They don’t make shows like they used to, or at least that’s what I’m figuring out now that I’m rewatching Rurgrats with my 4-year-old daughter. At some point recently, the iconic cartoon series about a group of fearless (for the most part) babies became one of the most binge-worthy shows on Netflix, and so I decided to show my youngest kid one of my all-time favorites.
But here’s the thing… I completely forgot that Rugrats, especially the first couple of seasons, was so weird. I’m talking episodes that feel like something you’d see in one of the best horror movies or The Twilight Zone, not a beloved ‘90s kids show. Here are some thoughts from this trippy stroll down memory lane.
Like A Lot Of Parents, I Love Revisiting My Favorite Cartoons With My Kids
One of the coolest things about parenthood is introducing your kids to your favorite childhood shows, and in my case, that means going through all those classic ‘90s Nickelodeon cartoons. Ever since I’ve been a dad, I’ve watched shows like Doug, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Hey Arnold with the kiddos so that they can not only see what led to their favorite shows today but also see what I was watching when I was their age. Also, it’s a great excuse to watch a bunch of old cartoons and sitcoms and say it’s “parenting.”
So, it was only a matter of time before I ended up on the granddaddy (or grandbaby) of them all with Rugrats. I thought to myself that it would be a fun and engaging experience. And while it was both of those things, it was also much stranger than I remembered.
I Completely Forgot The First Two Seasons Of Rugrats Are So Out There
There’s a lot of good and bad with classic children’s cartoons, but in that middle area between the two extremes is Rugrats, which I quickly found out was a strange, oftentimes off-putting, and unique experience. This is especially true for the first couple of seasons of the show.
The debut season, which came out back in 1991, felt a lot like those early episodes of The Simpsons where the animation team hadn’t yet fully developed the visual style, which makes the animation look a little off when compared to the more polished work later on. These episodes also have a certain sound design that gives the episodes an eerie quality.
The second season, though more polished, also has some off-putting or downright creepy moments in episodes like “Mirrorland,” “Chucky vs. the Potty,” and “Regarding Stuie,” an episode where Stu Pickles reverts to a toddler after a nasty fall.
My Daughter Has Gone From Being Weirded Out To Scared While Watching
Like any kid her age, my daughter has had quite a reaction to these old episodes of Rugrats. At times, she’s been weirded out (thanks “The Big House”) while at others she’s been insanely scared (looking at you “Mirrorland”), but this hasn’t stopped her from watching the show after she comes home from pre-school or on the weekends. I mean, it’s only fitting considering we started watching the show together after she interrupted the first episode of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menéndez Story just after that intense murder scene (don’t worry, she didn’t see it).
I was around her age when I started watching Rugrats back when I was a kid, but I guess I’ve blocked out all those strange memories because all I really remember from those early experiences were the baseball and birthday episode. Both of those still hold up, by the way.
Even Later Episodes, Like "Angelica's Worst Nightmare," Feel Like Straight Up Horror Movies
Though I haven’t been able to watch later seasons with my Netflix subscription, I have continued this little trip down memory lane elsewhere. My Paramount+ subscription has come in handy to check out Season 3 again, which is still wild despite having even more refined animation. There are two episodes in particular that feel more like horror movies than a children’s show from the early ‘90s.
“Angelica’s Worst Nightmare,” which essentially deals with Tommy’s older cousin coming to terms with the idea she might soon have a younger brother, features an intense nightmare sequence where a giant baby chases her around the house like it’s one of the Halloween movies before things get even more intense. “In The Dreamtime,” another nightmare episode, sees Chucky enter some fantastical world where things aren’t as they seem. The “I’m not Tommy” moment is so strange and terrifying.
But I Will Say, The Odd Tone, Music, And Situations In These Early Episodes Give The Show A Unique Quality
This isn’t to say these old episodes of Rugrats aren’t any good or too much for younger audiences, because I love the show as much now as I did way back when I was a kid. If anything, the odd tone, music, situations, and even animation give the show a unique quality, especially when compared to the various reboots that have come out over the past 30-years. There’s something fresh, fun, and a tad bit dangerous about the various scenarios in these episodes, which makes them so much fun to watch.
Looking Back, The Same Could Also Be Said For A Lot Of Those Early '90s Nicktoons
But you know, a lot of those Nicktoons from the ‘90s are a lot darker than they should have been. Shows like Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, and Rocko’s Modern Life. Though Nickelodeon was one of the biggest cable channels during a time when TV was still king, the network allowed these shows' creators to deviate from the path of traditional children’s programming and create edgier, riskier, and sometimes scarier shows than what many were used to watching.
It’s a lot of fun looking back and revisiting these shows all these years later for a variety of reasons. One, they still hold up; two, they say a lot about people of my generation; and three, it’s wild to see how much things have changed over the course of the past 30 years.
With a live-action/CGI Rugrats movie in the works, maybe a lot more people will be revisiting this classic cartoon and remember just how crazy this show was at the time (and now).
