Something went wrong. Try again later

JJWeatherman

This user has not updated recently.

15144 5249 95 887
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

Cartoon Retrospective: Rugrats

For anyone reading this that's not informed: I'm writing a series of blogs about cartoons. My loose plan is to feature one cartoon per blog and tell you--dear reader--why I love each featured cartoon. We can then proceed to recall the 'good ole days' of our respective youths.

Full series:

  • Part 1 -- "Hey Arnold!"
  • Part 2 -- "The Magic School Bus"
  • Part 3 -- "Rugrats"
  • Part 4 -- "Spider-Man" (You're reading it!)

Rugrats

I'm not going to mention Reptar in this blog, but there he is down in the corner. Enjoy that.
I'm not going to mention Reptar in this blog, but there he is down in the corner. Enjoy that.

Surprise, surprise. I was a child of the 90s, and I watched Rugrats. Is Rugrats super played out this day and age? Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that Rugrats was one of my favorite cartoons as a wee lad. Having gone back to watch a few episodes of it on YouTube, it actually holds up. That may or may not be pure nostalgia talking, but I enjoyed reliving some episodes none the less. I'm finding, as I write these blogs, a common denominator between my favorite cartoons. That denominator being: super memorable and unique characters.

Spike was a G
Spike was a G

Rugrats is obviously no exception, as many of you I'm sure remember. The characters are endless: Tommy, the fearless leader; Chuckie, the scaredy-cat; the always fighting twins, Phil and Lil; and Angelica, the older bully. Those are the most prominent characters, but there are other just as memorable characters that appear throughout the series such as: Susie, friend to the babies; Kimi, Chuckie's step-sister; Dil, Tommy's baby brother; Tommy's parents and grandpa, Stu, Didi, and Lou; Phil and Lil's Parents, Betty and Howard; Chuckie's dad, Chaz; and of course the dog, Spike.

Best buds! :D
Best buds! :D

Whew, that was quite a few characters. If I had to choose two that I most closely related with growing up though, it's hands down Tommy and Chuckie. In the show, Tommy and Chuckie are almost polar opposites. Tommy finds adventure and danger to be exciting, while Chuckie wants nothing to do with it. This dynamic ends up playing a big part in most of the episodes. When I was young I had a friend that was similar to Tommy, and as you may have guessed, I was more on the Chuckie side growing up. I can recall a specific moment when my friend and I were getting our usual adventure on, and exploring the local wilderness. There was a spot, where in order to get through, we would need to cross these super thorny bushes. I wanted nothing to do with it, but my friend tried his best to convince me by saying "Come on. Are you a Tommy, or a Chuckie?" So then I thought to myself for a minute before coming to the conclusion that "eff this, I'm a Tommy!". We then both proceeded to trample through this treacherous patch of thorn bushes. Minor scrapes and scratches may have been acquired. That just goes to show you: Kids that watch Rugrats learn to make stupid decisions! :P

I think a very large reason I liked Rugrats as a kid--and continue to like it--is the incredible ability to relate with the babies. Everything that they do--no matter how crazy or magical--is something that I too most probably did as a kid. The show has a great way of capturing the delightful thoughts of blissfully ignorant babies. A good example is an episode where Tommy's dad Stu decided to order an extravagant and complicated toy for the babies. This toy ends up being more trouble to put together than it's worth, but that doesn't stop each of the babies imaginations from running wild with the box that the toy came in. Each of the babies has their own box fantasy, and it's just an absolutely perfect example to me of how kids think, and I love it. I know I was that way as a kid as well. This episode's on YouTube, so check it out!

There was another episode in which Tommy's grandpa fakes that he is sick with a "bug" in order to get out of trouble, and out of doing yard work. The babies hear about the "bug" and naturally think that there's a real creepy crawly bug inside Tommy's grandpa. It's moments like this that makes this show so terrific, as the babies come to the conclusion that the only way to get the bad bug out of grandpa, is to get a whole bunch of "good" bugs from the back yard, and have them fight (!) the bad bug. How amazing is that?! Whoever writes these episodes is a great person. The simplistic logic of the babies in nearly every episode, and how that leads to interesting events, is always top-notch.

Nine years older and wiser does not make them more fun. :(
Nine years older and wiser does not make them more fun. :(

I can't write about the Rugrats though without bringing up it's attempt to grow up with it's audience. That's right, I'm talking about the "All Grown Up!" spin off. In this cartoon, Tommy, Chuckie, and the rest of the gang are now several years older as the title suggests. To be honest, I didn't watch a lot of this series; It just didn't appeal to me nearly as much without the things I mentioned earlier, like the babies simple (yet amazing) logic. It could very well be a case of people not taking too kindly to change, but I have only heard negative things about the "All Grown Up!" show. It's sad really that the series had to go out on this kind of note, but it doesn't take away all the great original series episodes. Maybe I'll see if I can find a couple of the "All Grown Up!" episodes on YouTube to see what I think about it. That's not a high priority though; I'm perfectly happy looking back on the original cartoon, which was without a doubt one of my favorite shows as a child.

