I've Never Felt So Bad For Angelica Pickles... 

There's nothing sadder or more humiliating for a kid/pre-teen than inviting their whole class to a birthday party & none of them showing up.

The reason I like Angelica is because time and again she shows that no one messes with Tommy and his group but her. She may be a bully, but she protects her dweebs from others.

My thing with Angelica is this, she only acts out bc she's not getting the love/attention she needs from her parents. Not excusing her bad behavior, some discipline was needed but guidance was needed too, and she wasn't getting it. Instead, her parents threw gifts and junk food at her as a form of "love". So it makes sense that she's bratty. And i think to a certain level, Tommy knows that and has always known that. Which is why he still has a level of sympathy for her.

Savannah's behavior is how a lot of teenage girls behave when they act as bullies. They pretend to have these bonds of sisterhood and frame their harrassment as helping.

I hated Angelica as a kid, but as an adult, I'm like, wait... every adult in her life thinks it's ok to just leave her unsupervised in a room full of babies. Let's set the parentification vibes aside for a minute and think about that: she's several years older, she knows more, she can do more, and she's stuck playing with people who can't possibly relate to her interests. I think I'd lash out and be bratty if I was four and that happened to me nearly every day.

I never hated her. She was manipulative, yeah. But she always cared for the babies deep down. Think it's the whole "I gotta' look strong" thing.

One of the best portrayals of Angelica doesn’t even come from any of the cartoons that Nickelodeon has airs on TV, but rather in a newspaper comic strip where, rather than berating Chuckie for thinking that he can bring his mom back by stepping on sidewalk cracks, she stops her insult mid-sentence and asks Chuckie if stepping on the cracks are working. Peak Nice Angelica.

Savannah is a sociopath. She purposefully planned and ruined Angelica's birthday party with her own party because she thought she wasn't cool enough.

That's what set cartoons like Rugrats apart. They could've easily left Angelica be the villain with no redeemable qualities or depth. We need more kids' shows that don't insult their audience's intelligence

I've never cared for Angelica, but I'll always take someone that's mean to your face than someone who's nice to your face but mean behind your back

I know All Grown Up may not be the most beloved show (even though I enjoy it) but something I think the show did really well was give Angelica more redeeming qualities. She may still talk down to Tommy and the gang and be cruel at times but I feel like she's also matured in a few ways. An example I always remembered was when she befriended a sick child. I like how she was able to at least somewhat grow out of her cruel and evil ways from when she was a toddler.

Savannah didn't just make Angelica cry, she made Charlotte cry. You don't make people's moms cry.

We grew up with Angelica, too. She was OUR mean cousin, too. So seeing someone be mean to a character that we have spent so much time with, makes us feel bad for her. It's like Tommy said, it's one thing when you bag on someone you know really well, it's another for an outsider to do it.

You can annoyed by her at most but when shes bullied and hurt you feel for her honesty her brattiness comes from the fact her dad constantly spoils her and her mom being constantly neglectful has led her to develop sever abandonment issues and just being upset with how her parents were personally once she reached her 13 year old self she actually became nice and lovable

Weirdly enough, one of my favorite episodes of All Grown Up was actually another Angelica-centered episode. It’s the one where Charlotte gets ousted as CEO of her company, and since she no longer has a job to keep her busy she tries bonding with Angelica. It showed just how difficult it is to reconnect with a kid when all that child knows from you is neglect. I feel like this show and Rugrats got a surprising amount of mileage out of Angelica plots, even though as a character she’s mostly a jerk. It’s cool how they subtly gave depth to someone you weren’t even supposed to like.

Savannah's morality is barren like the dessert she is named after

I do like how All Grown Up softens Angelica. She's still a brat and a bit of a mean girl, but this episode shows she truly loves Tommy and Dill like brothers, and the rest of the group are basically extended family to her. Her upbringing wasn't great due to her parents, but her aunt and uncle were always a safe space for her, and the group has been there for her.

All Grown Up being the place to give Angelica more redeeming qualities makes a lot of sense narratively. She's quite literally grown up. Even as an emotional (pre)teen who still has a rocky relationship with the younger mains, she's still more mature than she was as a toddler, it's a lot easier for her to understand the dynamics she has with them and others, it makes it a lot easier for her to be a relatable and enjoyable character.

