In its second week, it dropped to $51.6 million globally for a decline of 14%, while facing hard competition with the release of Sony's Zombieland on October 2, 2009. It fell by a further 74% in its third opening weekend, making $9.02 million domestically and $5.12 million internationally. In its third week of earnings, after two weeks of poor performance, it rose by 67% for an earning of $104 million globally.

Box office projections concluded on July 25, 2010. The movie finished with $308.3 million in the United States and Canada, while it made $649.1 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $957.4 million. Produced on a budget of $45 million, Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was labeled a box office success.

2024 re-release

The re-release of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride made a total of $184.6 million, bringing the final worldwide total gross to $1.142 billion.

Critical response

Based on 219 professional critic reviews, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97% of those reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.10/10. On the website, the critics' consensus reads, "With unbelievably awesome animation, a powerful story and a proper way to coherently adapt PBS Kids' beloved icons, Dash and Dot's Wild Ride definitely serves a fundamental purpose with its fair share of frightening moments, close calls and near-death experiences, while also tugging on those heartstrings that can bring anyone who is of the PBS Kids block to tears." Using a weighted average calculator, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of A+ on its A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak reported that 99% of audiences gave the film a positive review, with 95% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it an A−, saying that it had "one of the most creative and entertaining stories to come out of a major animated studio in months. The combination of traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI animation made for some fun sequences." Doug Elfman of the Chicago Tribune gave it 3 out of 4 stars, writing that, "It's a pleasant surprise for adults that this kids movie is not pure goo of sticky sap. The old-fashioned cartoon style of animation evokes nostalgia in a clever way and delivers funny people and gags for all ages, with some satirical jabs aimed at over-consumptive parents. But most importantly, the movie takes on the subject of a family in peril, and that provides it with a heart." Richard Corliss of Time called it "an insanely wild adventure that takes one's breath away with great animation and dramatic scenes, making this one of the best family comedy films of the decade."

Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars and called it "a wild ride that is greener on every side of the screen, and makes for an awesome family adventure". He praised the character dynamics and the animation style, writing that "it's like coming home from school and turning on your TV to watch your favorite PBS Kids programs, and seeing them on your screen -- it's like that, but this time in higher definition and in sharper quality." He gave criticism to its lack of depth, saying that "it doesn't have a lot of depth, but that doesn't stop Dash and Dot from being spotlights of the story." In a mostly positive review, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter praised the faithfulness to the bumpers by writing: "It's as good as it gets with Dash and Dot's Wild Ride, which helps capture the true feel of the classic PBS Kids bumpers that you see on your television screen. While it may be a bit of a risky move to have the mascots go on such a dangerous adventure to save their parents, it does show that, at the end of the day, Dash and Dot are really willing to do anything to save their parents from certain danger. The sharp animation quality and heartwarming scenes makes for the perfect family comedy of the year."

William Thomas of Empire gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing: "Dash and Dot's Wild Ride is all joyous and entertaining to watch, but its mature themes - including the assumption that the titular characters would've been dead near the end of the film - throws it off. The animation is at its peak and the music is amazing, however." He also gave slight criticism for its story, stating: "It's not the most cleverly adapted story for two characters who only appear on PBS Kids bumpers, and its connection for the film overall just falls flat on its face in some parts." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone rated it two stars out of four, stating: "A movie where it puts PBS Kids' iconic mascots in the face of danger to save their parents from an evil psychopathic man holding them hostage, Dash and Dot's Wild Ride works in the best ways." When reviewing the plot, he wrote: "The writers had a full understanding of how a Dash and Dot movie should be. It doesn't do so much at once, and is easy to follow and understand."

Legacy

Since the release of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride, the film has been acclaimed by viewers of the PBS Kids programming block. As of December 4, 2024, the film holds a 100% audience score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The audience says, "Dash and Dot's Wild Ride is an incredibly important piece of PBS Kids media that pulls all of the strings together, spanning from the very beginning to the end." Occasionally, the film has aired on the PBS Kids block in the early-to-late 2010s. The success of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride spawned a media franchise. On November 13, 2010, executive producers Jon Shapiro and David Kirschner founded PBS Animation.

Short films

The short films were released between 2009 to 2013, and 2024. The first two were directed by Bret Haaland and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, while the third was directed by Mike Mitchell, with Joe Stillman joining Paul and Daurio. The fourth was directed by Conrad Vernon and written by Chris Viscardi. The first three were scored by Christopher Lennertz, while the fourth was scored by James L. Venable and Dominic Lewis.

