Paramount announced on Wednesday that it’s moving forward with a big-screen reboot of Nickelodeon’s classic children’s series The Rugrats, but those expecting it to resemble the original animated show are in for a surprise.
The studio is taking a decidedly different approach to rebooting The Rugrats, which hasn't had a theatrical outing since 2003. In addition to recruiting Saturday Night Live star Mikey Day and the show’s head writer, Streeter Seidell, to pen the script, Paramount is conceiving the new movie as a live-action/CGI hybrid in the vein of its mega-successful Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The adults will reportedly be played by real humans, while the titular babies will be digital creations. There are shades of the notorious live-action/CGI misfires Baby Geniuses and Snow Dogs in that pitch, but the marriage has worked out well for Sonic and his pals.
The Rugrats followed toddler Tommy Pickles and his pals Chucky Finster and twins Phil and Lil DeVille, along with Tommy’s villainous older cousin Angelica. The show premiered on Nickelodeon in 1991 and ran for three seasons. It also spawned three feature films—The Rugrats Movie (1998), Rugrats in Paris (2000), and Rugrats Go Wild (2003), the latter of which was a crossover with Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberries. A sequel series entitled All Grown Up! premiered in 2003. In 2021, Paramount+ debuted a reboot of the original series.
The new film has yet to receive an official title or release date. But we do know that it will be directed by Jason Moore, who also has ties to Saturday Night Live—he directed the 2015 comedy Sisters, which starred Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Rugrats co-creators Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó will produce alongside Karen Rosenfelt.
