Break out the rattles and diapers. Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica, and the rest of the gang will return in multiple mediums.
Viacom announced Monday that Rugrats, Nickelodeon’s hit 1990s cartoon, is coming back in a big way. A new 26-episode season will air on Nickelodeon, while a “live-action feature film featuring CGI characters” is being produced by Paramount’s co-branded feature label, Paramount Players. It already has a release date of November 13, 2020.
“Now feels like the ideal time to reintroduce this iconic cast of characters to a whole new generation of young fans,” said Brian Robbins, president of Paramount Players, in a press release. “Kids who grew up with Tommy Pickles and the Rugrats crew will now be able to share that experience with their own children.”
The show’s original creators, Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain, are executive producing the new show, which is already well into production. The movie will be written by David Goodman, an animation vet who has worked on Family Guy, Futurama, and others.
This is one of those “Sure, why not?” pieces of news. There’s nothing about Rugrats that specifically ties it to the 1990s, and it’s a brand name parents will recognize to show their kids. Plus, the property has already been a proven TV and film success. There were three Rugrats movies made in the late 1990s/early 2000s, with the first one even grossing $100 million in the U.S. And now, it seems like another generation of kids are destined to have the catchy Rugrats theme in their head for years to come.