What RUINED Rugrats? - The Untold Drama 

Back at it again with another "What RUINED" video essay! This time, we're talking about one of the most popular cartoons from the 1990s. I had no idea how much drama was involved in this show's staff. It truly blew my mind while researching. Also, a big shout-out to my friend Jim who helped me research and write this video! Go check out his channel for more video essays: ru-vid.com

Basically, a bunch of adults acting like babies is what made this show fall apart. Ironic.

It's pretty obvious why Angelica was such a brat. Her mom was a CEO and was constantly on the phone ignoring her.

Angelica was much needed. She gave an edge to the show.

It sounds like Klasky wanted an unrealistic kids cartoon and Jermaine wanted something more realistic. I can’t imagine Rugrats without Angelica so I guess Jermaine was right.

Paul Germain was clearly right. Good writing and well developed characters are always a good policy.

While it is true everyone hated angelica, they did for a reason. She was a real person. Everyone knew an angelica. So it was important that there be a proper representation of an angelica

I can't even imagine this show without Angelica. She's the glue that holds almost every episode together.

"Rugrats was like the Teen Titans Go of it's time" *Don't you ever say that again*

*Chuckie: "Life is hard Tommy.....Sometimes I feel like it's the hardest thing there is."* *I UNDERSTAND CHUCKIE*

I'd have to say that Paul was right on the addition of Angelica. She's one of the most famous "I love to hate" characters in animation. If you grew up in the 90's she may very well have been your first introduction to the concept. She drove so many of Tommy and Chuckie's best character moments with her antics. Her arc explored what being an only child with absent/workaholic parents was like; something I literally grew up dealing with myself for 10 years. I don't think the Rugrats would've been the same show without her.

This totally explains what I witnessed watching the show. The babies got dumber as the show progressed. Their vocabulary actually got worse and “babyfied” and it was really obnoxious. And the plots seemed to be driven by their stupidity instead of by their imagination. Knowing that this conflict existed in the creative team helps explain something I always sensed but never really thought too much about. Thanks for making the vid.

"They didn't like that Angelica said "you dumb babies."" ...what? She's the *antagonist* of course she's going to say mean things, that's the point. If Angelica was just a nice girl who was older than the other characters she... well okay, you *could* make that work, by making her effectively be Susie Carmichael, but then it denies the writers all of the creativity space that having an antagonistic character provides. Hey Klasky, you don't protect your kids by sheltering them from unpleasant things, all that does is mean they have no idea how to handle those things when they inevitably do happen! "How would I feel if I saw this with my children?" I'd feel like it's a show of how real people act, bullies exist and pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone. And from what I remember, that episode does show how the characters react to it. By having an antagonist like Angelica, you can use her bullying behavior to show kids how to handle such things themselves. There is so, so much to gain from having Angelica be Angelica and so much to lose by not having her, or making her different.

-What are you doing? -Making chocolate pudding. -It's 4 clock in the morning, why on earth are you making chocolate pudding? *Cuz i lost control of my life*

*Other Shows:* _C A N C E L L E D_ *Rugrats:* _D R A M A_

Klasky suffered from a common form of tunnelvision it seems - "never exposing children to bad things will prepare them for the world" HAH.

Angelica taught me empathy as a child. The stuff she did made me feel sorry for the babies, and understand how things i did could affect others. She was a very necessary character not just in the show, but in pop culture.

Rugrats: We are the most popular show on Nickelodeon SpongeBob: I'm about to end this show's whole career

Imagine Rugrats without Angelica. IMO it would be not as successful as it was. She was one of the best character and a good plot trigger as a bridge between the babies and the adults.

I'm 33. This was my childhood. I'll say after the movie when Dill came to the scene, the show was never the same.

I have no idea how Klasky was planning on keeping viewers interested in the long run when "babies are cute" was her whole game.

"Angelica, what are you doing?" *"I’m suing you."*

"Stu is my spirit animal." -Saberspark This is the perfect joke that all dads can adopt when referencing the chocolate pudding episode.

I stopped liking the show when Dill came. Then it compounded with Kimmy, step mom, the animation changed a little, some voices too. The dynamic changed.

To be honest, there would be no Rugrats without Angelica. Yeah, she's a little brat, but I love her!

