List of Rugrats characters

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Rugrats includes a large array of characters: family, friends, extended relatives, townspeople, and fictional characters. This is a list of characters from the original 1990s Nickelodeon animated television series, its various films, its All Grown Up! spin-off, and the 2020s reboot.

Contents

Main characters

Rugrats

Tommy

Thomas Malcolm "Tommy" Pickles (voiced by E. G. Daily, Tami Holbrook in the unaired pilot) [1] is the older son of Stu and Didi Pickles and serves as the series' main protagonist. Tommy, a 1-year-old, is portrayed as remembering the day of his birth in the episode "Stu-Maker's Elves". He lives with his parents and younger brother. Numerous episodes are set in the Pickles family home, focusing on Tommy and his family. In the series premiere episode, "Tommy's First Birthday", he is a 1-year-old and seems to remain that age throughout the entirety of the show. Tommy is the youngest of the babies until the birth of his brother in The Rugrats Movie . As an infant, Tommy is often seen crawling and walking somewhat unsteadily and pigeon-toed. He uses his diaper as a pocket, storing his screwdriver and other things he finds. Tommy is a brave child with a strong sense of justice, always eager for adventure and unafraid to stand up for what is right. His best friends are Chuckie and his dog, Spike. In the episode "Mother's Day," it is indicated that Tommy was born full term, but he was spending the first week or two of his life in an incubator, which explains his bravery and lack of taking life for granted.

Chuckie

Charles Crandall Norbert "Chuckie" Finster Jr. (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh from 1991 to 2000 and Nancy Cartwright from 2000 to present) is the son of Charles "Chas" Finster, a widower and bureaucrat, and his late spouse, Melinda Finster, and is Tommy's best friend. Unlike Tommy, Chuckie is clumsy and timid, he rarely expresses any desire to go on one of the babies' adventures, instead listing all the reasons they should not go on one. Whenever Tommy and Dil's cousin Angelica try to bully them, Chuckie unquestionably accepts her treatment and gives in to any possible demands. Chuckie is two years old, making him the eldest of the babies, therefore he is the first of them to be potty trained. Like Tommy, according to the episode "Stu-Maker's Elves", it is implied that he also remembers the day of his birth. In Rugrats in Paris: The Movie , Chuckie adds a Japanese stepmother, Kira Watanabe — who later adopts him — and an older Japanese French American stepsister, Kimi. In said film, he also says his first word, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" to the grown-ups when he eventually stops his father marrying Coco LaBouche. His character design was loosely based on Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead composer for the series. [2]

Angelica

Angelica Charlotte Pickles (voiced by Cheryl Chase) is the 3-year-old daughter of Drew and Charlotte Pickles, Stu and Didi's niece, and Tommy and Dil's cousin. Angelica serves as the series' antagonist, regularly threatening the babies physically, verbally, manually, financially, or sometimes psychologically and lying to them for her amusement. In her own home, Angelica is an only child who lives with her workaholic mom and hard-working father, who shower her with toys and admiration. Without any parental guidance or boundaries, Angelica has largely been left to determine for herself what is right and wrong, with her idea of "right" normally being what she wants. She is materialistic, devious, and self-centered. Though she torments the babies, Angelica stands up for them against others and expresses a genuine desire to be friends with them. The season 3 penultimate episode "Moving Away" explains how she and the babies first met each other, although this episode is presumably non-canon due to contradictions from others.

Phil and Lil

Phillip Richard William "Phil" DeVille and Lillian Marie Jill "Lil" DeVille (both voiced by Kath Soucie) are the children of Howard and Betty DeVille. They live next door to Tommy and are fraternal twins, with Lil older than Phil by two minutes. Often named "Lil and Phil", they share many similarities, including the same hairstyle and love for dirt and eating bugs and earthworms. They argue with one another frequently, and they almost always call each other by their full name, rarely ever referring to each other as "Phil and Lil". Looking so much alike, they are often mistaken for one another by adults, with the main facial difference between the two being that Phil's earlobes are attached while Lil's are not. They are both the same age as Tommy.

Susie

Susanna Yvonne "Susie" Carmichael (voiced by Cree Summer) is the younger African-American daughter of Randy and Dr. Lucy Carmichael, and Tommy's neighbor. Her family buys a home on Tommy's street in "Meet the Carmichaels," and their mothers become close friends. Susie bonds well with the babies despite the age difference, considering them her friends. While she doesn't often get along with Angelica, she makes a conscious effort to be nice to her, serving as the voice of reason for Angelica's lies and generally being kinder to the babies. Like her mother, Susie excels in various aspects of her life and has a kind and warm attitude. Her only real character flaw is her competitiveness. While she was the same age as Angelica in the original series, she is 1-2 years old in the reboot, the same age as Chuckie, meaning that in the 2020s version, she was born in 2019.

