If you grew up in the ‘90s, then chances are you watched many of what are now considered the best animated TV shows of all time. And if you were specifically tuning into Nickelodeon frequently, then it’s almost guaranteed you saw Rugrats, and maybe you’ve even gone back to watch some episodes with your Paramount+ subscription. Well, I have some good news and bad news for Rugrats fans. The good news is that a live-action/CGI hybrid movie is in the works. The bad news is that this concept alone will surely haunt our dreams, right?
This news comes to us from Deadline, which reports that director Jason Moore has been tapped to helm this Rugrats movie off a script that Saturday Night Live alum Mikey Day wrote with Streeter Seidell. Assuming this project moves forward, this will become the fourth film credit on Moore’s resume, as he previously directed Pitch Perfect, Sisters and Shotgun Wedding. He’s also directed episodes of TV shows like Dawson’s Creek and Everwood, and has also been active on Broadway for a long time thanks to productions like Avenue Q, Shrek the Musical and Steel Magnolias, among others.
Now it is worth noting that this isn’t the first time making a live-action/CGI Rugrats movie has been attempted. Back in July 2018, it was reported that David Goodman was writing such a project, and it was slated to come out in early 2021. However, by September 2019, this particular film adaptation was pulled from Paramount’s schedule with no explanation. Half a decade later, the studio is now reportedly giving this concept a second shot, although I don’t see how it doesn’t turn out to be some level of horrifying.
Going off the “live-action/CGI” description, my guess is that Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica and the rest of the infant/toddler characters will be created through CGI to resemble how they were originally depicted in animation, whereas their parents and the other adults will look like normal humans. If that’s the case, then I suspect this will lead to a lot of moviegoers feeling unsettled. If you thought how Sonic the Hedgehog originally looked for his live-action theatrical debut was rough, this approach for the Rugrats would surely surpass it.
I’m not saying that Rugrats can’t be depicted through CGI animation. Quite the contrary, as there was a two-season Rugrats reboot series that was once available to watch on Paramount+, although it’s since been removed from the platform and is now airing its episodes on Nicktoons. In that case though, all the characters were being depicted in an entirely CGI world. With this movie combining live action and CGI, it’s hard to imagine this not looking weird, if not induce nightmares.
Nevertheless, if there are any major updates on this Rugrats movie, we’ll pass them along. In the meantime, look over some of the other top Nickelodeon shows from the ‘90s.
