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(More customer reviews)Richie Rich is the world's poor little rich boy. He's the richest kid on Earth, but all he really wants are friends (well, he's got everything else). He spends his days living by a meticulous schedule that sometimes even includes filling in for his father at public appearances. His wealthy schoolmates are just as busy as he is and not quite as desperate to do "regular kid things" as Richie. While filling in for his father at a public event, however, Richie takes notice of some inner-city, street-wise kids playing baseball in a vacant lot nearby and makes an attempt to join in. They soon make it clear that he does not belong, and poor Richie goes home in despair. Seeing his disappointment, Richie's protective and caring butler, Cadbury, makes arrangements for the kids to come to the Rich family mansion and spend a day with the boy, much to Richie's joy and surprise! The gang of kids have a ball riding Richie's rollercoaster, trying out his kid-a-pult, and eating in his own, personal McDonald's. At the end of the day, Richie's new friends have accepted him as being just another regular kid, though they more than appreciate the benefits that come with his friendship. Still, feisty redhead Gloria, self-appointed leader of the bunch, makes it clear that they like Richie more for who he is than for all the neat stuff he has. Richie doesn't have much time to be happy about that, though. Word soon arrives that Richie's parents, benign but sometimes clueless Richard and Regina Rich, were victims of an assassination attempt and are now lost at sea and assumed dead. As the Riches survive in a life raft on Perrier and champagne, Richie is forced to take over the family company and keep it safe from malicious top executive Lawrence Van Dough, who planned the attack on Richie's parents in the first place. Luckily, with his new friends' help, Richie turns out to be a business whiz! Richie has to become even more assertive when Cadburry is framed and locked up for the murder of Richie's parents though. Some help from in-house inventor Professor Keenbean allows Richie to break Cadburry out, but matters become even more complicated when the Rich parents finally are rescued by the villainous Van Dough and his cronies themselves, purely so they can open the voice-activated lock on the family vault in Mt. Richmore. Now, Richie and his crew must prove their mettle and save Richie's parents and fortune from a criminal desperate to do anything to have it all!
After the wonderful holiday films "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2" turned child-actor Macaulay Culkin into an instant superstar, he sadly seemed incapable of having another success. 1994's "Richie Rich" was just one example of several films the young actor made after his big Christmas hits that failed to strike a chord with movie going audiences or critics. Sadly, "Richie Rich" is really a great film. While not a perfect adaptation of the comic and cartoon (the villainous Van Dough is an adult exec here rather than a rotten cousin, Gloria is unfortunately a cute but street-sassy tomboy with a last-name change rather than Richie's sweet and femininely dressed girlfriend, and Irona the robot maid/bodyguard is nowhere to be seen until the direct to video "sequel"), the performances, particularly the adult ones, are fantastic, fun, well developed and well fleshed-out considering their cartoon origins, and easily carry the very basic cartoon plot. The humor and emotion is well-written, even if it's an age-old story of the rich kid who just wants friends. And, of course, the sights are the icing on the cake, from the kooky inventions of Professor Keenbean to the glorious Rich Family Estate (actually the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina), not to mention the world's only Dollarmation, Richie's dog, Dollar! The DVD is in widescreen and includes one Bonus Feature, which is the theatrical trailer. Hey, "Richie Rich" isn't rocket science, but it's a feast for the eyes and a fun family fantasy from beginning to end that brings back childhood memories of Saturday morning cartoons and Harvey comics, and with actors like Edward Herrmann, John Larroquette, and Jonathan Hyde in a live-action cartoon, you know you're in for a treat!
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