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Description
Show: Rugrats
Years: 2001 (Decades in Diapers VHS/DVD premier) (Pilot)/1991 (Premiere)

Writer(s): Ben Herndon, Paul Germain (Pilot)/Paul Germain, Craig Bartlett (First Episode)
Director(s): Peter Chung (Pilot)/Howard E. Baker

Welcome one and all to what I hope I can make into a regular series: From Pilot to Premiere! In this experimental reviewing format I plan to look at the humble beginnings of many an animated series and see how they compare to the first actual episode come showtime. In cases where the pilot IS the first episode? It will be stacked up to whatever comes after. And in cases where it's repurposed into a regular episode and different enough? A compare and contrast.

On this, the 30th anniversary of the original 3 Nicktoons, Rugrats, Doug and Ren & Stimpy, I'll be looking at the biggest of the bunch and seeing how America's favorite babies went from crawling through the mud of Pilot to walking on the silver screen to millions. Rugrats has always been a big favorite of mine and if ya couldn't tell? A major influence in my work and what makes me tick. It's a big part of what made me who I am today, and when I learned of the pilot episode I knew I had to do something special for it. Hang onto your diapies babies! We're in for a wild ride!

Now it's important to note that "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing" never actually aired on tv! It was shown at exhibitions and film festivals but didn't see an actual physical premiere to the public until Rugrats turned 10 years old and was included on the "Decade in Diapers" VHS and DVD. Although... Klasky-Csupo did intend to remake the episode to 11 minutes or at least bridge the gaps with newer footage back in 1991, the same way Aaahh!!! Real Monsters pilot would be handled alongside Doug and Rockos Modern Life. And giving this multiple watches I think I can see why that is... this pilot is absolutely terrifying!

Rugrats had always been a show that thrived on nightmare fuel and scary imagery given it shows you the perspective of toddlers and babies and the way they see the world. I believe this pilot is the closest one would actually get to that vision. The artstyle and animation of the pilot is VASTLY different from what one sees in the series; and you'd think that'd be a no-brainer except for who the director was... the legendary PETER CHUNG! If you were around in the 80s or 90s and loved cartoons you'd know that name! You'd know his style if you saw it. Heck, as recent as 2019 the man still gets praise from people like Diego Molana (creator of Victor and Valentino) for his work on Aeon Flux and how he told stories without much dialogue and almost purely through motion.

This a large part of where the charm of Rugrats in the first season lies. It's almost like watching a silent cartoon or Charlie Chaplin work. Just watching Tommy describe to Phil and Lil what he thinks a toilet is absolutely breathtaking as this baby contorts and stretches. His venturing into the bathroom to see if the thing is ALIVE is one of the trippiest things I've seen in ages; easily something to watch at night alone in the dark if you want a scare. Tommy almost seems froglike in this pilot, as if his hands an feet should be webbed and he'd be hopping on all fours; it sounds like the most natural thing on earth for the kid... and that STRUGGLE against the toilet as he destroys the bathroom! Even taking place in the dead of night it feels SO ALIVE! I could watch that sequence OVER AND OVER! It also does a decent job of establishing the characters (outside Chuckie and Angelica) in a way to promote it for possible investors. I will say that Tami Holbrook just didn't grab me as Tommy though; ultimately it was right that they chose E. G. Daily for the show proper.

Now the actual first episode is a lot more grounded, a lot more stable; but it still contains many of the traits from the pilot to keep that magic. Having the first episode be Tommy's first birthday is a stroke of brilliance! A birthday party is a magical time for a child, a time where ANYTHING is possible. And the wish it granted to give this series life was a big'un! Something so simple yet so engrossing, the world through the eyes of babes... as an extension of what the pilot did and what the series can do? This is spectacular! Mind you it still has some iffy things one might find off going into it at a later point. Angelica being so complacent to help the babies? Sure she's still a bitch and all but, it rarely ever happened. But the simple idea of Tommy wanting to be like Spike, thinking eating dog food is the answer? That's the cutest fucking thing I ever heard!

This first episode goes in strong showing off just what everyone brings to the table in a big way throughout the festivity's be it Lou Pickles wit and old people sass, Stu's borderline mad scientist skills with the Hoverama and of course... his bullheaded rivalry with his bro Drew. That disaster of a puppet show is all you need to see to really know how glorious this show really is. They could've gone the route of Tom and Jerry and made every grownup faceless with no personality; they took the highroad and made the adds just as fun as the babies. The fact that Jack Riley could go from screaming lunatic to morose and sad in an instant is a glorious trait to have, all the actors have such GLORIOUS range in this show.