Imagine your own show taking shots at you because your writers dislike you lmao

So the pettiness of adults made us lose one of our favorite cartoons? Wow I'm kinda pissed

I didn’t like it once they dumbed the babies down. When they started saying “diapee,’ I was DONE.

I can't believe they got away with a character named lipshits lol

"live-action film featuring CGI characters" oh god please no

“This coffee tastes like mud” “It is mud”

Wait I just got Dill’s name... Dill Pickles. Only took me 20 years

I can still remember when Angelica attempted to kill Chuckie. The Hide 'n Seek episode when Chuckie lost his glasses, Angelica told the other babies that he was dead when she led Chuckie and Spike outside during a storm. She acted as if there was no way to save him and just had fun putting Chuckie's glasses on until she threw up. Another time was when Chuckie ate a watermelon seed. Although it turned out to be a dream, a scene showed Angelica wanting to blow up Chuckie intending to kill him. I often wondered why she hated Chuckie THAT much but wondered if she was jealous of him. She may have also been jealous of the other babies whenever she saw them receive love from their parents. I remember when they thought the sky was falling, and she left Phil out to die claiming there wasn't enough room in her safe house.

I can't imagine the show without Angelica. I never really identified with her, but she really had her hilarious moments.

What Ruined Rugrats: DRAMA Well that's depressing 😑

Angelica is the reason why Rugrats worked. Angelic made the story relatable since everyone know someone who is like Angelica. Also she is one of the most entertaining character too.

Rugrats was my absolute favorite as a child. Every time my mom found out it was on she'd turn the TV up loud enough I could hear the theme song wherever I was in the house. I'd come RUNNING no matter what I was doing. I'll still watch it occasionally.

tbh, I rather see the old scribble style 2d over live action. The old opening is a guilty pleasure of mine.

"It's four in the morning. Why on earth are you making chocolate pudding?" "Because I've lost control of my life." I think we can all relate to this on some level. This show was genius.

When he said “almost 30years ago”.... it diminished my youth 😨 Ugh, we 90’s kids are old now!!!

One of my favorite memes is Chuckie playing with one of his favorite toys, Boppo. He suddenly has a realization that this toy is actually a clown, courtesy of Angelica. Chuckie is afraid of clowns. He's slowly backing away screeching "You're a clown, he's a clown? Why didn't I see it before??!" (Also something I say after dating someone for a few months, and honeymoon period is over!😄😫🤡)

Like Rugrats... Parents who argue constantly sometimes forget about the needs of their children.

Saberspark: Remember this guy's name, he's an important part of the story My Brain: *immediately forgets him*

Man, it's almost like children prefer to be treated like actual people with their media instead of, and I thank Angelica for this, "dumb babies."

Sounds like Klasky wanted it to be, for lack of better words, a Disney Junior show as opposed to a regular Disney Channel show. No wonder kids would feel they outgrew it

I could definitely tell the difference when I was a kid that there were times that the Rugrats acted more like babies and times that they were more intelligent/mature and I preferred the more intelligent episodes. Always thought it was strange how they would constantly change the vibe of the show but now I know why.

So even outside the show, Angelica spoiled everything?? That doesn't surprise me. XD

I still watch Rugrats today for nostalgic purposes. Hasn't aged at all to me and I can't ever find a point in the entirety of the show where it wasn't good. The characters they added were great, Rugrats movies were great. Sucks that it had to be a real-life dispute that caused the downfall...

I was never a fan of Dill, but Kimmy is the best thing that ever happened to Rugrats. Usually, adding new characters changes the dynamic of the show to such a degree that it just ruins everything. Especially when the new characters are annoying. See the fairly odd parents for a master class on that one. But Kimmy was perfect. She added new life to the show and helped fix a lot of the problems. Chuckie was always a bit annoying in how scared of everything he was. Kimmy gave Chuckie a believable reason to start growing a spine and stop being so afraid all the time. To protect his sister. And at the point she was introduced, the show had honestly kind of ran it's course. There was very little ground left to cover. But adding another baby, and giving the only single child left a new sibling added a lot of new possibilities. If you look over the settings of every episode, you'll notice that the vast majority of them take place at Tommy's house. A few at Phil and Lil's. And very few at Chuckie's. Why were so few at Chuckie's house? Because there was nothing going on at Chuckie's house. He was an only child of a single parent. Most episodes at Chuckie's house only feature Chuckie and Tommy. But adding a second parent, and a sister adds so much to that setting. There are suddenly TONS of things that can be done, and if you look at the settings again, you'll notice that we spend a lot more time at Chuckie's house after Kimmy shows up. And it just works. New characters is usually kill a show, but I say Kimmy was the only thing that kept Rugrats going for as long as it did. Which is pretty cool.