I can’t believe I forgot that Angelica has a cat that eerily resembles her. It even look a bit aged and everything. I applaud them for remembering that minor detail in the sequel series, even if it was just a brief cameo.

My whole thing with Angelica in all grown up is that she actually tried to be a good person in almost every episode that focuses on her (minus the pilot episode) and tends to actually learn lessons in them, so this sort of episode feels even worse for her considering Angelica, no pun intended, grew up a lot by the time of that series and wasn’t the constantly bratty character her younger self was, and was instead much more complex.

She could be a brat, but at the end of the day she’s still a human being with her own issues and emotions to deal with. And I think she understands that Tommy is family even if she doesn’t always get along with him.

Also all grown up made me like angelica especially when it was her and tommy episodes it was honestly surprising to see her actually be their for essentially her baby brother because when you look at angelica and tommys relationship you noticed she treated him and dil as her brothers rather than cousins which was always heartwarming to see especially in rugrats in paris now listen here lady no one messes with my dumb babies but me

What Tommy says is true. With family, it's **mostly** good natured fun because you know your family loves you. But outsiders, it's more bullying, especially if they don't know you.

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Angelica was at least partially influenced by Helga from Hey Arnold. We know that Helga can be very blunt in her opinions, to the of being downright brutal in her honesty, and comes from a comparable background In fact the biggest difference is that for Helga, this was largely a mask to protect an otherwise sensitive girl, whereas with Angelica, it’s the consequence of having someone as aggressive as Charlotte for a mother

I just wanna point out that Savannah's invitation said 'annual'. So maybe the plan was not to only steal Angelicas 13th birthday away, but also the ones after that...

I can't stand Savannah. Angelica's mean, but she's genuine. She keeps it real. Savannah's a cold strategic monster. Being sneaky makes her way more dangerous than Angelica.

She is the epitome of "my parents don't see me, so I'll make them see me" Sometimes it can result in situation like what she was.

Having no one show up to your party is such an awful feeling. Main reason why I'm afraid to have bday parties as an adult 😢

Lmfao Angelica’s “hi how are ya” then going back to her dramatic rant is the most relatable thing I’ve ever seen😂😂😂

I think its neat that Angeica came up with a list of things she knows would interest the Rugrats- like that just shows how well she knows them. Sure it was a way to get them to not be at her Birthday party, But she clearly did work to find stuff they would find interesting and present it to them

I HATED Savannah! She was the absolute worst! Some of the other episodes also shows how manipulative she was. She was far worse than Angelica ever was! I also have a request for another All Grown Up video. Can you do one about where Angelica has to live with the Carmichael’s for a week? Looking forward to the next video!

Angelica was emotionally neglected by her parents. They gave in to whatever she wanted to shut her up. She took out her frustrations on the babies.

I always felt bad for Angelica. She was neglected and was bad to get attention. She is the reason I always spend time and attention to my son.

I understand Angelica because when I turned 16 no one showed up except family and a few ppl. I was very depressed

She was actually made as a foil to Angelica in the short run series Preschool Daze where their ‘feud’ began. Back then Angelica still attempted to be her friend recognizing they shared a similair take on things but Savanah always felt as though she was above Angelica because she thought her family was better she had better connections etc (I can’t recall she name dropped her sibling being important somehow) but it was interesting to watch and realize that this meant the two had been playing this mean girls game from preschool all the way to highschool and neither had changed. Some girls are meant to be low key frienemies for life I suppose.

I will always Stan Angelica pickles. She was secretly good person, funny, and an anti-hero

I actually like this spin-off of the Rugrats. I still hold out hope one day you'll do that spin-off to Hey Arnold, The Pattakis

I remember Tommy being popular in this show. Did I just imagine that or is there an episode where it's implied that a lot of people like him? He came off as the kind of cool kid that actually fits the idea of a "chill" and "popular" kid everyone wants to be around instead of the fictional version Angelica is aiming for.

To me Savannah and her small group don't really seem popular they just seem more so cliquey elitist,snobbish and narcissistic then anything else.Even if you are a narcissist and you simply see yourself and your small posse of friends as being the elites and as people who other people are not fit to associate with thats definitely not synonymous with being popular.

