Melanie Chartoff

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies’ imaginations. Adults in the series are almost always unaware of what the children are up to; however, this only provides more room for the babies to explore and discover their surroundings.

The series premiered on August 11, 1991, as the second Nicktoon after Doug and preceding The Ren & Stimpy Show. Production initially halted in 1993 after 65 episodes, with the last one airing on May 22, 1994. From 1995 to 1996, the only new episodes broadcast were “A Rugrats Passover” and “A Rugrats Chanukah”, two heavily Jewish-themed episodes that both received much critical praise. New Rugrats episodes began airing regularly again in 1997, and The Rugrats Movie, which introduced the character of Tommy’s younger brother Dil, was released in November 1998. A sequel titled Rugrats in Paris: The Movie came about in 2000, and the infant character Kimi and her mother Kira were added to the series’ cast. Rugrats Go Wild, a crossover film with fellow Nicktoon The Wild Thornberrys, was released in 2003 to mixed reviews. The final episode aired on June 8, 2004, bringing the series to a total of 172 episodes and 9 seasons.