TheMisterManGuy
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- Oct 23, 2014
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in the 90s, Rugrats was big. It was Nickelodeon's most popular series, and attracted an audience even broader than Nick's target demographic at the time. But it's popularity started waning as we moved into the new millennium. Spongebob SquarePants was rapidly overtaking the show in popularity, and with its 10th anniversary fast approaching, Nick needed a new gimmick to keep Rugrats relevant for at least a few more years. This led to the 1-hour TV movie, which eventually became its own spin-off, All Growed Up. A 10th anniversary special that showed what Tommy and his friends would be like if they were 10 years older. Tommy and the gang are now pre-teens, and attending the 6th grade at an unnamed Junior High School. As a one off special, it was okay. A neat "What if" scenario that answered the question of how the kids would grow up, but not much more than that. Apparently this attracted a massive audience though, to the point where kids were apparently hosting Rugrats parties to celebrate the premiere.
With an unexpected hit, Nick knew there was money to be made with this, so they asked the producers to develop the concept into a pitch for a potential spin-off series. Which was eventually green-lit as All Grown Up! The full series premiered in November of 2003, and follows the same Rugrats as pre-teens format of the special, but now stretched out to 4 seasons. All Grown Up! was controversial among fans, mostly because many people just didn't see the point in it (besides "We're in the Money!" of course). What was fine as a one off special for a dying cartoon, ended up being one of Nickelodeon's blandest and most forgettable cartoons of the decade.
It's not that All Grown Up! is a bad show, there's some things to like about it. It's nice to see the gang together again, and the idea of being older does lead to some interesting dilemmas. But the show never really takes advantage of its premise. First problem, like most Cartoons of that time, All Grown Up! presents a sanitized, squeaky clean version of Middle School. Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC popularized the sugar coated junior high setting with shows like Pepper Ann and The Weekenders, because Kids 2-11 want to look up to the big kids. With a premise of the Rugrats transitioning to teenagers, the show never really explores the trials and tribulations of middle school, even at the most basic levels, even when another Nicktoon at the time, As Told By Ginger, was doing just that. Instead the show wastes time on stupid crap like Dill making weird gadgets to get his friends into a concert, or Chuckle stealing a Christmas Tree.
Second Problem, The characters are just bland. Seriously, it's amazing how 10 years older, Tommy and the gang during their infant years have more personality and distinct identities than their Tween counterparts. It's like the kids just had all the character sucked out of them as they got older. All Grown Up kind of suffers the same problem as Quack Pack, it filled with dated "tween" slang nobody actually used, and thinking that can substitute for distinct personalities. What little character the gang does have, is basically watered down versions of their already existing traits. Tommy's the "hip" leader of the gang, who's now a film-maker for some reason. Chuckie's the socially awkward nerd. Phill and Lill are the opposite Twins, but nowhere near as bickering as they used to be. Kimi's now some weird hipster, Susie's the Sassy Black singer, and Angelica's the spoiled brat, but not nearly as antagonistic to the kids as before. The only character that even has somewhat of a distinct personality, is Dill, who's now an eccentric, alien-obsessed, comic relief character, but that's only because Dill didn't have much of a personality in the original series to begin with, so it was anything goes with his character.
In short, All Grown Up is essentially everything wrong about many early 2000s cartoons. Middle School kids who aren't allowed to act like real Middle School kids, bland, unrealistic plots, "Hip" slang nobody ever actually used, and characters that have little personality beyond said slang. Is it any wonder why this show is more or less forgotten?
With an unexpected hit, Nick knew there was money to be made with this, so they asked the producers to develop the concept into a pitch for a potential spin-off series. Which was eventually green-lit as All Grown Up! The full series premiered in November of 2003, and follows the same Rugrats as pre-teens format of the special, but now stretched out to 4 seasons. All Grown Up! was controversial among fans, mostly because many people just didn't see the point in it (besides "We're in the Money!" of course). What was fine as a one off special for a dying cartoon, ended up being one of Nickelodeon's blandest and most forgettable cartoons of the decade.
It's not that All Grown Up! is a bad show, there's some things to like about it. It's nice to see the gang together again, and the idea of being older does lead to some interesting dilemmas. But the show never really takes advantage of its premise. First problem, like most Cartoons of that time, All Grown Up! presents a sanitized, squeaky clean version of Middle School. Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC popularized the sugar coated junior high setting with shows like Pepper Ann and The Weekenders, because Kids 2-11 want to look up to the big kids. With a premise of the Rugrats transitioning to teenagers, the show never really explores the trials and tribulations of middle school, even at the most basic levels, even when another Nicktoon at the time, As Told By Ginger, was doing just that. Instead the show wastes time on stupid crap like Dill making weird gadgets to get his friends into a concert, or Chuckle stealing a Christmas Tree.
Second Problem, The characters are just bland. Seriously, it's amazing how 10 years older, Tommy and the gang during their infant years have more personality and distinct identities than their Tween counterparts. It's like the kids just had all the character sucked out of them as they got older. All Grown Up kind of suffers the same problem as Quack Pack, it filled with dated "tween" slang nobody actually used, and thinking that can substitute for distinct personalities. What little character the gang does have, is basically watered down versions of their already existing traits. Tommy's the "hip" leader of the gang, who's now a film-maker for some reason. Chuckie's the socially awkward nerd. Phill and Lill are the opposite Twins, but nowhere near as bickering as they used to be. Kimi's now some weird hipster, Susie's the Sassy Black singer, and Angelica's the spoiled brat, but not nearly as antagonistic to the kids as before. The only character that even has somewhat of a distinct personality, is Dill, who's now an eccentric, alien-obsessed, comic relief character, but that's only because Dill didn't have much of a personality in the original series to begin with, so it was anything goes with his character.
In short, All Grown Up is essentially everything wrong about many early 2000s cartoons. Middle School kids who aren't allowed to act like real Middle School kids, bland, unrealistic plots, "Hip" slang nobody ever actually used, and characters that have little personality beyond said slang. Is it any wonder why this show is more or less forgotten?
