Rugrats

Characters The series focuses on the experiences of a courageous, adventurous one-year-old baby named Tommy Pickles and his group of playmates – several other infants and toddlers, some of whom debuted later in the series. His playmates include Chuckie, Tommy's bespectacled, red-headed, insecure, cowardly two-year-old best friend, the twins Phil and Lil, Tommy's next-door neighbors noted for their revolting eccentricities, Tommy's baby brother Dil, who was born in The Rugrats Movie, Angelica, Tommy and Dil's outrageously spoiled and selfish three-year-old cousin who is a "rival" of his friends, Kimi, Chuckie's adventurous, playful stepsister (later his adopted sister in the seventh-season episode "Finsterella") who is introduced in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, and Susie, a good-hearted neighbor of the Pickles family, who protects the babies from Angelica, with whom she often butts heads. The other characters depicted in Rugrats include the babies' parents, grandparents, and pets. Parental figures include Didi and Stu Pickles, Tommy and Dil's mother and father, Chas Finster, Chuckie's mild-mannered father, Kira, Chuckie's sweet-natured, kind and understanding stepmother (later his adopted mother) whom Chas marries in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, Drew Pickles, Angelica's indulgent and doting father, Charlotte Pickles, Angelica's workaholic mother, Betty DeVille, Phil and Lil's easy-going yet boisterous feminist mother, and Howard DeVille, the twins' mild-mannered and soft-spoken father. Grandparents include Lou Pickles, Drew and Stu's father and Tommy, Angelica, and Dil's grandfather, Lulu, Lou's second elderly wife that appeared in later seasons of the series, and Didi's parents, Boris and Minka, who are Jewish immigrants. The Pickles family also own a dog named Spike and a cat belonging to Angelica named Fluffy. In the series, babies talk to each other whenever adults are either not around, or are not paying attention. The babies have a limited understanding of the world. Toddlers Angelica and Susie talk to the babies as well and also communicate with adults, as they act as a bridge between the two worlds. However, the specific city or state is never mentioned in the series. Several indicators, such as a state flag at a post office, license plate designs on the vehicles, and various trips to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and the beach, place the characters somewhere in southern California. The location is also hinted at during the season one episode "Little Dude" when Didi, who is a teacher, takes Tommy to her class at Eucaipah High School, referencing the city of Yucaipa, California. It has been implied that this ambiguity was done intentionally to help give the impression of seeing the world through the eyes of the babies, who would not understand the concept of location. The DeVilles live next door to the Pickles and, midway through the second season, the Carmichaels move in across the street. ==Episodes==

During the first six seasons of Rugrats, episodes were primarily divided into two eleven-minute segments. After the second movie, during season seven, Rugrats aired with a format of three seven-minute segments per episode, though it returned to its original format in the final two seasons. ==Production==

Episodes took up to a year in advance to produce. After the episode's story was written and approved, the next phase consisted of voice recording, storyboarding, pre-eliminating animation, overseas production, overseas delivery, followed by editing and polishing. The network's Vice President of Animation Vanessa Coffey approached them to create a pilot for their new series. With the comedic stimulation branching from the antics of Klasky and Csupó's infant children and pulling inspiration from The Beatles, the 6–minute pilot episode, "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing" (which never aired), was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in 2001. Peter Chung, along with Klasky and Csupó, co-designed the characters and directed the series pilot, as well as the opening sequence. In a Decider article, Chung said, "He [Gábor] wanted the babies to be 'strange' instead of 'cute.'" Germain, who felt that the series needed a bully, based Angelica on a girl bully from his childhood and decided the character would be a spoiled brat. Klasky initially disliked Angelica and also protested her actions in episodes like "Barbecue Story", where she throws Tommy's ball over the fence. In a New Yorker article, Klasky said, "I think she's a bully. I never liked Angelica." Writing According to Germain, when the series was first conceived, the rule was that babies can really