I think the thing that always made me feel a little bad for Angelica in Rugrats was just that she was a 3-4 year old who seemed to not get much attention from her parents. That's messed up for a toddler. I'm not saying it excuses her actions at all, but as an adult I just want to make sure little Angelica feels like someone cares about her 😭

As a HUGE Rugrats fan, I have always liked Angelica. Yes, most of the time, she never made the best or nicest decisions. But, there are so many instances throughout both Rugrats and All Grown Up where you realize she really does care for Tommy and Dil and the rest of their friends. Lucky 13 is a great example of this. Angelica is simply insecure and bosses the rest of the group around in a “I’ll be mean to them so they can’t hurt me first.” kind of mentality. I love your take on this episode. It’s definitely one of my favorites. 😊

Is nobody gonna talk about how Savannah looks like the baby from when they go to Paris

Yooo this is the one I requested! Thank you so much for covering this episode

Angelica was honestly always a crazy case… spoiled brat with a controlling mother like that, as an adult it’s easy to see how she got so entitled and ultimately messed up. But yeah. She’s still a person, and a young one at that. Angelica’s tragedy is purely the fact that she’s going to have to go through hell learning that the world doesn’t revolve around her. She’s been set up to be that one person that’s just hard to be around, and she’s already screwed up her relationships with close family. She’s so blessed to have family like Tommy who have such a heart of gold to care like that, and ultimately people that- for better or worse- are the closest thing to real friends she likely will ever have, given they know the real her and not the face she puts on for others ((shown in other episodes)). Genuinely… I feel bad for her at the end of it all. Honestly. Thanks for bringing this up… as honestly it brings to mind irl people that I bet we all have to deal with in some manner. We all have our own problems, jerks or not, it’s not always just cut and dry to be a jerk just to be one. Those need compassion the most.., Thanks for your insights, Shawn! Always a pleasure to have you talk to us while doing our thing.

I always liked Angelica, she was always one of my favorites. Her facade was so easy to see through, even more so as an adult. In retrospect, I think she suffers from a lot of childhood neglect, and one parent unknowingly putting a lot of pressure on her, and the other just ignored her completely and let her do whatever. If I could armchair psychologist for a moment: Angelica's situation feels like Golden Child syndrome, especially with the pressure Charlotte starts to put on her as a teen, probably the reasoning of Angelica being both an only child and a girl. Imagine its your 13th birthday-what feels like a huge milestone for a lot of pre-teens, and everyone you know ditches, and instead of your parents comforting you, you see your mom crying about frivolous things like canceled catering, bookings, and social status. Your own mom is acting like the child, and offers no comfort during this whole ordeal that is clearly _very_ important to Angelica. And on top of just having a lonely birthday, the reason for it would be totally avoidable if not for someone deliberately sabotaging it and rubbing it in her face the entire time. That's horrible! The poor girl is still a child! And god knows where her dead-beat father is the whole time either. Her picking on her little cousins (let's be honest, all the other parents hang out with and see each other _so_ often they might as well all be family.) reads as older sibling teasing more than anything malicious. That's not to say its not mean or a good thing, but she was literally four years old with a father than encouraged and praised her for any of her behaviors. Honestly, her picking on others could totally stem from a child thats frustrated and doesn't know/isn't given the means to communicate it healthily, or even darker taking what she learns from her parents out on others. (aka Drew's dribbled absentee nonsense, and Charlotte's 'take no shit' that can easily translate to perfectionism, demeaning behavior, unhealthy competitiveness, and a low self-esteem under all of it. And all from a very, _very_ young age.) Angelica I feel is just a very complicated character with many flaws, but also almost a tragic figure because you can see exactly why she's like that. She's a young girl with high expectations with herself and obsesses over being popular/being liked, but in times of conflict usually manages to be loyal to her family/friends, even if it takes her time to get there.

Throwing a fake party just so people won't go to someone's else's real party is just plain mean-spirited. Savannah is just awful, basically Angelica with none of her hidden nice qualities.