Dil

Dylan Prescott "Dil" Pickles (voiced by Tara Strong) is the son of Stu and Didi Pickles, and Tommy's younger brother. He was born in the 1998 film The Rugrats Movie and is the youngest of the babies. Dil rarely partakes in their adventures and is often seen drooling, crying, or babbling. Because of his young age, most of the time Dil cannot understand the babies and the babies cannot understand him. However, he does mature in the sequel series All Grown Up! .

Kimi

"Kimi" Watanabe-Finster (voiced by Dionne Quan in 2000–2008 and Charlet Chung in 2021–present) is the daughter of her biological father and mother, Hiro Watanabe and Kira Watanabe-Finster and is Chuckie's younger Japanese stepsister. Her mother marries Chuckie's father Chas in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and he later adopts her, assuming the role of her father. Kimi's boldness enables her to interact easily with the other babies, especially Tommy. She is protective of her older brother, while at the same time encouraging him to stand up for himself. She was born in October 5, 1988. She is Japanese-American. While she was 2 and a half years old in the original series, she is 3 and a half years old in the reboot, [3] making her around the same age as Angelica, and acts as the voice of reason instead of Susie.

Spike

Spike (voiced by Michael Bell in a dream sequence in the episode "In the Dreamtime" and Bruce Willis in Rugrats Go Wild ) is the Pickles' family dog. Though he appears in almost every episode of the series, he is not usually featured as a main part of episodes. Tommy claims him to be his best "animal" friend. The character is considered a main character in the series, appearing in almost three-quarters of all of the episodes, though he usually does not come along when the Rugrats venture to new locations. It is mentioned in "Spike Runs Away" that his breed is a fictional "Siberian Tiger Hound". As shown in The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild, Spike is very protective of the babies as he sees them as part of his family.

Family members

Other recurring

Babies and children

Adults

Pickles family relatives

The members and relatives of the Pickles family includes:

  • Boris Kropotkin (voiced by Michael Bell in 1991–2008 and Henry Winkler in 2021–present) and Minka Kerpackter (voiced by Melanie Chartoff in 1991–2008 and Swoosie Kurtz in 2021–present) are Didi's father and mother, and thus Tommy and Dill's maternal grandparents. Both are Jews who emigrated from Russia and retain thick accents and traditions from "The Old Country".
  • Beatrix "Trixie" McGee-Pickles is Tommy, Dill, and Angelica's deceased grandmother, Drew and Stu's mother; and Lou's first wife. Having died prior to the show, she appears only in Lou's flashbacks in the episode "Grandpa's Date". Little is known about her, although at one point, it is mentioned that she worked on Estes Kefauver's campaign for the Democratic Presidential Nomination of 1956.
  • Great Aunt 'T' Adegoke (voiced by Irma P. Hall) and Uncle Charles Kojo (voiced by Bill Cobbs) are the great aunt and uncle of the Carmichaels.
  • Benjamin "Ben" Kropotkin (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is Didi's younger brother and Elaine's husband. In his first appearance, he is about to marry a woman named Elaine (referring to the characters of the same names in The Graduate ), who briefly disappears before the wedding because of cold feet. The married couple appears again to babysit the Rugrats in "Baby Maybe" as an experience for having their own children but unpleasantly discover that raising children may not be so simple.
  • Elaine Robinson Kropotkin (voiced by Tress MacNeille in "Let Them Eat Cake" and Meagen Fay in "Baby Maybe") is Ben's wife and Didi's sister-in-law. In her first appearance ("Let Them Eat Cake"), she marries Ben. Elaine appears also in "Baby Maybe" where she and Ben watch over Angelica and the babies to prepare for having possible kids of their own.
  • Miriam "Mim" Pickles (voiced by Andrea Martin) is Lou's older cousin. Her family calls her "Aunt Miriam", even though Stu, Drew, Tommy, and Dil are her cousins. It's implied her relationship with Lou as a child mirrors Tommy and Angelica's relationship.
  • McGrew "Mackie" Pickles (voiced by Andy Houts) and Edie Pickles (voiced by Kath Soucie) are the parents of Emmet Pickles, and relatives of Stu, Drew, Tommy, and Angelica. When Drew went to change out of his dirty clothes, Angelica thought that they were her new parents.[ citation needed ]