talk, but keep it a secret from adults. Such as the unaired pilot in which the babies wait for adults to leave the room before speaking to each other. However, the rules quickly began to evolve, and the babies became a metaphor for children of all ages. During production of the first season in June 1991, Germain and his fellow writers would argue among themselves over whether the adults could not understand the babies' talking, or whether the babies only spoke to each other when adults were not around. During the first season, they tried a little of both, although later in the season, the writers would have the babies talk to each other while adults were in the same room, as long as there was a lot of space between them. By the end of the season, the writers allowed the babies to talk to each other while in their strollers as long as adults were not in the same shot. Other regular voice actors include Jack Riley as Stu Pickles, Melanie Chartoff as Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka Kropotkin, Michael Bell as Drew Pickles, Chas Finster and Grandpa Boris Kropotkin, Tress MacNeille as Charlotte Pickles, Phil Proctor as Howard DeVille, Julia Kato as Kira Finster, Hattie Winston as Dr. Lucy Carmichael, Ron Glass as Randy Carmichael and David Doyle as Grandpa Lou Pickles until his death in 1997, after which Joe Alaskey took over until the series' end. In 2000, Debbie Reynolds joined the cast as Lulu Pickles, Lou's second wife, and remained until the series' end. Animation Overseas animation for the series was done at Wang Film Productions for the pilot and its first-season, and Anivision and Sunwoo Entertainment for the rest of the series. It was followed by editing and polishing before its master tapes were sent to Nickelodeon. Music The theme song for Rugrats is composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, who also composed the main music for the series, along with Denis M. Hannigan, Rusty Andrews, and his brother Bob Mothersbaugh. ==Themes==

Rugrats visualizes ordinary, everyday activities through the eyes of a group of toddlers. Using their imaginations, the babies transform routine tasks into surprising adventures. The babies, having a limited understanding of the world, constantly mispronounce words and use improper grammar. Challenges often emerge because the babies misinterpret the adults, usually caused by Angelica's deceptive translations. The grown-ups of Rugrats are simultaneously quirky, over-cautious, and oblivious. The series portrays adults as mysterious eccentrics. Episodes usually center on a moral lesson that the babies learn during their imaginative explorations. ==Release==

Broadcast Rugrats was Nickelodeon's second Nicktoon, debuting on the same day as Doug (which premiered before it) and The Ren & Stimpy Show (which debuted after). After the first run of the series, which was produced from 1990 to 1993, production went on a hiatus, co-creator/co-writer Paul Germain left the series, and the series aired in Nickelodeon's SNICK block from 1997 to 2001. From 1994 until 2012, Rugrats was the longest-running Nickelodeon animated series, with 172 episodes produced across its 13-year run. This record was surpassed in 2012 by SpongeBob SquarePants with the episode "Squiditis/Demolition Doofus". On July 21, 2001, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Nickelodeon aired the television special All Growed Up, which featured the characters ten years older. After the special, the network aired a retrospective titled Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years, narrated by Amanda Bynes. Because of the special's ratings and popularity, Nickelodeon commissioned All Grown Up!, a series about the characters after they have aged up, which ran from 2003 to 2008. Rugrats ended on August 1, 2004. Season 3 and 4 were released on September 23, 2011, through the CreateSpace program. Season 5 was released shortly after on October 4. On October 6, 2011, the complete Seasons 6–8 were released through CreateSpace, and Season 9 was released in a "Best of" collection. Amazon re-released seasons 2 & 9 as complete seasons on May 9, 2014. As of February 2017, the Amazon.com releases have been discontinued. In May 2017, Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Media Distribution released Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. In February 2018, Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Media Distribution released Seasons 3 and 4 on DVD. On May 18, 2021, Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Entertainment released Rugrats: The Complete Series on DVD. In Australia, all seasons have been released by Beyond Home Entertainment. Streaming As of March 4, 2021, all seasons are available on Paramount+. ==Reception==

