Richie Rich (film): Difference between revisions

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[[File:Richierichposter.jpg|frame]]
1994 feature film based on the ''[[Richie Rich (comic bookscomics)|Richie Rich]]'' comic book series. The film starred Macaulay Culkin as Richie and Stephi Lineburg as Gloria. It also featured Edward Herrmann, Michael McShane, Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Hyde, and John Larroquette serve in supporting roles.
 
In the film, young Richie finds himself apparently orphaned in the wake of an assassination attempt on his parents engineered by the greedy CFO of Rich Industries, ReggieLawrence Van Dough (Larroquette), who frames the Riches' loyal butler Cadbury for the crime and arranges for his "suicide" in jail. The Rich family technologist, Professor Keenbean, rescues Cadbury from prison and gets him to Richie and safety, but is himself captured by Van Dough. With the help of a small band of lower-middle class kids he befriended early in the film, Richie breaks back into the Rich estate, rescues Keenbean, and discovers his parents are still alive, being pressured by Van Dough for access to the family vault in Mount Richmore. Van Dough ultimately gets his way, only to discover that the only "treasures" in the vault are sentimental ones. This sends him into a [[Villainous Breakdown|complete meltdown]], and he chases the Riches across the mountain, intending to kill them -- until Cadbury and Keenbean save the day, and Van Dough gets his comeuppance.
 
The film only earned $38,087,756 in the United States market. It was the 37th most successful film of its year, butand just barely earned back its budget. And after the movie was released, the ''Richie Rich'' comics [[Franchise Killer|just stopped being published]].
 