Relatives of the other families

  • Melinda Finster (voiced by Kim Cattrall) is Chuckie's birth mother. She died a few months after Chuckie's birth, long before the show began. She is only seen in flashbacks, although she is referenced several times in the series.
  • Shirley Dalmond Finster (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) and Charles Mervyn "Marvin" Finster (voiced by Stacy Keach) are Chas' parents, and Chuckie and Kimi's paternal grandparents.
  • Freddie (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) is Betty's older brother and uncle of the twins who only appears in the episode "Brothers Are Monsters". His behavior and dress sense are similar to his sister's, except his sweater bares the male symbol.
  • Colleen McNulty (voiced by Teresa Ganzel) is the McNulty boys' mother. She appears in "A Very McNulty Birthday" and "Wash Dry Story". Her husband Colin has not been seen.
  • Conan McNulty (voiced by Michael Keenan) is the McNulty boys' paternal grandfather and Lou's rival since childhood.
  • Tia Esperanza (voiced by Tata Vega) is Betty's aunt who appears in the 2021 series.

Other adults

  • Larry (voiced by Scott Menville in most appearances and Jeremy Sisto in "Angelica Orders Out") and Steve (voiced by Scott Menville) are two teenage boys who always seem to have different odd jobs, such as painters, movie theater attendants, and grocery store employees. They are named after two producers of some episodes. Larry later appears in the episode "Angelica Orders Out" as a caterer for Zippy's Snappy Home Delivery, but his hair was dyed red.
  • Jonathan Kraskel (voiced by René Auberjonois in "Mommy's Little Assets", Dan Castellaneta in "Jonathan Babysits" to "Lost at Sea" and Antony Del Rio in 2021-present) is Charlotte's meek personal assistant at Mega Corp who she constantly yells at. In "Lost at Sea", Mega Corp is reorganized and Jonathan is named the new CEO. In the reboot series, Jonathan is depicted as Hispanic.
  • Dr. Werner Lipschitz (voiced by Tony Jay) is a child psychologist whom Stu, Didi, and Chas commonly consult for parenting assistance.
  • Alan Quebec (voiced by Alex Trebek) is a game show host who hosted Super Stumpers, the fictitious game show on which Didi appears in the episode "Game Show Didi".
  • Miss Weemer (voiced by Vicki Lewis) is Angelica and Susie's teacher in pre-school.
  • Macie Jonston is Lulu's sister and Taffy's grandmother who became the step-relative of the Pickles family when Lulu married Lou.
  • Miranda "Anda" Smellson is Taffy's mother, Macie's daughter, and Lulu's niece.

Pets

Fictional characters in Rugrats

The following appear within the televisions and films within this franchise:

Reptar franchise

  • Reptar (voiced by Busta Rhymes in The Rugrats Movie and vocal effects provided by Fred Tatasciore in 2021–present) is a big green Tyrannosaurus mutated into a dinosaur-like kaiju reminiscent of Godzilla. Tommy and the other Rugrats love him. Reptar products such as cars, clothes, and candy are frequently seen on the show. Stu built a Reptar Wagon for Tommy in The Rugrats Movie. Reptar was a main character in Rugrats in Paris and had his own theme park called Euro Reptarland. There was a giant Reptar robot in Euro Reptarland which the babies piloted and fought against Jean Claude. Reptar has had his own ice show, which Lou believes is "sheer brilliance". The babies interrupted it, seeking a lizard they believe is a "Baby Reptar".
  • Robosnail is Reptar's archenemy, a mechanical snail with snapping pincers. He made a special guest appearance in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie , controlled by Jean-Claude. Robosnail and Reptar fought throughout Paris, and Robosnail wound up falling into the Seine.
  • Dactar is a big Pterodactyl who fights Reptar on TV. He resembles kaiju Rodan, ironic since he and Godzia are generally depicted as allies despite their fighting in Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II .
  • Thorg (voiced by Phil Proctor) is a giant gorilla and Reptar's enemy. In the episode "Toy Palace", Tommy and Chuckie activate a large robotic Thorg, who chases them through the store, repeating his catchphrase "Thorg hungry! Thorg want eat!" He is made to resemble King Kong and has been sent back in time to when George Washington crossed the Delaware River.
  • The Mole People are Reptar's archenemies. It was mentioned by Tommy in "Jonathan Babysits" that Reptar once dug underground to avoid them.

Mega Hyper Heroes

The Mega Hyper Heroes are the superheroes that the babies watch on TV. The babies imitated the characters by calling themselves the "Mega Diaper Babies". They appear to be based on the Fantastic Four with elements of Captain Planet and the Planeteers , Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , and the Teen Titans. When four teenagers join their rings together, they become the Mega Hyper Heroes where they work to save Earth and the universe from various villains who would do something like hog the world's oxygen supply, drain the oceans, or blow up the universe.

