Rugrats

Rugrats
Title card
Genre	Animation, comedy, family, fantasy
Format	Animated TV series
Created by	Arlene Klasky Gabor Csupo Paul Germain
Written by	Joe Ansolabehere Craig Bartlett Kate Boutilier Michael Ferris Peter Gaffney Paul Germain Jonathan Greenberg Rachel Lipman Jeffrey Townsend Steve Viksten Tom Mason Dan Danko Jeff Wynne Melody Fox
Directed by	Howard Baker Rick Bugental Jim Duffy Steve Moore Steve Socki Dan Thompson Norton Virgien Dave Fontana Tony Vian Louie del Carmen Chris Hermans Anthony Bell Bob Fuentes III Carol Millican
Creative director(s)	Paul Germain
Voices of	E.G. Daily Christine Cavanaugh Nancy Cartwright Kath Soucie Cheryl Chase Tara Strong Cree Summer Dionne Quan Melanie Chartoff Jack Riley Michael Bell Tress MacNeille David Doyle Philip Proctor Joe Alaskey Julia Kato
Theme music composer	Mark Mothersbaugh
Opening theme	The Rugrats Theme
Ending theme	The Rugrats Theme (Speed Up and Remixed)
Composer(s)	Mark Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh Denis Hannigan Rusty Andrews
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	9 seasons
No. of episodes	173 episodes (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Vanessa Coffey Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky
Producer(s)	Cella Nichols Harris Geraldine Clarke David Blum Paul Germain Kate Boutilier
Editor(s)	Karl Garabedian John Bryant
Location(s)	Universal Studios Florida
Cinematography	Animation
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	23-24 minutes
Production company(s)	Klasky Csupo[1]
Distributor	Paramount Home Entertainment
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon[2]
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Surround
Original run	August 11, 1991 (1991-08-11) – June 8, 2004 (2004-06-08)
Status	Ended
Chronology
Followed by	All Grown Up! (2003-2008)
Related shows	Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze (2005-2008)
External links
Official website
Production website

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991 and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004. The show focuses on four babies and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies' imaginations. It was one of the first three Nicktoons and also aired on Nick Jr. in 1995.

Premise

The show originally revolved around a group of children (three boys and one girl), including infant Thomas "Tommy" Pickles (whose family moved from Akron, Ohio to their current location in California^[3]), toddler Charles "Chuckie" Finster, and the twin-infants Phillip "Phil" and Lillian "Lil" DeVille. The toddlers are able to communicate with each other through baby speak, although viewers can understand them, because it is 'translated'. Often, they mispronounce words or use poor grammar and their speaking is full of malapropisms. An example of this is using the word "poopetrator" instead of "perpetrator." The group is often reluctantly joined by Tommy's cousin, Angelica Pickles. At three years old, Angelica is able to communicate and understand language from both the toddlers and the adults, which she often uses as an advantage when she wants to manipulate either party. She is usually very mean to the babies. Susie Carmichael, who lives across the street from the Pickles, is also able to communicate on the same level as Angelica, though she isn't manipulative. As a result, Angelica and Susie often clash.^[4]

In 1998, a new character was introduced. After The Rugrats Movie, in which Tommy's baby brother Dylan "Dil" Pickles is born, he was soon added as a character on the show. As a four month old baby, Dil is not able to communicate with anyone. Later in 2000, after Rugrats in Paris: The Movie was released, Kimi Finster was added as a character. She is Chuckie's stepsister.^[4]

Characters

The main babies. Clockwise from top: Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, Lil, Phil, Dil, Kimi, and Susie.

The Pickles are a mixed Jewish-Christian family. There are two episodes that reflect the Pickles' Jewish heritage, one episode deals with the Passover holiday and the other with Hanukkah (in addition to episodes about Christmas, Easter, Kwanzaa, etc.). These episodes have been praised by Jewish groups and are re-run every year on Nick at the appropriate holiday times and can also be purchased on VHS or DVD.

Production

Rugrats was Nickelodeon's second Nicktoon, debuting on the same day as Doug (which premiered before it) and The Ren and Stimpy Show (which debuted after). The first run of the series was produced from 1991 to 1993 before production went on a hiatus (episodes that had not yet been released at that point continued to be released through 1994). Between 1994 and 1995, only two Jewish-themed specials were produced, and the rest of the series aired in reruns. New episode production resumed in 1997, and the show aired in Nickelodeon's Snick block from 1997-2000. In terms of years on air, it is the longest lasting Nicktoon to date, at over fourteen years longevity, and did not cease production of new episodes until 2004. In terms of number of episodes, it is still in first, but by 2011 it will be surpassed by SpongeBob SquarePants, which will have 178 episodes by the end of its ninth season, barring a Rugrats revival or a SpongeBob cancellation.^[5]
The Rugrats received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony on June 28, 2001.

The show airs in the UK on CBBC, CITV, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon UK and Nicktoonsters as well as in Canada on YTV. In Australia, it can be seen on Nickelodeon Australia (and, for a period, ABC Television).

On August 11, 2001, Rugrats celebrated its 10 year anniversary. The special/TV movie, Rugrats: All Growed Up was produced for the occasion. After the show, a special retrospective lookback aired, entitled Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years. It was narrated by Amanda Bynes.

The show ended in 2004. Two fairy-tale themed direct-to-video films based on the original series under the title, Rugrats: Tales from the Crib were planned and then released separately in 2005 and in 2006.