Nickelodeon: We are making a Rugrat Movie! Me: please don’t make it live action Nick: bet

The first Rugrats movie was surprisingly dark, despite Paul Germain not being part of it.

Rugrats is and was the best show in nickelodeon history.

I loved Rugrats and I remember the exact moment the show was ruined for me, it was when you started to see things through their imagination, becoming similar to Muppet Babies. This is what I called the "maroon" era. Basically the insides of the characters mouths went from shades of pink, to shades of maroon, the show was just bad, the introduction of Dill and Kimi added too much because it tacked on characters without purpose, Dill couldn't contribute much except be a 3rd wheel (or 5th in the case of being added to the main group of 4) and Kimi was kind of a female Tommy. Ironically these characters worked in All Growed Up.

“It’s 4:00 in the morning, why are you making chocolate pudding” “Because I lost control of my life” That’s hilarious.

Damn, never thought internal bickering to this degree would doom a show before it’s relevance was even born. That’s one way to ruin childhoods in more ways than Rule 34 could ever hope to achieve.

Hungarian here.... In Hungary the "cs" is pronounced like the "ch" in "chair". so...Csupo is like....Chupo.

Real talk, the Passover and Hanukkah episodes of Rugrats meant a lot to me, the whole show did actually. My parents were an inter-faith couple, and I grew up with a lot of anxiety about it, but seeing a character in a show I liked, even with the show being about babies, helped me and gave me something to point other kids to when they would make fun of me for celebrating jewish holidays.

Rugrats would not have been as good as it was without Angelica.

Angelica was a great character because she drove most of the storylines. She also is realistic for viewers who experience bullying

Even though I didn't grow up in the 90s, Rugrats was my childhood. Reruns, my dude.

Honestly... Every show runs its course at some point. And that’s just how it is.

"Angelica, what's going on here?" "I'm suing you :)" My seven year old self could not relate more

"They were married at the time" Say no more!

my grandmother use to go to the store and like some tradition, every time a new rugrats tape came out, she would buy it for us. so we grew up with a literally a mass amount of orange tapes and would rewatch them over and over… i think we had every single one released. RIP grandma.

The writing made the show; Angelica as the antagonist, Suzie as her counterpart, the babies acting out their interpretations of what they’ve seen adults do. I grew up on it and now I’m an adult watching with my kid and still enjoying it because not only is it nostalgic, there are jokes that are intended for the adult audience.

I wasn't allowed to say Lipschitz

"It's 4 in the morning why are you making chocolate pudding?" "Because I've lost control of my life" I always thought that Lipschits was a play on words and they really meant was verbal diahorrea.

Klasky is a prime example of why it’s beneficial to get other people’s opinions on situations. Imagine Rugrats without Angelica and some of the classic episodes that were “too adult” that made it the great show it was

This show premiered when I was in my late 20s and I loved it. The first season was a little formative so its peak was really seasons two and three. I gave up on it after that. Easy to spot, it’s after David Doyle passed away and no longer did grandpa’s voice. The ones where they’re older and in school were total crap. And Angelica saying _”You dumb babies!”_ was one of the best things about it. Remember the episode where the babies meet a new older kid to protect them from Angelica, but it turns out he’s actually way worse of a bully than she was? And at the end Angelica comes finally comes back and beats the new kid off and the babies are so happy to have her back, even though the first thing she does was order the babies around again so they’re right back where they started? It was sorta because they knew Angelica would never really hurt them. I’ll bet Klasky absolutely hated that episode..

If it's untold... How did u hear about it? Xfiles theme plays.

Nickelodeon: Spamming the same show until the damn thing is several foot underground. Disney: Absorbing and killing any talent out there.

