Dash and Dot's Wild Ride/Tropes

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride is a 2009 animated film based on the PBS Kids mascots of the same name, directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and produced by Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.

Dash and Dot are a pair of little kids who live happily in the suburbs with their parents, Dennis and Denise. That is, until one day, when their parents fail to show up to pick them up from school, Dash and Dot decide to go home themselves, only to discover why they haven't come recently; they've been kidnapped and held hostage by a kidnapper named Mason for a ransom of $5,000. Not willing to let that slide, Dash and Dot decide that they have a mission in mind: to get out there and go on a long search for their parents. But can these two children reunite with their beloved parents before it's too late?

Like many other theatrical films based on PBS Kids properties, the film was a financial failure upon release, grossing over only $19 million against its budget of $45 million. Despite its poor box office performance, however, it was for the most part loved by critics, audiences and especially people who grew up watching PBS Kids, enough so that it eventually developed a cult following. Today, it is now remembered fondly as a part of PBS Kids history and has occasionally even been rerun on the network itself.

Dash and Dot's Wild Ride contains examples of:

 * Adult Fear: We can assume that Dennis and Denise have been fearing for Dash and Dot's safety after being kidnapped.
 * And the Adventure Continues: The film ends with Dash and Dot temporarily going outside to start another adventure, but this time for entertainment.
 * Badass Adorable: Dash and Dot themselves. Not only do they have the strength to go on an adventure for their kidnapped parents, they even fight off a bear when they're lost in a forest and manage to get the better of Mason when they are caught by him trying to free their parents.
 * Bears Are Bad News: When she is left behind in the forest by Dash, who had just gotten angry at her over wrecking their vehicle and getting them stranded, Dot is ambushed by a bear, only to be saved at the last moment by a remorseful Dash. When Dash is eventually confronted with the bear himself, Dot repays his bravery by tossing stones at the bear and yelling at it, effectively scaring it away.
 * Beware the Nice Ones:
 * Dash and Dot. Innocent and well-behaved as they are, but they do not take the abduction of their parents well and get into a fight with Mason, who is responsible for said abduction.
 * Dennis and Denise, too. They refuse to let Mason have the $5,000 ransom, and when Mason leaves Dash and Dot to fall into a river in his van, the latter knocks him out with a hit from her slipper.
 * Big Bad: Mason, the kidnapper responsible for Dennis and Denise's disappearance.
 * Big Brother Instinct: Dash, who has just disowned Dot out of anger after she accidentally got them stranded in the forest, suddenly comes to his senses and comes to her rescue when she is almost killed by a bear.
 * Big Damn Movie: The PBS Kids bumpers usually depict Dash and Dot engaging in regular, mundane activities and/or using their imagination. The film, however, has them going on an adventure to find their parents, who have been kidnapped without their knowledge until now.
 * Child Hater: Mason, serving as an effective arch-nemesis to Dash and Dot.
 * Comedic Work, Serious Scene: For such a comedic film, even it isn't without its more serious moments.
 * When Dash and Dot are unable to find their parents when they come home from school themselves, Dot eventually breaks down crying at the thought of them being gone, so Dash comforts her and allows her to sleep with him in his bed to make her feel better.
 * Dash ranting at Dot after she inadvertently gets them stranded in a forest, eventually leading up to them arguing and the former disowning the latter and going off to find his parents alone. To make this even more upsetting, Dash takes out a photo of his family from his backpack and looks at it with a hint of remorse before putting it back and going along.
 * After Dash and Dot fall into a river while still in Mason's van, Denise fears the worst and breaks down sobbing, with Dennis being just as sad but having the heart to comfort his wife. Fortunately, it's revealed that Dash and Dot have survived by getting out of the van and swimming back up to the surface.
 * Cue the Rain: Rain pours down not long after Dash angrily abandons Dot in the forest for wrecking their makeshift vehicle and ruining their chance of finding their parents.
 * Dark Is Evil: Like most kidnappers, Mason wears a black hood and is the main antagonist of the film.
