Season 3:
In its day (90s) Rugrats was the bomb with the wee crowd. Nickelodeon had a big hit on its hands. It is a rather unique series in many respects. The most evident is the style of animation. It is different. Certainly not high tech, but cute. Though kids love the show it is written for adults as well. It is not one of those (many) kids’ shows that will drive you up the wall.
Four youngsters sit in their playpen and watch the world around them. Head of the small gang is Tommy Pickles. He is the head because he has the brains and ingenuity. When they want to get out and explore the world they turn to him because he has stashed a screwdriver in diaper to aide in their escape. Red-headed Chuckie does not have that kind of gumption. He is worried/scared about everything. Phil and Lil are the twins, who are pretty much open to doing anything.
Once out these toddlers spend them “free” time exploring the world around them and trying to figure out all that the adults are doing. Some of these adults are their parents and Tommy and Angelica’s babysitting grandfather, who falls asleep all the time.
Some of the stronger episodes this season include “Angelica Breaks a Leg”, “Stu Gets a Job” and “Naked Tommy”.
Season 4:
Nothing has really been tinkered with other than they have been upgraded in regards to sound (HD) and visuals. Fear not as this is still a pure representation of animation from the 90s. Many adults now will have a sense of the nostalgia rewatching this series with their kids. And you can watch this with your kids and not want to slit your wrists.
All the writing in this series is rather intelligent. Whether it be jokes or plot. So much so that both kids and adults can relate to what is going on. Because the writing is strong the characters, despite the fact that many are still in diapers, are well-rounded and developed. Even the adults, instead of being only stereotypes, are cool and realistically portrayed.
The only complaint is that there are once again no extras.