TV Shows for Kids: Rugrats

Rugrats is a children's animated television series. Each episode fills a thirty minute television block. The show was created by Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo, and Paul Germain. Some of the actors and actresses whose voice can be heard on the show include E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Tara Strong, and Cree Summer among many others.

Rugrats made its television debut on the Nickelodeon channel on August 11, 1991. The show ran from 1991 to 1994 and then again from 1997 to 2005. In total, 174 episodes of Rugrats were produced. Rugrats is one of the most popular children's shows of the past decade plus.

The show is about a group of babies and how they see life different than adults do. The babies can communicate with each other, but they can't communicate with their parents. They understand what their parents and other adults are saying, but they often misunderstand certain words which make for the base of much of the comedy on the show. One character, Angelica, is the supposed evil character on the show. She is able to understand adults and the babies which creates an advantage for her over everyone.

The main characters on Rugrats are:
Tommy Pickles - Tommy Pickles is the leader of the group of babies. He is responsible for deciding what adventures they will take part in.
Chuckie Finster - Chuckie Finster is Tommy's best friend, but he can hold Tommy back on lots of their adventures because he is very easily scared.
Phil and Lil DeVille - Phil and Lil DeVille are a set of twins who are exactly alike most twins. Although they tend to fight every now and then, it only provides comedy on the show.
Angelica Pickles - Angelica Pickles is the kid who pushes the babies around. She tells them lies and tries to get them in trouble with the adults.
Susie Carmichael - Susie Carmichael is a friend of the babies because she is the only person who can fight back at Angelica, earning respect from the babies.

All of the children's parents and Tommy's grandpa are minor characters in the show, although they tend to be in almost every episode. They are usually used in the show as ways to start the babies on an adventure or ways to end an adventure.

As the popularity of Rugrats grew, Rugrats movies began being made. The Rugrats movies introduced many new characters into the group including a baby brother for Tommy and a step-sister for Chuckie. Although no new shows are being produced, reruns of Rugrats are sure to air on television for a long time due to its incredible popularity with kids.