Ratings In 1994, "A Rugrats Passover" received a Nielsen rating of 3.1, with a 4.8% share of American audiences, making it the sixth most-watched cable telecast that week. In 1996, Rugrats episodes had aired 655 times over the course of the calendar year, and it remained one of cable television's most-watched series that year. In February 1996, Rugrats reached a record of 19.1 million viewers per week, becoming the highest-rated kids program on cable. In November 1996, the series surpassed itself with 20.8 million viewers per week. On November 10, 1998, the fourth-season episode "The Turkey Who Came to Dinner" became Nickelodeon's highest-rated program, with a Nielsen rating of 9.4, which totaled 3.7 million viewers among kids 2-11. On January 18, 1999, it was surpassed by the sixth-season episodes "Chuckie's Duckling" and "A Dog's Life", all of which earned a 13.8 Nielsen rating. On July 21, 2001, the series' special "All Growed Up" became Nickelodeon's highest-rated program among kids 2-11, earning a Nielsen rating of 20.4 with a 70% share. It remains as the series' highest-rated episode. Critical reception and legacy In a 1995 interview, Steven Spielberg referred to the series as one of several shows that were the best children's programming at the time. Spielberg described Rugrats as "sort of a TV Peanuts of our time". Rugrats was also considered a strong point in Nickelodeon's rise in the 1990s. In a press release celebrating the series' 10th anniversary, Cyma Zarghami stated, "During the past decade, Rugrats has evolved from a ratings powerhouse, being the number one children's show on TV, to pop icon status. It has secured a place in the hearts of both kids and adults, who see it from their own point of view". According to Nickelodeon producers, this series made them the number-one cable channel in the 1990s. Jeff Jarvis reviewed Rugrats and stated, "When The Simpsons was a segment on The Tracey Ullman Show, it was just a belch joke with hip pretensions. As a series, it grew flesh and guts. It was my favorite cartoon. Until I discovered Nickelodeon's Rugrats, a sardonic, sly, kid's-eye view of the world that skewers thirty-something parents and Cosby kids." Controversy Rugrats was noteworthy among contemporary children's television for depicting observant, identifiable Jewish families. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious groups gave the series high praises for their special holiday episodes. Nonetheless, at one point the Anti-Defamation League and The Washington Post editorial page castigated the series for its depiction of Tommy Pickles' maternal grandparents, accusing their character designs of resembling Nazi-era depictions of Jews. In the October 2001 issue of Wizard Magazine, a leading magazine for comic book fans, they released the results of the "100 Greatest Toons ever", as selected by their readers; Rugrats ranked at No. 35. Three other Nicktoons—SpongeBob SquarePants, Invader Zim, and Ren and Stimpy—also placed on the list. In a list of TV Land's "The 2000 Best Things About Television", ranking the all-time TV shows, channels, commercials, people, catch phrases, etc., Rugrats is ranked No. 699. The original series was named the 92nd-best animated series by IGN. Angelica Pickles placed seventh in TV Guide's list of "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" in 2002. On September 24, 2013, in honor of their 60th anniversary, Rugrats earned a spot on TV Guide's "60 Greatest Cartoons of All Time" list. In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the series' opening sequence #11 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time. ==Franchise==

Films In 1998, The Rugrats Movie was released, which introduced Dil, Tommy's little brother, to the series. Its worldwide gross was $140.9 million against a $24 million budget, though it received mixed reviews from critics. In 2000, a sequel, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, was released, with three new characters introduced, Kimi, Kira, and Fifi. Kimi would become Chuckie's sister and Kira would become his new mother, after marrying his father. Fifi would become Spike's new mate and Chuckie's new dog. It too was a box office success and also received a more positive critical reception. In 2003, Rugrats Go Wild was released. It was a crossover between the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. It was the least successful Rugrats film both critically and commercially. The Rugrats film trilogy has grossed $299.6 million. In July 2018, Paramount announced that Rugrats would release a live-action movie on January 29, 2021. However, in November 2019, Paramount decided to pull the movie from its schedule with no explanation given. In October 2024, it was announced that a new live-action hybrid film was in the works from Paramount and Jason Moore. Live action film On July 16, 2018, It was announced that Paramount Pictures had greenlit a live-action/CGI hybrid feature film which was last set for a January 29, 2021 release date. But on November 12, 2019, the live-action/CGI hybrid film was removed from Paramount's release schedule. Spin-offs and reboot Rugrats Pre-School Daze, also known as ''Angelica and Susie's School Daze, is a spin-off that follows Angelica Pickles and Susie Carmichael as preschool students. Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó were its creators and executive producers. It was announced in 2001 as the first spin-off for Rugrats, and initially received a 13-episode order. Though it was reportedly a "highly-anticipated" part of the March 2002 upfront presentation, This decision was reached after Nickelodeon shifted its focus to the All Grown Up!'' spin-off following the rating success of "All Growed Up". The series carried a TV-Y parental rating, meaning that it was judged as "designed to be appropriate for all children". In 2005, Paramount Home Entertainment released all four episodes of Rugrats Pre-School Daze on the DVDs for the Rugrats: Tales from the Crib movies. The first two were released on the Snow White DVD, while the last two were on the one for Three Jacks and a Beanstalk. The series was once available on the iTunes Store and Amazon Instant Video, but the episodes were later removed from both platforms. On May 14, 2020, it was announced that the reboot was delayed until 2021. it was announced that Nickelodeon had given a series order to a 26-episode revival of the series, executive produced by Klasky, Csupó, and Germain. The reboot premiered on Paramount+ on May 27, 2021. The reboot also began airing on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2021. Other media Comics From 1998 to 2003, Nick produced a Rugrats comic strip, which was distributed through Creators Syndicate. Initially written by show-writer Scott Gray and drawn by comic book artist Steve Crespo, with Rob Armstrong as editor. Will Blyberg came on board shortly after as inker. By the end of 1998, Lee Nordling, who had joined as a contributing gag writer, took over as editor. Nordling hired extra writers, including Gordon Kent, Scott Roberts, Chuck Kim, J. Torres, Marc Bilgrey, and John Zakour, as well as new artists including Gary Fields, Tim Harkins, Vince Giaranno, and Scott Roberts. Stu Chaifetz colored the Sunday strips. The Rugrats strip started out in many papers, but as often happens with spin-off strips, soon slowed down. It is still seen in some papers in re-runs. Two paperback collections were published by Andrews McMeel ''It's a Jungle-Gym Out There and A Baby's Work Is Never Done''. During this time, Nickelodeon also published 30 issues of an all-Rugrats comic magazine. Most of these were edited by Frank Pittarese and Dave Roman, and featured stories and art by the comic strip creators and others. The last nine issues featured cover art by Scott Roberts, who wrote and drew many of the stories. Other writers included Roman, Chris Duffy, Patrick M. O'Connell, Joyce Mann, and Jim Spivey. Other artists included Joe Staton and Ernie Colón. The magazine also included short stories, many by Pittarese, and games, as well as reprints from an earlier, UK produced Rugrats comic. Nick produced a special 50-page comic magazine retelling of the film Rugrats in Paris, edited by Pittarese and Roman, written by Scott Gray, pencils by Scott Roberts, and inks by Adam DeKraker. On October 18, 2017, Boom! Studios began publishing a new Rugrats comic book series. Video games In 1997, THQ signed a licensing agreement with Nickelodeon to produce video games based on Rugrats for home consoles and handhelds, beginning with Rugrats: Search for Reptar (1998). Multiple games were produced as part of this deal, including game adaptations of The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, games based on the All Grown Up series, and original games like Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt and Rugrats: Totally Angelica. Following the release of Rugrats: Totally Angelica — Boredom Busters in 2005, no new standalone Rugrats games would be released for nearly two decades. On August 31, 2023, The MIX Games and Wallride Games announced Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland, an 8-bit 2D sidescrolling video game that was released on August 16, 2024. The game offers an option for HD visuals that replicates the visual style of the original television series. An NES cartridge version of the game was distributed through Limited