Rugrats (2021 series) (2024)

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon and a revival of the original series of the same name. It was originally going to premiere in 2020, but on May 14, 2020, it got pulled to 2021.^[1] It premiered on Paramount+ on May 27, 2021, and on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2021^[2]. Viacom's official press release for the series stated that the May 27 release is the first set of episodes, "with the rollout of additional episodes to be announced at a later date." The series began with an hour-long premiere episode, "Second Time Around."^[3]

On September 21, 2021, it was announced that additional episodes of the first season would release on October 7, including a half-hour Halloween-themed special. With the announcement also came the news that the program had been renewed for a second season. Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation, stated "This next season of Rugrats will dive even deeper into the secret life of babies and their unsuspecting parents, while continuing to highlight the main themes of friendship and family. For 30 years, the Rugrats have resonated with fans around the globe, and we can’t wait to continue telling original and fresh stories with these beloved characters."^[4]

To promote the reboot, a mini-series called Rugrats Shorts debuted on May 14, 2021 on Nickelodeon.^[5]

Episodes

See also: List of Rugrats (2021) episodes

The first Rugrats Shorts debuted on May 14, 2021 on Nickelodeon.^[5] The first set of episodes of the first season of the revival were released on May 27, 2021. Additional episodes were released on October 7. The final episodes of season 1 were released on April 22, 2022.

The first thirteen episodes of the second season will debut on April 14, 2023. ^[6]

Production

Development and Announcement

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In early September 2015, it was announced on Variety that Nickelodeon may "seek to experiment with retooled versions of classics" that could include Rugrats.

On August 8, 2016, two of Rugrats' three creators stated that they agreed there was definitely a way to bring the baby adventures of Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica back – although they differ on how. Co-creator Paul Germain says it's a possibility if Nickelodeon is so inclined. "It's completely up to them, but I think it could be interesting," he told EW. The hitch here is Germain, who was largely the creative voice of Rugrats once it went to series, left after the original order of 65 episodes. "A lot of the direction that they took the show in after I left in 1993 – the second 65 episodes and then the All Grown Up! series – I thought those episodes were poor. I thought they lost the spirit of it. I think the way to go [for a reboot] would be to take it back to where it was. I don't know if we could really do that, but that's what I would like to see. I think it's possible." Arlene Klasky, who co-created the show with Gabor Csupó and Germain, but left show running to the latter, said a revival is something she and Csupo "think about, 100 percent." But Klasky and Germain would disagree on one of the first fundamental questions that would face Rugrats, just as it faces every reboot: whether the show should acknowledge the passing of time and, in the case of this show, how technology has seeped its way into child-rearing. Germain says he'd rather keep a Rugrats reboot as a time capsule. "One of the things I think might be fun would be to just make the show a retro '90s show," he says. "I think that'd be cool. Cell phones can be interesting, but technology has a funny way of making it very difficult to write around because people are always in constant communication with each other in a way that works against drama. It takes a really fun writers' obstacle away and makes it too easy."

On July 16, 2018, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures announced the revival with Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain returning as executive producers. Both the film and the TV series are slated for a 2020 release that will feature brand new adventures and characters. The movie, however, was moved to January 29, 2021 and was later pulled from the schedule on November 12, 2019.

Sessions

The first voice-acting sessions were recorded at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio until the lockdown started due to a COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the voice-acting sessions were recorded in each of the cast's recording studios.^[7]

Animation

The CGI animation for the reboot was hard to translate for the character designs and animation. The producers have pointed out that they incorporated the art direction to make everything perfect in CGI. Lighting was also important for its mood of the animation since it pushed the fantasy segments to a higher level. The front end of the animation was produced at Nickelodeon in Burbank, California. Several original sets were done in house; Technicolor and Xentrix in India helped out with the rest of the animation production.^[8]

Merchandise

To date, three tie-in book releases have been released for the new series. These titles were all released on September 7, 2021 and are as follows:

• Bestest Joke Book
• Beware of Dogbot!
• The Very, Very Hard Puzzle Book!

Another title, Great Minds Think Alike!, is scheduled for release on January 25, 2022, based on the episode by the same name. A fifth title, a coloring and activity book titled Colors Are Everywhere!, is slated for publication on May 3, 2022.

On July 12, 2022 the 2-disc set, Season 1, Volume 1, was released which contained the first 12 episodes of the series. The Season 1, Volume 2 disc set was later announced at the end of 2022 to be released the following year on March 7, 2023 with it containing the remaining 12 episodes from the first season.

As of December 4, 2021, Band-Aid has released a version of bandaids with prints of the characters and other in-universe objects from the series

Trivia

• According to Tara Strong, the producers informed that Dil will not appear in the first season of the reboot.^[9] She hopes he will return in future seasons of the reboot.
• Nickelodeon unveiled the first look of the revival on October 14, 2020.^[10]
• Paramount+ uploaded the first sneak peek of the revival on February 24, 2021.^[11]
• Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh returned for the music of series, including the theme song for Mark and the music scores for Bob.
• The majority of the voice actors of the Rugrats from the original series returned to reprise their roles, with the only exception being Kimi as she is now voiced by Charlet Chung due to her original voice actor Dionne Quan retiring from voice acting.
  • None of the surviving voice actors of the adults from the original series returned to reprise their roles. They have all been recast with new voice actors.
• Kath Soucie never reprised her role as Betty, even though she returned to provide the voice of her children Phil and Lil.
• It is unknown if Lulu is going to appear in the reboot.
• The official trailer for the reboot was released on May 5, 2021.^[12]
• The characters were updated to fit the needs and timeframe of the series.^[8]
• About 50 people worked on the first season of the reboot with a small team of writers and 18 freelances (some of which are the original Rugrats writers).^[8]
• It takes about 18 months to produce an episode of the reboot.^[8]
• As of right now, it is one of the most trending shows on Paramount+.

Cast

• E.G. Daily as Tommy Pickles
• Tara Strong as Dil Pickles
• Nancy Cartwright as Chuckie Finster
• Kath Soucie as Phil and Lil DeVille
• Cheryl Chase as Angelica Pickles
• Cree Summer as Susie Carmichael
• Ashley Rae Spillers as Didi Pickles
• Tommy Dewey as Stu Pickles
• Tony Hale as Chas Finster
• Natalie Morales as Betty DeVille
• Anna Chlumsky as Charlotte Pickles
• Timothy Simons as Drew Pickles
• Nicole Byer as Lucy Carmichael
• Omar Miller as Randy Carmichael
• Michael McKean as Lou Pickles
• Jameela Jamil as Lady De-Clutter^[13]

Videos

Gallery

External links

• Rugrats on Paramount+ (content listed as "extras" free to watch)
• Rugrats (2021 TV Series) on Wikipedia
• Rugrats on IMDb

References