“Rugrats,” the popular Nickelodeon animated series from the 1990s and early 2000s about a bunch of toddlers’ imaginative misadventures, is getting revived in a big way.
Not only will a new, 26-episode cartoon series be made at the network’s new Burbank facility, but Paramount Pictures has a CGI character-heavy, live-action “Rugrats” film in the works.
“Rugrats is hands-down one of the most celebrated cartoons in TV history, and we are thrilled for a whole new audience to meet these iconic characters in brand-new adventures,” Sarah Levy, COO, Viacom Media Networks and Interim President, Nickelodeon, said in a press release. “What was true in 1991 when the original show premiered is still true today: kids are fascinated with the world of babies. We can’t wait for today’s kids to meet Tommy, Chuckie and pals.”
While a Nickelodeon spokesperson said it was too early in the production process to tell how many local animators would be employed on the yet unscheduled “Rugrats” series, she did confirm that it would all be made at the new, 200,000-plus-square-foot headquarters Nickelodeon opened in Burbank early last year. The five-story building houses over 700 network employees, state-of-the-art equipment and more than 20 productions. The campus on the corner of Olive Avenue and Lake Street also includes the 72,000 square foot studio Nickelodeon first established on the West Coast in 1998.
Beside the multiple award-winning television series, the franchise also spawned two hit animated films, “The Rugrats Movie” (1998) and “Rugrats in Paris” (2000). Paramount’s third feature, the 2003 “Rugrats Go Wild,” didn’t do nearly as well. The semi live-action new “Rugrats” movie is scheduled for release in November, 2020.