In comparison to Tommy ruining the bathroom with his own two hands? The chaos ensued via getting a simple can of Huskie's Choice (So good you'll almost wish YOU were a dog!) even with a flying saucer is a touch more subdued than what we'd get later down the line. If you know the chaos these babies can cause? Like totaling an entire supermarket or destroying an armory of evil robots You'll know they've done WORSE than what they did to Didi's Kitchen and her godawful carrot cake! I'm with Grandpa Boris on this, Chocolate cake is TRADITION! But, I can't deny the ending of the babies acting like dogs is one of the sweetest things in the show even now.

Rugrats truly was unlike anything the world of animation had ever seen at the time. Nickelodeon's goal was to shed the cutesy, manufactured, toy-driven Disney feel that most cartoons had fallen into by the 70s and 80s. Sure it showed off the cute side of babies, but it also wasn't afraid to show how down and dirty things could get; especially this early into the game! If you've seen the commercials for the Nicktoons premieres you'll know they actually UNDERSTOOD the era of attitude and edge in the 90s that was coming along and embraced it with open arms!

The pilot for Rugrats did an excellent job at showing what they really wanted out of the medium and did it's job with gusto! "Tommy's First Birthday" isn't bad, not by a long shot, but it's very hard to compare and contrast a 6 minute pilot to a full 22 minute episode... if I had to be dead honest I'd say They both have their merits and very few demerits if any at all. But I give it to "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing" in terms of pure animated spectacle. But if you don't care about how fluid and terrifying the animation of the pilot is? Yeah "Tommy's First Birthday" is awesome too! These are prime examples in how you do firsts for one of the most monumental and influential cartoons of all time. It was a true changing of the guard, and diapers... over a decade and change of diapers... I guess we'll call this one a tie! Cuz I makes the rules and it's my show! See ya next time!

youtu.be/HAzC8Iv4kS4

Rugrats is © Nickelodeon, Viacom and Klasky-Csupó.

From Pilot to Premiere is mine.

Regulas314

Description
Show: Rugrats
Years: 2001 (Decades in Diapers VHS/DVD premier) (Pilot)/1991 (Premiere)

Writer(s): Ben Herndon, Paul Germain (Pilot)/Paul Germain, Craig Bartlett (First Episode)
Director(s): Peter Chung (Pilot)/Howard E. Baker

Welcome one and all to what I hope I can make into a regular series: From Pilot to Premiere! In this experimental reviewing format I plan to look at the humble beginnings of many an animated series and see how they compare to the first actual episode come showtime. In cases where the pilot IS the first episode? It will be stacked up to whatever comes after. And in cases where it's repurposed into a regular episode and different enough? A compare and contrast.

On this, the 30th anniversary of the original 3 Nicktoons, Rugrats, Doug and Ren & Stimpy, I'll be looking at the biggest of the bunch and seeing how America's favorite babies went from crawling through the mud of Pilot to walking on the silver screen to millions. Rugrats has always been a big favorite of mine and if ya couldn't tell? A major influence in my work and what makes me tick. It's a big part of what made me who I am today, and when I learned of the pilot episode I knew I had to do something special for it. Hang onto your diapies babies! We're in for a wild ride!

Now it's important to note that "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing" never actually aired on tv! It was shown at exhibitions and film festivals but didn't see an actual physical premiere to the public until Rugrats turned 10 years old and was included on the "Decade in Diapers" VHS and DVD. Although... Klasky-Csupo did intend to remake the episode to 11 minutes or at least bridge the gaps with newer footage back in 1991, the same way Aaahh!!! Real Monsters pilot would be handled alongside Doug and Rockos Modern Life. And giving this multiple watches I think I can see why that is... this pilot is absolutely terrifying!

Rugrats had always been a show that thrived on nightmare fuel and scary imagery given it shows you the perspective of toddlers and babies and the way they see the world. I believe this pilot is the closest one would actually get to that vision. The artstyle and animation of the pilot is VASTLY different from what one sees in the series; and you'd think that'd be a no-brainer except for who the director was... the legendary PETER CHUNG! If you were around in the 80s or 90s and loved cartoons you'd know that name! You'd know his style if you saw it. Heck, as recent as 2019 the man still gets praise from people like Diego Molana (creator of Victor and Valentino) for his work on Aeon Flux and how he told stories without much dialogue and almost purely through motion.