1:26 Duuuuude. Haven't seen this episode since 1996. What an emotional moment for a childrens cartoon. Lol she still has the freakn' cat

What I really like Rugrats and the way they show Angelica is that she isn’t evil- she’s a kid. A kid who is being negatively affected by her parents. While her actions are her own, it is made VERY obvious that her parents’ actions are affecting her. In the original show it was by them spoiling her to make up for not making enough time for her. When you are used to everything being done YOUR way, of course you’re going to be mean or “bossy” when you are in an environment that doesn’t give you that control. That’s how you think the world works. In All Grown Up, not only is her whole “I want to be part of the cool kids” totally natural, but it’s also in part due to her parents- especially her mother. Not only are her parents still spoiling her, but her mom is very concerned about appearances- valuing material wealth and beauty above most other things. This is rubbing off on Angelica who feels that to “looking” cool, rich and stylish are the most important things. While I can’t think of an episode that explicitly shows this, Charlotte is an accomplished business woman who knows the importance of networking with the “right” crowd. It wouldn’t be surprising if she was consciously or unconsciously making Angelica feel she needs to do the same thing.

It really hurts when you invite your class and or friends for a party and nobody shows up. This has happened to all of my party attempts. It hurts more every time.

I actually like rooting for Angelica as an antihero. I'm glad to see you covering this.

Never thought I'd relate to Angelica. When I was 22, I had a jealous friend who didn't like me as I was funny & good at parties (although hate them now). He invited ALL my friends EXCEPT for my best friend & I to a massive rave at a public woods. It was on my birthday weekend too & they all came (from across the UK) JUST for that event. Didn't want to see me (likely out of shame). My friend & I just got high & played Yu-gi-oh. Karma hit when we found out police called his party off, 30 minutes in, as they didn't have a permit.

Growing up I typically related to characters like Angelica and Courtney from As Told By Ginger. I'm happy that these characters' flaws are underlined, but that they're also humanized by their respective writers.

Growing up, I didn't watch Rugrats as much as other kids did. However, I was familiar with the character of Angelica. She was often portrayed as a spoiled brat and many people didn't like her. But now, as an adult, I see her in a different light. Angelica was just a young child, and it's not entirely her fault that she acted the way she did. Her parents never gave her the attention and love she needed. Instead, they showered her with material possessions and junk food, without any discipline. Looking back, I realize that parents are supposed to have some level of discipline towards their children. I feel sorry for Angelica, especially when I remember the episode where no one showed up to her birthday party. It's a heartbreaking reminder of how neglected and lonely she must have felt. One more important aspect that I would like to mention is that as I am studying Child Care Development in Community College, I have recently rewatched the show Rugrats and realized that Angelica, the antagonist, was only 3 years old. She was just a young child who didn't know any better. It is her parents who should be held responsible for her behavior. The way a child is brought up and treated by their parents greatly influences their actions. If the parents are neglectful and give in to their child's every demand without any hesitation, it reflects poor parenting. Angelica's parents need to attend parenting classes to learn how to properly raise a child. It is not Angelica's fault that she is misguided, but rather the result of her parents' parenting style.

After seeing some episodes from this and discussions about this show, Angelica definitely mellowed out. Part of me thinks her parents disciplined her a bit more but being near the Rugrats softened her. I hoped maybe at some point during the OG show, Charlotte realized that she should be more in her life and guide her better because we see how much Angelica looks up to her but misread how her mother was bossy to others. I cut Drew a little slack because he even realized how spoiled she was in the OG show.

The hardest thing for a writer to do is make a villain or bully character sympathetic because of the pre established lines and lore about the character then the actor or actress has to give a lot harder effort to remember this is the redemption episode or arch what is really sad looking back at the classic Rugrats and All Grown Up is you start to notice that it is more she feels neglected therefore she bullies because she wants the attention even if negative from elders

14:03 Everyone looks surprised at that revelation. Kimi, on the other hand, looks PISSED. She looked about ready to deck Savannah.

There was also a 4 episode spin-off of Rugrats called preschool daze about Angelica and Suzie. I'm not sure when the show came out but Savanna and Angelica hated each other since preschool, because they wanted to be the best preschooler.

It's weird Angelica isn't the one doing the bullying in this scenario. Weirder still that despite how much I disliked her in Rugrats, I genuinely felt bad for her in multiple episodes of All Grown Up.