Run Games. Limited Run games would later release a compilation of several THQ games, Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection, on May 15, 2026. In addition to Rugrats video games, characters from the series also appear in various Nickelodeon crossover games. Tommy and Angelica appear as guest characters in Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue. They appear again as playable characters in Nickelodeon Party Blast and Nicktoons Racing. Tommy later appears in Nicktoons Basketball in his All Grown Up! form. Rugrats characters make non-playable appearances in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots and Nicktoons MLB. Tommy, Angelica, and Reptar are playable characters in the official mobile game Nickelodeon Super Brawl Universe. Tommy, Angelica, and Reptar appear as playable characters in Nickelodeon Kart Racers. These same characters, along with Chuckie, are playable in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix. Reptar is a playable character in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and its sequel. Angelica is a playable character in the Apple Arcade game Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis. Chuckie, Reptar, Purple Reptar, and Susie appear as playable characters in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway. Live performances There are two live performances throughout the original series. The first show, Rugrats: A Live Adventure, premiered on February 6, 1998, at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. The US leg of the tour ended on August 1, 1999, at Lawrence Welk Resort Center-Champagne Theatre in Branson, Missouri. Originally, the international tour of the show was going to debut on September 27, 1999, in Mara Plata, Argentina, but it was cancelled along with all South American shows. It instead had an international debut on October 28, 1999, at the Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The second show, Rugrats Magic Adventure!, premiered on June 9, 2000. It ran exclusively at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. Merchandise Merchandise that was based on Rugrats varied from video games, toothpaste, Kellogg's cereal, slippers, puzzles, pajamas, jewelry, wrapping paper, Fruit Snacks, Inflatable balls, watches, pencils, markers, cookie jars, key rings, action figures, My First Uno games, and bubblegum. The series also managed to spawn a popular merchandise line at Walmart, Kmart, Target, eBay, Hot Topic, J. C. Penney, Toys "R" Us, Mattel, Barnes & Noble, and Basic Fun. By March 1999, the franchise had generated an estimated in merchandise sales. The Rugrats had their own cereal made by Post called Reptar Crunch Cereal. The Rugrats and Reptar were predominantly featured on the front, there's a board game on the back and a special $3 rebate for Runaway Reptar on the side. This cereal was released for a limited time only, sold at US supermarkets 8/1/99 to 9/15/99 only, and not all supermarkets carried the cereal. To memorialize the movie, Rugrats in Paris, another Rugrats-based cereal came out in October 2000. Simply called the Rugrats in Paris Cereal, it has a similar appearance to Trix; it's a sweetened, multi-grain cereal with small-round bits in plain, red, purple and green. Small Eiffel Towers could also be seen. In 2017, entertainment retail store chain FYE began selling Reptar Cereal, as well as Reptar Bars, both based on fictional products within the series. Reptar Cereal is very similar to Froot Loops, and Reptar Bars are chocolate bars filled with green frosting, a reference to the series in which the bars would turn the tongues of whoever ate it green. Rugrats made fast-food appearances as well, with the most appearances being on Burger King. In 1994, the Hardee's fast-food chain offered a collection of Nicktoons toys as premiums that were included with kids' meals at their restaurants. All 4 Nicktoons at that time were featured — Doug, Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, and ''Rocko's Modern Life. Other food items that feature Rugrats'' were Fruit Snacks, Macaroni and Cheese, Bubble Gum and Campbell's Rugrats Pasta with Chicken and Broth. In their first tie-in with Burger King, 5 Rugrats toys were offered with their Kids Club meals, a different one with each meal. Each toy came with a 12-page (including covers) miniature version of Nickelodeon Magazine, which featured the toy's instructions, word search, picture puzzle, "Say What?", a scrambled word puzzle, a coupon for Oral-B Rugrats toothpaste and toothbrush, and entry blanks to subscribe to Rugrats Comic Adventures, Nick Magazine, and the Kids Club. From 1998 until 2004, Rugrats based-products included watches and various toys. ==Notes==