A doctor named lipchits on a kid’s cartoon is beyond me

Honestly Klasky sounds a lot like George Lucas - comes up with an amazing idea, but then refuses to accept people changing or expanding upon the idea even if it's for the better, and then the later seasons are like the Prequel trilogy where he surrounded himself with yes-men, to produce a weak result.

Even as a child I could sense a shift when it returned after its hiatus and I knew it had nothing to do with new characters. Paul Germain's vision was where the magic was at. It was so totally dumbed-down after he left.

Paul Germaine was definitely right. Angelica was the best character too

Even though it was clearly explained that losing the original writing staff is what killed the show, as the viewer, we hated the animation change and added characters. I personally stopped watching after Dil was born. And that All Grown Up spin off was terrible.

I was legitimately curious about that Rugrats reboot you mentioned but that curiosity shriveled up and died the second I saw 'live-action' on the screen. JFC, why is live action the go-to these days? The animation of Rugrats adds to the charm, and probably wouldn't be as pricey as paying live actors (so I would assume). What's so wrong with an animated series these days?

*sees the words "live action"* WHEN WILL YOU LEARN WHEN WILL YOU LEARN THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

How come there was no real mention of Suzy? She seemed to be the best foil for Angelica, keeping her in check and standing up for the babies. Very crucial for a character!!!!!

I can’t get over the way he says “Oohh nooo” at the end. You can almost feel his hope dying.

What I learned from this video: Paul is a genius. He's responsible for some of my favorite shows being the way they are

The network was mad at Angelica, but not Dr. lipschits Lipschits..... yup

how dare you say “almost 30 years ago” and remind me that i’m almost 30

As a kid I found Angelica as a bully but even then I found her necessary to the show because she was the only one who could communicate between the babies and the adults because she could like actually speak. And then she was the only one who actually watched over them while the parents did other shit. Or else the show would have been called “neglected babies” instead

Angelica was needed and was a great addition to the show. I actually think it was shown in an episode that she really did like the babies and viewed them as her best friends, plus Susy helped balance her out, so I'm shocked that susy wasn't mentioned in this video. She played a great role and might I add she is quite historical being one of if not the first African American cartoon characters on a major network.

I just love how Angelica was one of the reasons the show break, even outside the show her evil deeds remain. she was my favorite character BTW XD.

Sees live-action Rugrats Moses: No. Noooooooooooo!

"Rugrats was like the term titans go of its time" Excuse me you mean teen titans, teen titans go is a joke of the original actual GOOD show Teen Titans. Dont ever insult teen titans like that

Ironically enough, it sounds like Klasky viewed young children the way Angelica did. "Dumb kids". She probably wouldn't say _dumb_ but she probably wouldn't say smart either. Honestly- Klasky sounds like a Karen. (At least in this situation.) Karen Klasky. I mean... it fits pretty well lol. This does kind of make me want to watch it though. I didn't growing up (I was born in 95) but saw clips and maybe one or two reruns that I do not remember lol, so I might like it a lot more now. Edit: Also how the HELL would they make this live-action? Maybe All Grown Up would work, for obvious reasons, but- but original Rugrats? Just- how?

You hit the nail on the head with this one. Paul's writing was what made the show something that an adult or kid could watch

Rugrats was my absolute favorite show growing up! I remember getting in trouble in pre-k for standing up and saying "A baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do" 😂😂

So... yeah, I'm totally on Paul's side with this one.

I feel cronologically out of place... help me out. *1991* -The show is aired. -The show gains popularity for being prime. -They kept on working on the promised 65 shows despite all the drama. *1993* -65 shows completed. -Paul and the writing team left. -2 year break *1995* The divorce & the show is back.

Rugrats is definitely an iconic show that had a great run I liked all the seasons personally. Angelica was definitely needed for the shows popularity.

Angelica was a good part of the show and it got better when they introduced Susie Carmichael, who stoodup to Angelic and her antics.

We probably wouldn’t have the show without Angelica, after all, you gotta have conflict.

Chuckie’s stepmom was so sweet and Kimi was beyond adorable

So it went downhill pretty much because Klasky was obsessed with HER vision of the show and couldn't accept criticism or differing views.

It sounds like klasky wanted rugrats to be a Nick jr. Show.

i never knew that Rugrats was this big! God that show was great. But no Angelica? Nah she was a super important part of that show.