2:45 Ah Charlotte got a facelift lol

I kind of wish Savanna and Angelica became friends. It would have been fun for Angelica to have her own group of "Plastics" that all bug the main kids for different reasons. The different ways in which they could act would make it easier on the writers to build different types of conflicts and open Angelica up for more character development since she could get nicer over time.

Angelica is definitely a complicated character She’s a bully and selfish but she also loves her family She’s definitely a morally flawed character and I think that’s why no matter how bad she might be we can feel bad when she’s hurting

Now that he mentions it I would love to what stuff Savanah would have at her party,I always thought I thought it just some generic party and those kids were going purely out of pier pressure

Lucky 13, that really made me feel for her man. It really friggin hurt! Thanks Shawn!

A handful of moments from this show are permanently cemented into my mind and the first after "I am Chongo!" is "But I'm 13!" It seemed like such a huge deal back then but I honestly don't remember anything about my 13th birthday

Savannah's wanting to knock down Angelica on her own birthday is a level of pettiness that should make anyone's blood boil. The fact that Savannah doesn't suffer any sort of repercussions for it, doesn't feel like a satisfying ending. Not to mention all of this started because Angelica was sitting at a some table in the lunchroom. Even if she tries to justify her actions, it doesn't excuse Savannah for doing what she did out of spite. Only a psychopath would want ruin someone's own birthday to teach some sort of lesson.

I felt bad for Angelica in several episodes of Rugrats, including this one. Not having anyone show up to your birthday or even forgetting about your birthday is one of the most saddest thing in life. However, there is another episode of Rugrats you should cover that focuses on Angelica. How Angelica saved Tommy and the babies from Josh.

I think Savannah (but more like the writers) were implying that Angelica *badly needs* someone to teach her a lesson in humility before she goes down the path of being selfish as Savannah unwittingly is. Also perhaps Savannah was similarly stuck-up to Angelica and this is an example of what she could have become if she continues to get her way.

Angelica was a huge witch when she was a baby, but she had her moments! As she grew up she got even better!😊

She was rude as a kid but she was also neglected so it makes sense.

Middle school/the tween years were like that, though. And girls? Were vicious.

I always saw Angelica as an “older sister” type of figure, like I can bully my siblings but no one else can!!

All grown up did a good job making Angelica a lot more likeable. I like they still kept her negative traits but made her a bit more nicer. She’s kinda of like what they did to Heather in total drama

Angelica reminds me of Helga, in a lot of ways! Both are sympathetic bullies who aren't sadistic humanless bastards and act like actual normal people, unlike most bullies in other cartoons from the 90s and 2000s.

I really loved this episode ... making Angelica look human is always my best part. she is just a result of what she was raised with

I remember when this episode was announced, as this big special for Angelica; but I didn't care to see, because she wasn't my favorite character

I preferred the animation & art style of Season 1 Of All Grown Up over the rest of the series. The new style grew on me by the end of the Series, but it felt too different from the original Rugrats at 1st.

Honestly, I was a lot like Angelica, minus the part where she gets a lot of gifts. I was cruel and bossy and could even get physically violent with other children. It was because my home life wasn't good, definitely worse than hers but I found myself relating a lot to the emotional neglect she received.

Even as a kid I attributed Angelica’s acting out being due to having not having the necessary parental love and attention from the adults in her life. However from the original and spin off as much as Angelica would bully or mess with Tommy and his friends when it came down to it and someone else tried to mess with them or they needed help she was always ready to defend them and be there in their corner.

My husband and I still love All Grown Up! Our favorite episode is "Interview with a Campfire". 😁

22:00 I do remember turning 13 was seen as a big milestone when I was in middle school in the 90s, even in some of the books I read at the time, 13 was "the cool age."

I just wanted to tell you before watching that we are really grateful for you and your videos. They helped my friend (Jinx) a lot in Real-Life. I hope it is okay to comment here. She says shes afraid to comment because she gets insulted/harassed when she does. She is still watching your videos and they help her a lot. Thank you for changing our lives for the better. We hope you are safe. Please have a great day.

the outfits in this show are a product of their time. 😭who dressed these kids!!! 9:50 chuckie those colors together.. honey what the h*ll

I think this episode was one of my favorites back then cause it really felt like one of the more realistic cousin moments.

And when we needed it, the most he returned how you doing, man it’s been so long. I missed your videos.

