Babies trying to mimic the real world, and do things in the real world. The 80s had Muppet Babies, but the 90's had Rugrats. Rugrats, that famous cartoon about babies, started in 1991. I never saw the cartoon until 1993. I remember the first episode I saw. I was in my bedroom one afternoon and watching the episode where Chuckie must conquer his fear of the playground slide. It was the start to a very interesting cartoon, a cartoon where babies live in their own little world getting into some of the wildest situations ranging from getting locked inside of a toy store to searching for Grandpa's teeth.
This will be one of many blog entries about the Rugrats. However, for this first one, I just want to start out with character introductions, from my point of view.
Tommy Pickles was the big star and he is known for being a leader. He was among my favorite characters. He knew how to lead the babies, even when they didn't want to go with Tommy's plan. He was obviously the youngest, but knew how to take charge when necessary. Clad in little more than a diaper and a blue shirt, he seemed to be unafraid of going into most places, whether it was the garbage or onto some ice rink while Reptar is skating. Tommy was voiced by E.G Daily
Chuckie Finster, Tommy's best friend and right hand man, always came off to be the scared person. His demeanor of fear seemed to be the big center for this character. His bushy red hair and being relatively bigger was a dead giveaway he was the oldest. I guess being the oldest seemed to make him more afraid of everything from the character on the oatmeal box to alot of other things. One thing I found cool was his shirt, with the planet Saturn on it. Chuckie was voiced by Christine Cavanaugh. She would also voice Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory and Oblina from Ahh!Real Monsters.
Phil and Lil DeVille. These are the twins on the show. They seem to have a love hate relationship. Alternately fighting and getting along at the same time. One thing that made them stick out was their gross behavior. Both of them ate earthworms(calling it "Chocolate Spaghetti) and Lil ate something out of her belly button. On the show, both look alike with a few difference. Lil has a bow and Phil has blue shorts. Both characters were voiced by Kathy Soucie.
Angelica Pickles is the bully of the show. She is the cousin of Tommy Pickles and much older than the babies. Because she is bigger, and relatively spoiled, she bullies the babies alot. Her blonde pigtails and purple dress tend to belie her evil personality. She can speak to the babies as well as to the adults. Cheryl Chase would voice Angelica.
Susie Carmichael, the one African-American main child character. She, like Angelica, is older than the rest of the babies. However, she is known to be very helpful and kind to the babies, often being like their teacher in some ways. Like Angelica, she can speak to the babies as well as the adults. Cree Summer voiced Susie Carmichael.
Dil Pickles. What an ironic name. What can be said about this character. He came along in later seasons. He couldn't talk or do as the other babies could with one another. He just sits there, but somehow has interesting adventures. Dil was voiced by Tara Strong.
Stu Pickles is Tommy's father, the wacky inventor. You can tell he is wacky by his unkempt hair and being in his basement alot. The voice for Stu was Jack Riley.
Didi Pickles is the mother of Tommy Pickles. I always wondered about her hair, being in a slight trident style. The creator must have had some interesting ideas when he designed Didi's character. She is known to be very idealistic and relying on the Lipschitz book for child-rearing advice. She is of Russian-Jewish descent. She was voiced by Melanie Chertoff.
Boris and Minka Kerpacketer-Kropotkin are the grandparents of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica. They are also Didi's parents. Both characters are Jews who immigrated from Russia. These two characters always made me think about stuff. For one thing, age. Boris and Minka on the show would have to have been at least 70 and Didi would have had to be at least 30. Micheal Bell and Melanie Chertoff voiced these characters.
Lou Pickles aka "Grandpa". It is ironic that Lou is referred to as "Grandpa" by Didi because she is actually the daughter in-law of Lou Pickles. "Grandpa" is the grandfather of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica. He can be kind of stuck in his ways according to Stu, his son. The children seem to love him alot. I envied Tommy because all of my grandfathers died before I was born. David Doyle was the voice of Lou Pickles from 1991-1997, when Doyle passed away. Joe Alaskey for the duration of the show.
Drew Pickles is the picture of coporate America in some ways. His big shtick is money and investments. He is the father of Angelica Pickles. He is known to discipline her, but mostly, spoils her. He is known to criticise Stu for his life and for not being "up to speed" and for not having the "keep up with the Jones" mentality. He is the eldest son of Lou Pickles. He was voiced by Michael Bell.
Charlotte Pickles. Of all the characters that make me wonder, it is this character. She comes off as detatched and being more about her money and career and always being on her phone. She is Angelica's mother. This character makes me think "battle axe". Maybe Angelica got to be the way she was from Charlotte. She is voiced by Tress MacNeille.
Chaz Finster is the father of Chuckie Finster. Like Chuckie, Chaz has red hair and can be somewhar frightened by things. Most of my life, I've been fed the stereotype that red-haired people have bad tempers. Chaz and Chuckie seemed to lean towards the opposite. Chaz is a widow, which was made sadly clear in the Mothers Day episode when Chuckie wonders why he doesn't have a mother. Later on he would remarry, specifically to Kira Watanabe-Finster. Chaz was also voiced by Michael Bell.