Individual episodes are now available for purchase on Amazon Video On Demand for 99 cents per episode and on the PlayStation Store for $1.99 for two episodes.

Theatrical films

In 1998, the first Rugrats film was released, entitled The Rugrats Movie, which introduced baby Dil, Tommy's little brother, onto the show. In 2000 the second movie, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, was released, with two new characters introduced, Kimi and Kira. Kimi would become Chuckie's sister and Kira would become his new mother, after marrying his father. In 2003, the third movie, Rugrats Go Wild, was released. It was a crossover between the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys.^[6]

Reception

In a 1995 interview, Steven Spielberg referred to Rugrats as one of several shows that are the best children's programming at the time. Spielberg described Rugrats as "sort of a TV Peanuts of our time."^[7] It was named the 92nd best animated series by IGN.^[8] Jewish and Christian religion groups have given Rugrats high praises for their special holiday episodes. Rugrats were also considered a strongpoint in Nickelodeon's rise in the 1990s.^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Episodes

Other projects

DVD releases

Nickelodeon and Amazon.com have struck a deal to produce DVDs of new and old Nickelodeon shows, through the CreateSpace service. Using a concept similar to print on demand, Amazon will be making the discs, cover art, and disc art itself. The complete first and second seasons of Rugrats are on sale.^[13]

Broadcast history

• USA
  • Nickelodeon (1991–2007)
  • Nicktoons Network (2002–present)

• Canada
  • Nickelodeon (2009–present)
  • YTV (first-run)

• UK
  • Children's BBC (Including Live & Kicking and Smile) (1993–2004)
  • Nickelodeon (1994–2009)
  • Nicktoons (2002–2008, September 2009–present)
  • CITV (2005–2006)
  • Nicktoonsters (August 2008-July 2009)

• Australia
  • Nickelodeon (January 1995–present)
  • ABC Television (December 1991–present)
  • Network Ten (1999–2002)

• Spain
  • La 2

• Turkey
  • CNBC-E
  • Nickelodeon Turkey
  • TRT

• Argentina
  • The Big Channel
  • Magic Kids
  • Nickelodeon
  • Canal 9

• New Zealand
  • Nickelodeon NZ (199?-present)
  • TV2 (2003–present)

• Philippines
  • TV5
  • Nickelodeon South East Asia
  • Studio 23

• Israel
  • Channel 1 (1995)
  • Channel 2 (2000)
  • Nickelodeon Israel (2003–2008)

• Ireland
  • RTÉ Two (199?-present)

• Malaysia
  • Nickelodeon South East Asia
  • TV3 (1992–1994)
  • MetroVision (1996–1998)
  • NTV7 (2001–2004)

• Netherlands
  • Nickelodeon

• Ukraine
  • ICTV (Ukraine)

• Italy
  • Italia 1

• , , , , Latin America
  • Nickelodeon Latin America 1996 - 2006
  • XHGC-TV Canal 5 (1997–2001), repeats episodes sometimes.

• Pakistan
  • Nickelodeon (Pakistan) (2006–present)

• Sweden
  • Nickelodeon (Sweden)

• Japan
  • Nickelodeon (Japan) (1998–2008)

• Greece
  • Channel 9

• France
  • Nickelodeon (France) (2005–2008)
  • Nicktoons (France) (2003–2005)

• Croatia
  • Nickelodeon (Croatia) (1997–2008)

• China
  • Nickelodeon (China)

• Russia
  • Nickelodeon (CIS)
  • Nickelodeon on TNT

• South Africa
  • Nickelodeon (Africa) (1999–present)

• Arabia
  • Nickelodeon (Arab World) (2008–2010)

• Brazil
  • Nickelodeon (Brazil)

• India
  • Nick (India)

Awards

The Rugrats' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Video games

• Rugrats: Search for Reptar (PlayStation)
• Rugrats: Studio Tour (PlayStation)
• Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt (Nintendo 64)
• Rugrats in Paris - The Movie (Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PC CD Rom, PlayStation)
• Rugrats: Totally Angelica (PlayStation, Game Boy Color)
• Rugrats: Totally Angelica Boredom Busters (PC CD Rom)
• Rugrats: Go Wild (PC CD Rom, Game Boy Advance)
• Rugrats: All Growed Up - Older and Bolder (PC CD Rom)
• Rugrats: Castle Capers (Game Boy Advance)
• Rugrats: Royal Ransom (PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube)
• Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party (Game Boy Advance)
• Rugrats: The Movie (Game Boy, Game Boy Color)
• Rugrats: Time Travelers (Game Boy Color)
• Rugrats Activity Challenge (PC CD Rom)
• Rugrats Adventure Game (PC CD Rom)
• Rugrats Food Fight (Mobile Phone)
• Rugrats Muchin Land (PC CD Rom)
• The Rugrats Mystery Adventures (PC CD Rom)
• Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue (PlayStation) (Tommy & Angelica appear as guest characters)
• Nicktoons Racing (PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows, Arcade) (Tommy and Angelica playable)
• Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance) (Tommy and Angelica are seen, but are not playable characters.)

See also

• Klasky-Csupo

References

External links

• Rugrats at the Internet Movie Database
• Rugrats at TV.com
• Rugrats daily comic strip at Creators Syndicate
• Rugrats at the Big Cartoon DataBase