  • Changeling/Johnny (voiced by Neil Ross) is the leader of the Mega Hyper Heroes. He is capable of adopting animal forms. Changeling's powers are similar to the powers of Beast Boy.
  • Miss Invisible/Diane (voiced by Kath Soucie) a member of the Mega Hyper Heroes. She is capable of invisibility. Miss Invisible is a parody of Invisible Woman.
  • Flaro/Marco (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a member of the Mega Hyper Heroes. He is capable of sudden ignition at the single flick of his wrist. Flaro is a parody of Human Torch
  • Bolt/Ricky (voiced by Jim Turner) is a member of the Mega Hyper Heroes. He capable of morphing into a tall, ultra-strong man where the narrator describes him as having the strength of two men.
  • Metallitron (voiced by Gregg Berger) is the robotic enemy of the Mega Hyper Heroes. Despite sounding like a male, Metallitron is actually a female. At one point, Metallitron tried to steal Earth's oceans.
  • Germaniac is an enemy of the Mega Hyper Heroes. Tommy mentioned him in a pep talk with the other babies by commenting that the Mega Hyper Heroes once stopped him from blowing up the universe.
  • Ratface is a character in the Mega Hyper Heroes show. His action figure was seen in "Wrestling Grandpa".

Blocky and Oxwinkle

Blocky and Oxwinkle is a parody of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends .

  • Blocky (voiced by June Foray) and Oxwinkle are Stu and Drew's favorite cartoon characters as babies, a parody of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Blocky talks more than Oxwinkle.
  • Yuri and Svetlana (both voiced by June Foray) are a pair of villains who try to trick and get rid of Blocky and Oxwinkle, calling them "Elk and Weasle". They are a parody of Boris and Natasha, and their nicknames for Blocky and Oxwinkle is a parody of "Moose and Squirrel". In an example of stunt casting, Foray, the original voice of Rocky as well as of Natasha, provided the voice of their Rugrats universe counterparts while Yuri is largely silent.

Other fictional characters

  • Cynthia (voiced by Tori Kelly in 2021–present) is Angelica Pickles' favorite doll. Based on the American doll, Barbie.
  • Captain Blasto (voiced by Adam West) from his early seasons, is a spaceman who hosts his namesake show, a low-budget local children's program reminiscent of the Captain Video series of the 1950s. In "Super Hero Chuckie", Chuckie, Angelica, Stu, and Drew watch the show's production.
  • The Dummi Bears (variously voiced by Nancy Cartwright and Christine Cavanaugh) are a cartoon watched by the babies, although it seldom interests them and Grandpa Lou, in particular, despises the program. The name is a play on Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears , while the show spoofs the Care Bears. Susie's father Randy Carmichael was a writer for the show, and in one episode, the babies are taken to a movie theater to see the Dummi Bears movie.
  • Goober the Gopher is a friendly, hug-loving character created by Lipschitz Industries as a friendly children's icon resembling Barney the Dinosaur. In one episode, the grownups got rid of the Reptar decor in the babies' room figuring it scared Dil, and replaced it with Goober the Gopher. This led the babies to get Reptar and Goober to fight for who should be the better mascot.

Real people

Exclusive to the films

Introduced in The Rugrats Movie

Introduced in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

Introduced in Rugrats Go Wild

See also

References

  1. Rugrats (Animation, Adventure, Comedy), Games Animation, Klasky-Csupo, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, August 11, 1991, retrieved November 12, 2022
  2. Klickstein, Mathew (March 5, 2012). "Mark Mothersbaugh on Rugrats". Vulture. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  3. "Escape from Preschool". Rugrats (2021). Season 1. Episode 12a. October 7, 2021. Paramount+.
  4. Rugrats, Episode 104 Little Dude. Klasky Csupo, 1991
  5. 1 2 3 4 Schwartz, Ryan (May 3, 2021). " Rugrats Reboot Gets May Premiere Date at Paramount+ — WATCH". TVLine . Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  6. Loftus, Mary J. (November 26, 1996). "The Powerful Appeal of The Rugrats". The Ledger . p. D6. Retrieved March 17, 2021. Klasky and her baby son were the inspiration for Didi and Tommy Pickles.
  7. 1 2 "Exclusive: Phil and Lil's mom Betty will be gay in new Rugrats series". The A.V. Club . 26 May 2021.
  8. Hirwani, Peony (2021-05-28). "Rugrats mom Betty DeVille will be openly gay in reboot". The Independent . Retrieved 2021-06-08.