Shot-to-Dot

Released in 2009 on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Dash and Dot's Wild Ride.

It reprised the voices of Colin Ford, Grace Rolek, Chris Parnell and Allison Janney, and introduced Kevin Dillon as Dr. Rogers. The short followed Dot trying to overcome her fear of needles when she's scheduled for an appointment at the dentist's office.

Taking Flight

Released in 2011 alongside Hop.

Colin Ford and Grace Rolek reprise their roles. The short follows Dash and Dot hosting a paper airplane competition with their friends to see whose paper airplane can fly the furthest.

Some New Friends

Released in 2013 alongside Despicable Me 2.

Nicolas Cantu and Grace VanderWaal replace Colin Ford and Grace Rolek as the voices of Dash and Dot respectively, while it reprises the voices of Chris Parnell and Allison Janney. Reneé Rapp replaces Madison Pettis as Sally and Maxwell Jenkins stars as her brother Sid. Danika Yarosh, {Violett Beane, Hero Tiennes Finn, Cree Cicchino, Thomas Barbusca and Ruby Rose Turner are introduced. The short follows Sally and Sid introducing Dash and Dot to their cousin Mallory, and their friends Hilda, Devin, Trixie, Briffit and Peggy.

Beach Day

Released in 2024 on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Dash and Dot.

Sequel

A sequel, Dash and Dot's Big Treasure Hunt, was released on August 23, 2013. Reprising the voices of Colin Ford, Grace Rolek, Chris Parnell and Allison Janney, and guest starring Matt Damon, the film entered development in 2010. Despicable Me co-director Chris Renaud was assigned to direct, with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the screenplay. The sequel was released theatrically by Universal Pictures. The film failed to achieve the acclaim that its predecessor held, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus calling it "a semi-unfunny and painfully dull adventure". John Powell composed the score.

Television series

A television series, The Adventures of Dash and Dot, was pitched to PBS Kids in October 2009, a month after the release of the film. A pilot was developed and premiered on the block on January 5, 2010, before it was green-lit into a three-season program. The first season, entirely directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, premiered via Syndication on PBS Kids on March 19, 2010. Jacob Hopkins and Hadley Belle Miller provided the voice of the titular characters, replacing Colin Ford and Grace Rolek. Gary Oldman, Allison Janney and Jennifer Hale provide the voices of Dennis, Denise and Ms. Smith respectively, with Janney being one of the many actors to reprise their roles. Christopher Lennertz composed the score for the show.

Reboot film

A reboot to Dash and Dot's Wild Ride was announced in 2021. Conrad Vernon and Scott Mosier were revealed to be directing the film. Universal Pictures produced the film, with them distributing it after they remained the owner of the characters. Prior to this, the Dash and Dot character trademark was the subject of a legal battle between Comcast and Sony Pictures. On October 8, 2023, Dominic Lewis was revealed to compose the score for the film. On October 16, Annapurna Pictures, Legendary Pictures and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films were reported to be producing the film. On November 26, 2023, it was revealed that Nicolas Cantu and Libby Rue will provide the voices of Dash and Dot respectively, who are joined by Scarlett Abinante, Yonas Kibreab, Seth Rogen, Julia Stiles and Billy Boyd respectively voicing Dee, Del, Frank, Sarah and Larry. Kristen Wiig was later revealed to reprise her role as Ms. Smith.

The film was theatrically released on May 24, 2024 by Universal Pictures.

External links

• Official website
• Dash and Dot's Wild Ride at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dash and Dot's Wild Ride at Metacritic
• Dash and Dot's Wild Ride at the Internet Movie Database

v - e - d

Films Dash and Dot's Wild Ride • Dash and Dot's Big Treasure Hunt • Dash and Dot Short films Shot-to-Dot • Taking Flight • Some New Friends Television series The Adventures of Dash and Dot • Dash and Dot Stories Video games Fun with Dash and Dot • Dash and Dot's Wild Ride Franchises Dash and Dot Characters Dash • Dot • Dee • Del • Dennis • Denise • Frank • Sarah • Sally • Sid • Matt • Mike • Alisa • Caroline • Pablo • Estuardo • Kaleigh • Demi • Mason • Captain Nohook • Larry • Ms. Smith • Mallory • Hilda • Devin • Trixie