Kira Watanabe Finster would be the new wife of Chas Finster. She is from Japan. She and Chas met in Rugrats in Paris:The Movie. She worked as an assistant for EuroReptarland. She would later marry Chas Finster at the end of the movie. She was voiced by Julia Kato
Kimi Watanabe Finster is the stepsister of Chuckie and the stepdaughter of Chas Finster. Her mother is Kira Watanabe. She is the antithesis of Chuckie, being free spirited and adventurous. She, like her mother, is Japanese. She would be the last baby character added to the show. She was voiced by Dionne Quan.
Howard DeVille is the father of Phil and Lil DeVille. He is rather frail-looking and somewhat shy in comparison to his wife, which will be discussed later. He was voiced by Philip Proctor.
Betty DeVille is the antithesis of her husband. She is much louder, more aggressive, and larger than her husband. She seems to like working out. She was also voiced by Kathy Soucie.
Randy Carmichael is the father of Susie Carmichael. He is the writer for the cartoon Dummi Bears.
Lucie Carmichael is the mother of Susie Carmichael. When I was introduced to her character, she seemed like someone who was doing so many things at once from gets her pilots wings, being in the Peace Corps, and at raising a family. She is a doctor. She would remove her daughter's tonsils and help Didi deliver Dil Pickles.
Spike is the loyal, friendly dog. Spike is a friend to the babies, and seems to watch out for them.
One thing about the show was the fact that it felts like a 90's version of Charlie Brown, but with different things. In Rugrats, the babies are somewhat in a world of their own, just as the kids are in Charlie Brown. However, unlike the Charlie Brown characters, you actually see the adults in Rugrats and you see them caring for the babies, even if the parents were distracted in some ways. The kids in Charlie Brown seem to have less contact with adults despite being able to talk to adults. However, in Rugrats, the babies can't talk to adults, expect Angelica. Somehow, their lives are touched more by the adults. It is crazy the stuff these babies get into. Trying to find Grandpa's teeth, pretending to search for pirate treasure, Tommy walking through an auto shop, and so many things as a kid I never thought that deeply into. For the babies, it was some grand adventure. It showed the perspective of the world according to babies. You had so many malapropisms, such as poopetrator(meaning perpetrator), jerky(meaning jury). It is like the babies trying to live in an adult-ran world. Not many shows like it. Rugrats was so unique BECAUSE it wasn't like other kids shows. It wasn't like your run of the mill cartoons. Where else could you have a baby get mailed to his own adress, or ride on the back of his pet dog, or eat earthworms for the fun of it, or crawl all over a kitchen and land in a bowl of spaghetti? That was what the 90s had when Rugrats came to the scene. It was so unique because it showed the world from the perspective of a baby, and put the babies in so many REAL adventures. I sort of thought "if that was real life, DFACS would have showed up so fast". Rugrats was a really great Nicktoon that set the bar high.
This will be one of many blog entries about the Rugrats. However, for this first one, I just want to start out with character introductions, from my point of view.
Tommy Pickles was the big star and he is known for being a leader. He was among my favorite characters. He knew how to lead the babies, even when they didn't want to go with Tommy's plan. He was obviously the youngest, but knew how to take charge when necessary. Clad in little more than a diaper and a blue shirt, he seemed to be unafraid of going into most places, whether it was the garbage or onto some ice rink while Reptar is skating. Tommy was voiced by E.G Daily
Chuckie Finster, Tommy's best friend and right hand man, always came off to be the scared person. His demeanor of fear seemed to be the big center for this character. His bushy red hair and being relatively bigger was a dead giveaway he was the oldest. I guess being the oldest seemed to make him more afraid of everything from the character on the oatmeal box to alot of other things. One thing I found cool was his shirt, with the planet Saturn on it. Chuckie was voiced by Christine Cavanaugh. She would also voice Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory and Oblina from Ahh!Real Monsters.
Phil and Lil DeVille. These are the twins on the show. They seem to have a love hate relationship. Alternately fighting and getting along at the same time. One thing that made them stick out was their gross behavior. Both of them ate earthworms(calling it "Chocolate Spaghetti) and Lil ate something out of her belly button. On the show, both look alike with a few difference. Lil has a bow and Phil has blue shorts. Both characters were voiced by Kathy Soucie.
Angelica Pickles is the bully of the show. She is the cousin of Tommy Pickles and much older than the babies. Because she is bigger, and relatively spoiled, she bullies the babies alot. Her blonde pigtails and purple dress tend to belie her evil personality. She can speak to the babies as well as to the adults. Cheryl Chase would voice Angelica.
Susie Carmichael, the one African-American main child character. She, like Angelica, is older than the rest of the babies. However, she is known to be very helpful and kind to the babies, often being like their teacher in some ways. Like Angelica, she can speak to the babies as well as the adults. Cree Summer voiced Susie Carmichael.
Dil Pickles. What an ironic name. What can be said about this character. He came along in later seasons. He couldn't talk or do as the other babies could with one another. He just sits there, but somehow has interesting adventures. Dil was voiced by Tara Strong.
Stu Pickles is Tommy's father, the wacky inventor. You can tell he is wacky by his unkempt hair and being in his basement alot. The voice for Stu was Jack Riley.