 * Darker and Edgier: Somewhat. While the film has a friendly tone just like the Dash and Dot bumpers, there is also a criminal who has kidnapped Dash and Dot's parents as well as the kids getting stranded in a forest and almost getting attacked by a bear.
 * Disney Death: After Mason's van falls into a river with Dash and Dot still in it, Denise assumes that they have died and breaks down crying. It turns out that they have managed to escape the van and swim to safety moments before it sank.
 * Doting Grandparent: Duncan and Donnell, the grandparents of Dash and Dot, allow their grandchildren to temporarily stay with them when they spot them wandering alone in search of their parents, and eventually motivate them to keep going on their quest.
 * Free-Range Children: Dash and Dot are eventually reduced to this once their parents are kidnapped, going alone to find them.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Dash and Dot manage to construct a makeshift car from several parts in the junkyard and use it as a means of traveling more painlessly. Unfortunately, Dot starts enjoying the ride to the point that she fights with Dash over who should drive, causing them to careen out of control and crash their vehicle into a forest, destroying it in the process.
 * Good Parents: Dennis and Denise are shown to be loving and caring towards Dash and Dot.
 * Hidden Depths: Dash and Dot are surprisingly adept at constructing a functional vehicle from a wagon, an engine and some car parts from the junkyard.
 * Laser-Guided Karma: After everything that he did over the course of the film, Mason is knocked out cold by Denise with her slipper and later taken into custody by the police for his crimes.
 * Little Girls Kick Shins: During the scuffle between Dash, Dot and Mason at the kidnapper's hideout, Dot punts Mason in the shins at one point.
 * Logo Joke: In a similar vein to The Cat in the Hat (2003), the Universal, DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment logos are animated in the style of the PBS Kids bumpers, and Dash even replaces the boy on the moon during the DreamWorks logo.
 * Mythology Gag: The film's theatrical poster shows Dash and Dot walking in an environment identical to the one used in the PBS Kids "Dot" logo, while the DVD and Blu-ray covers show them walking in a lavender and green environment with trees that is the same one used in the "Walking" bumper.
 * Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Assuming that Dash and Dot have drowned inside of Mason's van after it has fallen into a river, Denise is reduced to a crying wreck and mourns her children, initially unaware that they are still alive. Once Dash and Dot start comforting their mother, it takes a few moments for her to realize that they're okay and hugs them out of relieved joy.
 * Off-into-the-Distance Ending: The film concludes with Dash and Dot walking down the sidewalk to go on a new adventure just for fun.
 * Outside Ride: When Dash and Dot are stopped dead in their tracks by a heavy traffic jam, Dash gets the idea to jump down from a street light and on top of a car so that he and Dot can pass the highway via jumping on top of the other vehicles. Unfortunately, the traffic light flashes green before they can do so and they are sent on the ride of their life. They eventually manage to get back down after jumping from vehicle to vehicle.
 * Parents in Distress: Dennis and Denise, who get kidnapped by Mason and need to be rescued by their children.
 * Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: After Dot inadvertently causes herself and Dash to crash land in a forest due to her fighting with her brother over the wheel of their makeshift car, Dash blames Dot for what she has gotten them into and gets into a big fight with her before disowning her as his sister and going off to find his parents alone. It isn't until she is almost killed by a bear that he has a change of heart, goes back to save her and reconciles with her before continuing their adventure.
 * Put on a Prison Bus: The last we see and hear of Mason is a news broadcast at the end of the film revealing that he has been arrested with charges of kidnapping and child endangerment.
 * Shoe Slap: Denise knocks out Mason with her slipper as payback for what he did to her and Dennis.
 * Title Drop: Almost. Near the end of the film, Dot remarks to Dash that the adventure they had yesterday was definitely a "wild ride".
 * Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Mason is a surprisingly threatening villain in a PBS Kids-based movie. He is responsible for kidnapping Dash and Dot's parents, doesn't crack any jokes whatsoever and even tries to stop the two kids when he spots them trying to untie their parents.
 * Would Hurt a Child: If his attempts to stop Dash and Dot from freeing their parents in his hideout are of any indication, Mason probably has no qualms with harming kids.