As always, feel free to share your own Rugrats memories. Cartoon memories in general are always welcome too. :)

<3

--JJWeatherman

61 Comments

62 Comments

Avatar image for jjweatherman
JJWeatherman

15144

Forum Posts

5249

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 18

Edited By JJWeatherman
@natetodamax said:
" Rugrats was a great show. I also loved the feature films. Did you see those? One of the things I loved about the cartoon was when they would misinterpret everyday things, like when they thought the guy changing the pilot light was a pirate (due to them thinking Tommy's parents said "pirate light") "
I think I've seen parts of the movies, but never the whole thing. And yeah, as I mentioned, I think the way the babies are so blissfully ignorant to common things is one of the best parts of the show.
Avatar image for zepp
zepp

237

Forum Posts

7

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By zepp

Rugrats!! Defiantly my favorite show when I was little. Loving these old school cartoon blog posts, I'm going to OD on a case of nostalgia. 

Avatar image for jjweatherman
JJWeatherman

15144

Forum Posts

5249

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 18

Edited By JJWeatherman
@zepp said:
" Rugrats!! Defiantly my favorite show when I was little. Loving these old school cartoon blog posts, I'm going to OD on a case of nostalgia.  "
Oh noes! Stop reading!  :P
Avatar image for crusader8463
crusader8463

14850

Forum Posts

4290

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 7

User Lists: 5

Edited By crusader8463

The 90's was a great time for cartoons. They actually had good writes back then. Now a days everything is made to be commercialized. I realize they did the same thing back then, but back then it was like they made an amazing series then found ways to commercialize it rather then just designing everything about it form the get go to be made into a toy. Some one just realized that it's cheaper and easier to throw crap out there because kids can't tell the difference, and as much as us old people like to romanticize the good old days we don't make them money so they don't care if no body remembers the show in two to three years time. By then there will be a new generation of brain dead kids to brainwash and throw out, and another after that, and another after that and another....

Avatar image for lordxavierbritish
LordXavierBritish

6651

Forum Posts

4948

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 7

User Lists: 6

And then All Grown Up happened. 
 
:<

Avatar image for penguindust
penguindust

13129

Forum Posts

22

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By penguindust

I agree with your assessment of "All Grown Up".  With all the kids now being preteens, the show lost the imaginative magic it was able to explore when the kids were (dumb) babies.  Reptar was a believable reality to them when they were very young.  In the "All Grown Up" series, the show was more cliched in its tween dramas over friendship and identity.  Really, that show had more in common with "As Told By Ginger" than it did with "Rugrats".  I saw enough of the latter series to know that I'd be better entertained by something like "Hey Arnold" or Disney's "Weekenders" than I would by the update. 
 
Still, in my book nothing really tops "Rocko's Modern Life" from that era of kid-centric animated shows.

Avatar image for green_lantern_batman
Green_Lantern_Batman

21

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@JJWeatherman: 
the hell is this? why haven't you done some Batman yet?
Avatar image for jjweatherman
JJWeatherman

15144

Forum Posts

5249

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 18

Edited By JJWeatherman
@crusader8463 said:
" The 90's was a great time for cartoons. They actually had good writes back then. Now a days everything is made to be commercialized. I realize they did the same thing back then, but back then it was like they made an amazing series then found ways to commercialize it rather then just designing everything about it form the get go to be made into a toy. Some one just realized that it's cheaper and easier to throw crap out there because kids can't tell the difference, and as much as us old people like to romanticize the good old days we don't make them money so they don't care if no body remembers the show in two to three years time. By then there will be a new generation of brain dead kids to brainwash and throw out, and another after that, and another after that and another.... "
Yep. Cartoons are just another victim of ever-expanding commercialism. It's kinda sad, really. 
 
@PenguinDust: I've never seen The Weekenders, which is weird since Wikipedia says it aired from 2000-2004. I'd have thought that I would have at least seen it a couple times. Weird. I loved Rocko too, but my memories of it are fuzzy. I'll probably watch a few episodes at some point and see how much I remember. 
 
@Green_Lantern_Batman said:
" @JJWeatherman:  the hell is this? why haven't you done some Batman yet? "
Not yet...
Avatar image for nick
Nick

1153

Forum Posts

13

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By Nick
@ConstantRyan said:
"To this day i refuse to eat watermelon seeds because of Rugrats. "

hahaha that was always one of my favourite episodes
Avatar image for epicsteve
EpicSteve

6908

Forum Posts

13016

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 89

User Lists: 11

Edited By EpicSteve

Write about Invader Zim. Old Nick was so awesome, Doug, Angry Beavers, Ahh! Real Monsters!, Rocko, oh the list just goes on and on!

Avatar image for jjweatherman
JJWeatherman

15144

Forum Posts

5249

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 18

Edited By JJWeatherman
@EpicSteve said:
" Write about Invader Zim. Old Nick was so awesome, Doug, Angry Beavers, Ahh! Real Monsters!, Rocko, oh the list just goes on and on! "
I'll probably do a couple of those. Doug and Angry Beavers were great, as was Invader Zim. I can't remember much from Rocko or Monsters except that they were awesome of course. I remember watching Rocko more than almost any other show for a stretch, but my brain must have blocked out most of what I saw. :(
Avatar image for one_2nd
one_2nd

2388

Forum Posts

246

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 4

Edited By one_2nd

The only episode I completely remember is the one where they're all trying to get the ice cream and their dads are playing mini golf. That show was great..