Rugrats

Rugrats is one of my favourite cartoons. It has something for everyone. There are cute babies (Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi & Dil), one terrible toddler (Angelica - She's the best!), one lovable & loyal hound (Spike), one kind hearted kid (Susie) and several entertaining adults. Stu & Drew's sibling rivalry is well depicted. The characters are diverse and have different backgrounds & life styles. I like spotting the film references and seeing the world as we know it turned on its head. The show contains plenty of wit and it has jokes for all age groups. (I'm 23.) It has a good theme tune and a quirky look that has developed over time. A classic. 8/10

I will admit there was a time when I didn't like the Rugrats that much, but now along with Wild Thornberrys it is one of my favourite shows on Nicolodean. I initially thought it was childish and not my cup of tea. How wrong I was. It manages to be both cute and funny at the same time. It is one of the shows out there that I love more than I did in childhood.

The animation is crisp and colourful, with lovely backgrounds and the character animation isn't bad at all. The episode ideas are very unique, and the show is well written and has a number of genuinely funny moments. It also succeeds in conveying good messages and family and friendship values, without preaching.

The theme tune is I suppose like Marmite, you love it or hate it. Personally I love it. It is great, memorable and reasonably catchy. The characters, without being sickly sweet, are engaging. My favourite is Angelica, although bossy and obnoxious, she is also funny and you do kind of warm to her.

And what a great voice cast. Christine Cavanaugh is the standout as Chuckie, but Tara Strong(aka Charendoff), Elizabeth Daily and Kath Soucie also bring out solid supporting turns. It is true, the show did decline in quality in the later seasons, my only criticism here.

As for the movies, I enjoyed all of them, though I will say my favourite was Rugrats In Paris. I am really sorry I misjudged this show, and it took me so long to realise that. I give it a solid 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

This show started out good, fresh and funny - with a simple premise. What life looks like through the eyes of a baby.

It had good material and fine animation,, but completely lost the plot with it's 1997 return and the two feature films.

Once upon a time I liked Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Anjelica, but with the new voices, and characters, I couldn't care less.

Rugrats is about a group of babies named Tommy Pickles who is the fearless leader of the group, Chucky Finster, the scaredy cat of the bunch, and a group of bickering twins named Phil and Lil. No show is complete without a nemesis, in this case it's Tommy's older cousin, Angelica who is also a spoiled brat.

I used to enjoy watching this show all the time. It's very entertaining and the stories for the cartoons were creative.

I would like to emphasize on "was my #2 show on Nickelodeon". I say that because the show, for a time was very good and entertaining and then Nick started putting out the newer episodes. Then there was the addition of Tommy's new baby brother, Dil who is now the most annoying character on the show. A lot of the humor is gone now, too. I mean most of the humor now is just stupid toilet humor or worn-out humor from the old shows. The show has since then, lost a lot of it's impact. Now the new shows are just retarded. The stories and plots now have the babies making a lot stupid decisions and getting into some pretty idiotic situations.

I give Rugrats a 10/10 for the old episodes and 1/10 for the new episodes.

I used to love "The Rugrats". Before they became unbearably popular. Before Dil came. Before David Doyle died. Before the movies. Before . .. you get the picture.

Why? Very simple. The initial Rugrats was a great show.

When the show premiered, in 1991, with "Tommy's First Birthday", nobody could've guess how far it would go. It had a simple premise: what life as a baby was like.

As the show began to climb, the jokes and the show itself began to become polished. The animation was horrid - but who cares? If the show's enjoyable, then I won't hate it for a single quality. Besides, the scribbles that made up the animation added to the whimisical feel of the show.

The show was, at first, intelligent, with jokes and plot lines that both kids and adults could relate to. Media references abounded. For example, in "Showdown at Teeter-Totter Gulch", a Stetson-wearing Tommy faces off against the "Junkfood Kid" (played by Nancy Cartwright), recalling "High Noon" and numerous Leone westerns. In "The Booster Shot", Chucky's doctor is named "Dr. Lecter", a reference to the flesh-eating psychiatrist from "The Silence of the Lambs". The episode with Dean (Angelica's love interest) spoofs James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause". "The Dog Groomer" recalls "The Terminator", "The Mysterious Mr. Fiend" spoofs "Frankenstein", Dr. Lipschitz (Tony Jay) is a Sigmund Freud-esque child psychologist, and numerous others are similarly intelligent.

Also, the characters were well-developed and likable. At this point, the dialogue was great. Not only the kids, but the adults. The adults were intelligent, had emotions, and were very realistic. They made many of the jokes, and were interesting, rather than the no-dimensional shells they become.

The show's popularity began to grow in 1992, but it was put on hiatus in 1994, when Paul Germaine left the show.