Didi Pickles is the mother of Tommy Pickles. I always wondered about her hair, being in a slight trident style. The creator must have had some interesting ideas when he designed Didi's character. She is known to be very idealistic and relying on the Lipschitz book for child-rearing advice. She is of Russian-Jewish descent. She was voiced by Melanie Chertoff.
Boris and Minka Kerpacketer-Kropotkin are the grandparents of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica. They are also Didi's parents. Both characters are Jews who immigrated from Russia. These two characters always made me think about stuff. For one thing, age. Boris and Minka on the show would have to have been at least 70 and Didi would have had to be at least 30. Micheal Bell and Melanie Chertoff voiced these characters.
Lou Pickles aka "Grandpa". It is ironic that Lou is referred to as "Grandpa" by Didi because she is actually the daughter in-law of Lou Pickles. "Grandpa" is the grandfather of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica. He can be kind of stuck in his ways according to Stu, his son. The children seem to love him alot. I envied Tommy because all of my grandfathers died before I was born. David Doyle was the voice of Lou Pickles from 1991-1997, when Doyle passed away. Joe Alaskey for the duration of the show.
Drew Pickles is the picture of coporate America in some ways. His big shtick is money and investments. He is the father of Angelica Pickles. He is known to discipline her, but mostly, spoils her. He is known to criticise Stu for his life and for not being "up to speed" and for not having the "keep up with the Jones" mentality. He is the eldest son of Lou Pickles. He was voiced by Michael Bell.
Charlotte Pickles. Of all the characters that make me wonder, it is this character. She comes off as detatched and being more about her money and career and always being on her phone. She is Angelica's mother. This character makes me think "battle axe". Maybe Angelica got to be the way she was from Charlotte. She is voiced by Tress MacNeille.
Chaz Finster is the father of Chuckie Finster. Like Chuckie, Chaz has red hair and can be somewhar frightened by things. Most of my life, I've been fed the stereotype that red-haired people have bad tempers. Chaz and Chuckie seemed to lean towards the opposite. Chaz is a widow, which was made sadly clear in the Mothers Day episode when Chuckie wonders why he doesn't have a mother. Later on he would remarry, specifically to Kira Watanabe-Finster. Chaz was also voiced by Michael Bell.
Kira Watanabe Finster would be the new wife of Chas Finster. She is from Japan. She and Chas met in Rugrats in Paris:The Movie. She worked as an assistant for EuroReptarland. She would later marry Chas Finster at the end of the movie. She was voiced by Julia Kato
Kimi Watanabe Finster is the stepsister of Chuckie and the stepdaughter of Chas Finster. Her mother is Kira Watanabe. She is the antithesis of Chuckie, being free spirited and adventurous. She, like her mother, is Japanese. She would be the last baby character added to the show. She was voiced by Dionne Quan.
Howard DeVille is the father of Phil and Lil DeVille. He is rather frail-looking and somewhat shy in comparison to his wife, which will be discussed later. He was voiced by Philip Proctor.
Betty DeVille is the antithesis of her husband. She is much louder, more aggressive, and larger than her husband. She seems to like working out. She was also voiced by Kathy Soucie.
Randy Carmichael is the father of Susie Carmichael. He is the writer for the cartoon Dummi Bears.
Lucie Carmichael is the mother of Susie Carmichael. When I was introduced to her character, she seemed like someone who was doing so many things at once from gets her pilots wings, being in the Peace Corps, and at raising a family. She is a doctor. She would remove her daughter's tonsils and help Didi deliver Dil Pickles.
Spike is the loyal, friendly dog. Spike is a friend to the babies, and seems to watch out for them.
One thing about the show was the fact that it felts like a 90's version of Charlie Brown, but with different things. In Rugrats, the babies are somewhat in a world of their own, just as the kids are in Charlie Brown. However, unlike the Charlie Brown characters, you actually see the adults in Rugrats and you see them caring for the babies, even if the parents were distracted in some ways. The kids in Charlie Brown seem to have less contact with adults despite being able to talk to adults. However, in Rugrats, the babies can't talk to adults, expect Angelica. Somehow, their lives are touched more by the adults. It is crazy the stuff these babies get into. Trying to find Grandpa's teeth, pretending to search for pirate treasure, Tommy walking through an auto shop, and so many things as a kid I never thought that deeply into. For the babies, it was some grand adventure. It showed the perspective of the world according to babies. You had so many malapropisms, such as poopetrator(meaning perpetrator), jerky(meaning jury). It is like the babies trying to live in an adult-ran world. Not many shows like it. Rugrats was so unique BECAUSE it wasn't like other kids shows. It wasn't like your run of the mill cartoons. Where else could you have a baby get mailed to his own adress, or ride on the back of his pet dog, or eat earthworms for the fun of it, or crawl all over a kitchen and land in a bowl of spaghetti? That was what the 90s had when Rugrats came to the scene. It was so unique because it showed the world from the perspective of a baby, and put the babies in so many REAL adventures. I sort of thought "if that was real life, DFACS would have showed up so fast". Rugrats was a really great Nicktoon that set the bar high.
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