I love shows like this that put *SO MUCH EMPHASIS* on being popular because nostalgia and hindsight kicks in - it’s adulthood that acts more childish. Also, oh my God that “wishing to be an adult” thing!

I feel like Angelica as a character makes a lot of sense when you view her from the lens of being a child with parents who are pretty neglectful, not in a criminal sense, but from an emotional one. They're always too busy for her, which is why she ends up at Tommy's house all the time. She sees more of her aunt, uncle, and cousin than her own parents, and when she is with her parents, her mom's almost always on the phone and ignoring her. The other kids spend a lot of time being babysat too, but when you see them with their parents, they're pretty caring and hands on, so you get the impression they get a lot more outward affection from their parents when not at the Pickles household than Angelica does. When you're a kid watching the show, you hate her because she's a bully, when you're an adult, you recognize she's a bully and the behavior is wrong, but now you notice the subtle hints implying why she's the way she is and start to feel bad for her. In All Grown Up, Angelica seems to have made the logical jump that kids raised in this kind of environment do. She's not as antagonistic because she's no longer a child and she's had years of adapting to such an environment, so she's just a standard mean girl now. I've actually had a friend who grew up in an environment like hers and she ended up the same way. She's a weird kind of character for me though. I suppose the writing was just really good or something because I don't think I ever had a moment where I really disliked her and I actually thought most of her antagonism of the other characters was kind of funny and entertaining because of how absurd and over the top it was sometimes. Maybe it's because she was written like a child and not like a meanspirited hate sink, so even if you recognize that it's wrong, you still recognize that she's just acting like a bratty child. Also she's not a complete karma houdini, which helps. She gets called on her behavior all the time and often sees comeuppance in some way or form.

I’ve honestly always liked Angelica I am a bit spoiled myself as I was the only girl in my whole family. So I did feel bad for her. I admire Tommy for sticking my family. I think you are wrong about adults and money many of them still go for shiny things

It's funny that Angelica looks up to Savannah when she looks like Cynthia.

Why does Angelica's mom look so Terrifying in All Grown Up

I still cringe at the few month span I was a bully to a kid. I felt awful after and apologized months later

Angelica may be like a great white shark, but just like in the real ocean you never know when there might be something bigger.

I’m trying to say this in the most non-creepy way possible as a grown man talking about middle school characters lol. I loved All Grown Up as a kid, in part because of Angelica’s rivalry with Savannah. I had this head cannon that it was due to “wealth” and that made the two fascinating. In any other show, Angelica would be the main mean girl as the blonde who could buy gifts for new friends. You can see Savannah get visibly disgusted when Angelica flexes her wealth, like when showing off a robot in the lost Cynthia doll episode. In contrast, while Savannah isn’t necessarily poor, she shows off intangibles like being able to stay out late when Angelica can’t. Later in the show, when Savannah invited by Angelica to enjoy her things, Savannah praises Angelica more when she feels she’s earned it. I loved little interactions like that in this show and As Told By Ginger. Edit: I said the same thing as you at the end of your video lmao

I vaguely remember watching this when I was like 4-6 years old. You just activated a part of my memory that might have laid dormant for the rest of my life thank you. It's crazy looking back nearly 20 years seeing as I am just in my 20s.

Angelica Deserves. This Is Canon.

I love what Tommy did for Angelica cuz even though him and Angelica buttheads they are still family so I love the fact that Tommy came and showed his support for his cousin❤

7:37 Peak 2000's, look at Kimi's outfit

Also one episode that i would love to see covered is the greatest SpongeBob episode of all time band geeks as its not only the best SpongeBob episode but the best Squidward episode that actually showed him succeed and also gave us the iconic patrick whale call the white sadan and of course is mayonnaise an instrument

Charlotte in All Grown-Up reminds me of the future version of Francine Smith seen in the episode the longest-distance relationship from American Dad!

Happy Summer, DuskTilShawn!! I love Angelica Pickles despite her being UNLIKABLE in her OG Series.

Remembering what you said about high school nightmares last time, honestly I prefer adulthood since while I do have to deal with a 9-5, or 7-3, job it's still better than high school was for me. Wish I'd had more inspiration to write when I was younger but being an adult mostly feels better.