This a large part of where the charm of Rugrats in the first season lies. It's almost like watching a silent cartoon or Charlie Chaplin work. Just watching Tommy describe to Phil and Lil what he thinks a toilet is absolutely breathtaking as this baby contorts and stretches. His venturing into the bathroom to see if the thing is ALIVE is one of the trippiest things I've seen in ages; easily something to watch at night alone in the dark if you want a scare. Tommy almost seems froglike in this pilot, as if his hands an feet should be webbed and he'd be hopping on all fours; it sounds like the most natural thing on earth for the kid... and that STRUGGLE against the toilet as he destroys the bathroom! Even taking place in the dead of night it feels SO ALIVE! I could watch that sequence OVER AND OVER! It also does a decent job of establishing the characters (outside Chuckie and Angelica) in a way to promote it for possible investors. I will say that Tami Holbrook just didn't grab me as Tommy though; ultimately it was right that they chose E. G. Daily for the show proper.

Now the actual first episode is a lot more grounded, a lot more stable; but it still contains many of the traits from the pilot to keep that magic. Having the first episode be Tommy's first birthday is a stroke of brilliance! A birthday party is a magical time for a child, a time where ANYTHING is possible. And the wish it granted to give this series life was a big'un! Something so simple yet so engrossing, the world through the eyes of babes... as an extension of what the pilot did and what the series can do? This is spectacular! Mind you it still has some iffy things one might find off going into it at a later point. Angelica being so complacent to help the babies? Sure she's still a bitch and all but, it rarely ever happened. But the simple idea of Tommy wanting to be like Spike, thinking eating dog food is the answer? That's the cutest fucking thing I ever heard!

This first episode goes in strong showing off just what everyone brings to the table in a big way throughout the festivity's be it Lou Pickles wit and old people sass, Stu's borderline mad scientist skills with the Hoverama and of course... his bullheaded rivalry with his bro Drew. That disaster of a puppet show is all you need to see to really know how glorious this show really is. They could've gone the route of Tom and Jerry and made every grownup faceless with no personality; they took the highroad and made the adds just as fun as the babies. The fact that Jack Riley could go from screaming lunatic to morose and sad in an instant is a glorious trait to have, all the actors have such GLORIOUS range in this show.

In comparison to Tommy ruining the bathroom with his own two hands? The chaos ensued via getting a simple can of Huskie's Choice (So good you'll almost wish YOU were a dog!) even with a flying saucer is a touch more subdued than what we'd get later down the line. If you know the chaos these babies can cause? Like totaling an entire supermarket or destroying an armory of evil robots You'll know they've done WORSE than what they did to Didi's Kitchen and her godawful carrot cake! I'm with Grandpa Boris on this, Chocolate cake is TRADITION! But, I can't deny the ending of the babies acting like dogs is one of the sweetest things in the show even now.

Rugrats truly was unlike anything the world of animation had ever seen at the time. Nickelodeon's goal was to shed the cutesy, manufactured, toy-driven Disney feel that most cartoons had fallen into by the 70s and 80s. Sure it showed off the cute side of babies, but it also wasn't afraid to show how down and dirty things could get; especially this early into the game! If you've seen the commercials for the Nicktoons premieres you'll know they actually UNDERSTOOD the era of attitude and edge in the 90s that was coming along and embraced it with open arms!

The pilot for Rugrats did an excellent job at showing what they really wanted out of the medium and did it's job with gusto! "Tommy's First Birthday" isn't bad, not by a long shot, but it's very hard to compare and contrast a 6 minute pilot to a full 22 minute episode... if I had to be dead honest I'd say They both have their merits and very few demerits if any at all. But I give it to "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing" in terms of pure animated spectacle. But if you don't care about how fluid and terrifying the animation of the pilot is? Yeah "Tommy's First Birthday" is awesome too! These are prime examples in how you do firsts for one of the most monumental and influential cartoons of all time. It was a true changing of the guard, and diapers... over a decade and change of diapers... I guess we'll call this one a tie! Cuz I makes the rules and it's my show! See ya next time!

youtu.be/HAzC8Iv4kS4

Rugrats is © Nickelodeon, Viacom and Klasky-Csupó.

From Pilot to Premiere is mine.

Regulas314