In today’s world those born in the 1990s wear the badge of “90s kid” as a badge of honor. They were there to say “bye bye bye” with N*SYNC, they told each other why with The Backstreet Boys, and they hit that baby one more time with Brittany (don’t worry, no babies were actually hit). But one factor that stands out from the ’90s more than the fashion choices or the catchy tunes are the cartoon series. The ’90s had plenty of cartoons that contained content that was questionable for children. Shows like Ren and Stimpy and Cow and Chicken were colorful and varied casts of characters, but were also quite violent and had a propensity to include weird things like a devil character who is constantly flashing his buttocks on the screen. It was a time of truly weird and wild ideas in the medium, but it also paved the way for shows like SpongeBob SquarePants by introducing families to a suggestive style of humor.
Certain shows from this period still stand out though for their uniqueness and iconic characters. Much like how Nickelodeon put out a Hey Arnold! movie that served as a cap to the series and finally answered questions about Arnold’s parents, they should also bring back CatDog and Rugrats. In order to understand exactly why these Nicktoons would work well today it’s important to look back at what made these series so enjoyable.
Viewers saw Tommy and friends conquer their toddler years, often navigating through the world with the kind of wonder only a child can. The babies’ basic misunderstandings of the world around them and their subsequent adventures as a result of these misunderstandings is what makes Rugrats such a fun watch. Things that are commonplace, like everyday items or activities, are turned into high-stakes scenarios. An RV in the garage is a space shuttle. Chuckie’s germaphobia leads him to create a suit of household items to keep bacteria away. Susie’s stolen bike becomes what is essentially a small-scale courtroom drama.
While Rugrats has technically already had a sequel series, Rugrats! All Grown Up was never able to capture that magic of the original series and failed to capture the success of the original. This is why it makes more sense for Nickelodeon to reboot the series than to make an outright sequel. It’s been long enough now that a new generation of kids will be most likely unfamiliar with the original show. A reboot would feel fresh by taking on modern technology and problems that people face today.
For example, Tommy’s mother Didi Pickles is constantly going off about Dr. Lipschitz (there’s that 90’s humor again). The man is apparently the ultimate authority on raising babies, even though Didi is constantly leaving her own unattended. Books and television shows from “gurus” are a staple of the ’90s, calling to mind TV personalities like Richard Simmons (who, coincidentally, actually provided a guest voice on Rocko’s Modern Life in the episode “No Pain, No Gain”) or Billy Blanks of Tae Bo fame. But technology has advanced quite a ways since Rugrats aired, so how does this affect the offerings of Lipschitz today? He’d probably have books, podcasts, a YouTube channel, and even a mobile app. Tommy’s parents are already easily distracted, just imagine what smartphones would do to them.
Technology surrounding babies has also advanced in many ways. Baby monitors, for example, are now far more capable and provide high definition imagery in many cases. This could present an entirely new set of challenges to our diapered heroes. Times have changed, but the underlying concept is still solid, making Rugrats an ideal choice for a modern-day reboot.
There’s no getting around it, CatDog is weird. It had a solid run of 68 episodes over 7 years, but it’s about a conjoined pair of brothers, a cat and a dog, as well as their mouse roommate Winslow. It’s also extremely dark for a show aimed at kids.
Episodes like the time that CatDog almost opt to be surgically separated by a spinning saw or the time that Dog accidentally released all of Cat’s 9 lives and they wreak havoc on the town are particular standouts in oddly horrific scenarios for the series. This pairing of characters would still work well in regards to today’s highly prevalent issues of LGBTQ rights and teaching kids to accept those who are different from themselves. The relationship between CatDog is key to this.
To put it bluntly, Cat is a total jerk. He rarely wants to do anything with Dog, he’s constantly sighing or belittling any statements made by him and he often laughs at other’s misfortune. He’s a feline that is unkind. Dog on the other hand is the polar opposite, he’s just like the family dog. He’s friendly, outgoing, and easily excitable. This pairing is great for teaching a younger audience life lessons about accepting others.
Cat would serve as the cynical notions that many in society have about given topics. Dog on the other hand would be there to help Cat see the positives of a given situation and learn from his incorrect preconceived thoughts on that subject. The show ultimately has a design that works well for a lesson of the week format, here’s to hoping that Nickelodeon re-opens their fish-bone house to additional stories.
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