Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series aired from August 11, 1991 to June 8, 2004.
Premise
The show originally revolved around a group of toddlers, Thomas "Tommy" Pickles, Charles "Chuckie" Finster, and the twins 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 age 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. TV.com 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 was released, Kimi Finster was added as a character. She is Chuckie's stepsister.Characters
The Pickles are a mixed Jewish- Christian family. Many fans say the Pickles are somewhat based on Klasky's real family (for example, as in the show, she is from southern California and in real life she is Jewish and married to a Christian). 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, 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. The series was in production from 1991 to 1994, and again from 1996 to 2004. It aired in Nickelodeon's Snick block from 1997-2000. It is the longest lasting Nicktoon to date, at over fourteen years longevity. 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 then afterwards, 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.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, 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.Episodes
Other projects
Broadcast history
- USA
- * Nickelodeon (1991-2007)
- * Nicktoons Network (2002-present)
- UK
- * Children's BBC (Including Live & Kicking) (1993-2004)
- * Nickelodeon UK (1994-Present)
- * Nicktoons (2002-2008)
- * CITV (2005-2006)
- * Nicktoonsters (2008-Present)
- Argentina
- *The Big Channel
- *Magic Kids
- *Nickelodeon
- *Canal 9
- Australia
- * Nickelodeon Australia (1995-Present)
- * ABC Television
- * Network Ten
- New Zealand
- * Nickelodeon NZ (199?-Present)
- * TV3 (199?-Present)
- Philippines
- * TV5
- * Nickelodeon South East Asia
- Ireland
- * RTÉ Two
- Canada
- * YTV
- Malaysia
- * Nickelodeon South East Asia
- * TV3 (1992-1994)
- * MetroVision (1996-1998)
- * NTV7 (2001-2004)
- Netherlands
- * Nickelodeon
- Ukraine
- * ICTV (Ukraine)
- Italy'
- * Italia 1
- Mexico'
- * Nickelodeon Latin America 1996 - 2006
- * XHGC-TV Canal 5 (1998 - 2001),repeat episodes sometimes.
Awards
Video games
- ( PlayStation)
- ( PlayStation)
- ( Nintendo 64)
- ( Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, PC CD Rom, PlayStation)
- ( PlayStation, Game Boy Advance)
- Rugrats: Totally Angelica Boredom Busters ( PC CD Rom)
- Rugrats: Go Wild ( PC CD Rom, Game Boy Advance)
- ( PC CD Rom)
- ( Game Boy Advance)
- ( 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)
- ( Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance) (Tommy and Angelica are seen, but are not playable characters.)