In 1998, it was followed by a [[Direct to Video]] [[Sequel]], ''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'', which featured an entirely different cast (including a pre-''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' Michelle Trachtenberg) enacting yet another [[Wonderful Life]] plotline.
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* [[Affably Evil]]: Lawrence Van Dough.
* [[Agony of the Feet]]: Professor Keenbean suffered from this trope after inadvertently dropping a bowling ball on his foot.
* [[Ain't Too Proud to Beg]]: When Cadbury shoots at Van Dough, he (Van Dough) falls off Mount Richmore, but gets caught on the scaffolding cords and hung upside down. Because he's dangling about and scared of falling he's practically begging the Rich family, whom moments before, he was trying to kill; for help. Even accepting his firing.
* [[Badass Family]]: Don't let the money fool you, The Rich family can kick ass when they need to. Richie after shrugging off gunshots from his bullet proof clothing is able to disarm Van Dough with a rapier and later knock him over a ladder. Richard throws a couple of punches at Van Dough after being disarmed. Regina is able to knock one of Van Dough's thugs out with a banjo before punching out Van Dough for all the crap he put them through.
* [[Bad Boss]]: Van Dough becomes this after he [[Tyrant Takes the Helm|takes the helm]].
* [[Battle Butler]]: Cadbury, as seen during the scene where he busts out of prison after making quick work of the assassin sent to kill him.
{{quote|'''Cadbury: Never''' attack a man [[Call Back|with sensitive teeth]]!}}
* [[Benevolent Boss]]: Richie's dad refuses to fire any of his employees, neither if they do a terrible job or to make sacrifices. {{spoiler|He makes an exception with the [[Big Bad]], however, due to the fact that he tried to kill him and his family.}}
* [[Berserk Button]]: Treating servants like dirt is this for Richie. Reginald found that out the hard way when Richie made him deliberately spill his (Wrong ordered) Cappuccino all over his white fencing suit, when the latter was berating the servant for it. He looked both angered and heartbroken when Van Dough fired the rest of his staff.
* [[Big Eater]]: Professor Keenbean. In fact, one scene even showed him ordering some Quarter Pounders and a bunch of fries from Richie's personal McDonald's, and claims he working on creating secret sauce. Also, Pee-wee to an extent<ref> Read: Pee-wee entirely lacks personality traits aside from his eating habits.</ref> It's also implied that Richard Rich is one. Although he is trying to diet, he can't resist chocolates. This ends up saving his life, when after using the Smellmaster to find them, he discovers the bomb Ferguson planted.
* [[Book Ends]]: At the beginning after growing up, Richie is seen playing baseball. At the end of the film, he is playing baseball again, this time, with his new friends and with Cadbury as coach.
* [[Bulletproof Vest]]: Keenbean's Stain-Away turns Richie's clothes into this.
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* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Lawrence van Dough.
* [[The Dragon]]: Ferguson to Van Dough's [[Big Bad]].
* [[Fake Brit]]: Brisbane-born Jonathan Hyde plays a very high-British Cadbury.
* [[Five-Token Band]]: Richie's friends, with Richie filling out the rich kid quota.
* [[Frame-Up]]: See below.
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* [[Grade School CEO]]: Richie takes over the company with Cadbury's backing after his parents' plane crash. This lasts one highly successful montage, until Cadbury is framed for the Rich's murder.
* [[Happily Married]]: Richard and Regina Rich.
* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Played with, it's not certain, but the work release program seemed to lighten Ferguson's mood. He admires Richie's home run hit and even asks if Van Dough should throw back the ball.
* [[Hero with Bad Publicity]]: Cadbury. But it's likely taken care of by the Riches.
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Economist/Actor [[Ben Stein]] in his usual boring monotone ways.
** Richard Rich gets to play another wealthy [[Gilmore Girls|Richard later down the line]].
** That's [[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves|Friar Tuck]] as Professor Keenbean.
** Cadbury [[Jumanji|likes to hunt Robin Williams for sport.]] He also cowardly fled a [[Titanic|certain sinking supership]] with the women and children.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: A rare non-villain example: Keenbean falls into a trap he set for Ferguson involving his super-strength adhesive, with near-disastrous results for Richie and his friends.
* [[Horrible Judge of Character]]: Being the [[Benevolent Boss]] he is, Richie's dad is this way at first when it comes to Van Dough.
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{{quote|'''Regina:''' Oh Richard, wake up and smell the seaweed!}}
* [[Humiliation Conga]]: Both villains get one. Ferguson has a towel superglued to his face, is knocked out, and gets stung in the ass by a robotic bee. Van Dough is left hanging for dear life on a sheer rock face, is fired by a 12-year-old boy, whose [[Benevolent Boss|father]] has never fired anyone in his life, and gets punched in the face by the mother.
* [[It's All Junk]]: Subverted. It's not the Rich family who thinks the vault is full of junk...
* [[Jerkass]]: Ferguson.
* [[The Lancer]]: Cadbury.
* [[Large Ham]]: The villains, [[Evil Is Hammy|obviously]], especially Ferguson.
* [[Lonely Rich Kid]]: Richie.
* [[Lost in Translation]]: A real life positive example. In the French dub, van Dough's line "Thank you, Beavis and Butthead" is replaced with an actually funny line: "Looks like Homer and Marge".
* [[A Minor Kidroduction]]: The beginning of the film starts with the birth of Richie, all the way up to his current age.
* [[Monumental Battle]]: The confrontation between Van Dough and the Riches on "Mount Richmore".
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* [[Psycho for Hire]]/[[Ax Crazy]]: Ferguson.
* [[Reality Ensues]]: In the movie, the villain's plan displays this. After hearing about the "Rich Family Vault", he immediately assumes that it's where he'll find the family's fortune. {{spoiler|[[Sarcasm Mode|Astoundingly enough]], the Riches didn't get rich by locking up all their wealth in a private, zero-interest vault (which turns out to be full of family heirlooms of low monetary worth). Their actual money is in banks, investments, and real estate.}}
* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: The Rich family are the wealthiest people on the planet, yet they also seem to have the greatest moral compass when it comes to being overall decent.
* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: Professor Keenbean and the street kids were completely absent during the climatic scene where Richie and his parents are trapped on Mt. Richmore and trying to avoid Van Dough.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Richie's answer to Van Dough's suggestion.
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* [[Villainous Breakdown]]:
{{quote|'''Van Dough''': The money? ''Where is the money?!''
'''Mr. Rich''': ''(in his best [[What an Idiot!|are-you-fucking-kidding-me?]] voice)'' In banks! ''Where else?''? Oh! And the stock market, real estate...
'''Van Dough''': Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me that there isn't a single gold bar, or emerald, or thousand -dollar bill in this ''entire mountain?!''
'''Mr. Rich''': Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Lawrence, but that's not what we treasure.
'''Van Dough''': Shoot them! Shoot them now, please! }}
** The prisoner playing Gin with Cadbury hilariously loses his mind when Cabury beats him at it.
* [[Villain with Good Publicity]]: Lawrence Van Dough after he frames Cadbury for the Riches' disappearance.
* [[We Have Ways of Making You Talk]]: "How would you like to spend the rest of your life as a bedpan?"
* [[What an Idiot!]]: Van Dough is the ''chief financial officer'' of a incredibly valuable international corporation, and he automatically assumes the Riches keep their money in [[Scrooge McDuck]]-like heaps in a private vault instead of in the kinds of lucrative financial vehicles he should be familiar with because they're ''part of his job''.
* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|Why Did It Have to Be Heights?]]: Subtle but when Van Dough is chasing the Rich family all over Mount Richmore, he's clearly scared of how high up he is. It doesn't stop him from trying to kill them, but whenever he gets close to falling it makes him panic. When Cadbury stops him and he's left hanging over Mount Richmore, he loses it [[Ain't Too Proud to Beg|begging the family he tried to kill to help him.]]
* [[Would Hurt a Child]]: The villains are [[Moral Event Horizon|more than willing]] to shoot children, turn them into bedpans, blast them with a laser, etc.
* [[You Have to Believe Me]]: Van Dough refuses to believe Keenbean doesn't know the vault's location.