The Plot Synopsis for this "All Grown Up!" Episode is Wrong

(This is a screenshot of the episode description that is the subject of this post.)

I was rewatching episodes of All Grown Up! last night. For those that are unaware, All Grown Up! is the spin off series to the popular Nickelodeon series, Rugrats. I don’t know how anyone who clicked on this post doesn’t already know what All Grown Up! is, but in case you don’t, there you go. It’s actually not the first Rugrats spin-off ever made. It’s actually the second. Nickelodeon attempted another Rugrats spin-off before called Rugrats Pre-School Daze, which was based off of the Season 7 episode of the same name. It also went by another title, Angelica & Susie’s School Daze, but I don’t really like that title. I think Rugrats Pre-School Daze is a much better title.

Regardless of the title, it started airing in 2001, becoming the first spin-off of Rugrats. As both titles would suggest, the series centered around Angelica, Susie, and their friend, Harold as they attend preschool together, and all that comes with that. Just like what the “Pre-School Daze” episode of Rugrats was about. That episode served as a backdoor pilot for that series. The series only lasted 13 episodes, and was quietly canceled with little fanfare.

The biggest factor in why Rugrats Pre-School Daze didn’t take off was the art style. The art style was kind of ugly, and didn’t look anything like the art style of Rugrats. It looked like one of those cheap YouTube Kids videos that you see a lot whenever you watch a video on YouTube that’s labeled under kids, like clips from animated movies or from Nickelodeon shows. It just looked kind of off-putting, and that’s usually the sentiment that hear from people who either remembered this show from when it briefly aired or when it was included on one of the Rugrats DVDs 📀 (I think it was on one of the Tales From the Crib DVDs 📀), or didn’t know that it existed and learned about it for the first time as an adult, and watched a few episodes.

I also think too that the show really wasn’t that big of a departure from the original Rugrats series that it really didn’t seem worth dedicating a whole series to this concept. I mean, Angelica, Susie, and Harold are all the same age that they were in Rugrats, it’s just that they’re in preschool. That’s the only unique aspect that set it apart. So, that show fell by the wayside, and was quickly forgotten about with hardly anyone remembering that it even existed. It’s only when cartoon reviewers on YouTube like Jordan Fringe started doing videos on it, and when other YouTubers started uploading entire full episodes of the thing that people were like, “Hey, that was a thing that existed.”

So, after the original Rugrats officially ended in 2004, All Grown Up! came onto the scene, and took it place, continuing the legacy of the Rugrats in an era that was now dominated by SpongeBob 🧽. Though I should clarify that the show did technically start airing in 2003 when the original Rugrats was still airing. Like Pre-School Daze, All Grown Up! was based off of an episode of the original Rugrats. More specifically it was based off of a TV special called “All Growed Up,” which explored the idea of aging up the babies to preteens and seeing them attend middle school and deal with preteen problems, and was the highest rated TV program in Nickelodeon’s history at the time.

A lot of people watched the “All Growed Up” special when it first aired because so many people were intrigued by the idea of seeing the Rugrats babies as older kids. People wanted to see what they would be like if they were grew up. It truly was an event. So, it served as a backdoor pilot just as the “Pre-School Daze” episode served as a backdoor pilot for the Pre-School Daze series. All Grown Up! featured some of the same characters as Pre-School Daze, like the character, Savannah, who was introduced in Pre-School Daze and carried over to All Grown Up! However, unlike Pre-School Daze, All Grown Up! was actually successful. It had 4 seasons and 55 episodes. That’s more than most other Nickelodeon cartoon shows get. And also unlike Pre-School Daze, All Grown Up! is actually remembered, and it’s actually looked back on fondly despite it not being that well received at the time.

A lot of people at the time thought All Grown Up! was a pointless spin-off that didn’t need to exist, and completely tarnished the reputation of the Rugrats franchise as a whole and even missed the point of Rugrats entirely, just an inferior product overall. You still see those type of sentiments today, but not as much as in the mid-to-late 2000s when this show was airing, and in the 2010s when Millennials were the “youth generation,” and were polluting the Internet with their opinions on things that don’t entirely matter. A lot of the negative things people have said about it over the years is that it didn’t really need to exist because As Told by Ginger was a thing.

Some people felt that As Told by Ginger did a better job at exploring the trials and tribulations that come with being a kid in middle school, growing up, and becoming a teenager and an adult, and tackled much more serious issues than what All Grown Up! was willing to explore. Their sentiment was, “Why have a Rugrats show that appeals to preteens and explores what it’s like growing up, when you already have a show by the same studio that does exactly that?” Some people also didn’t like the show because of how the older versions of the characters were portrayed, particularly Tommy and Chuckie.

They said that they were too mean, and as a result, the show was mean-spirited. They also complained about the reduced role of the adult characters, the parents, who play far less of a role in this show than they did in the original show. Probably because the baby characters are older now, and are able to express themselves in a better way now, and have conflicts that don’t involve baby stuff. So, the adult characters weren’t really needed as much since their main purpose was to provide a more mature prospective and have more mature conflicts that don’t just involve an overactive imagination or naïvety or a complete lack of understanding of the world around them like with the babies.

In fact, in a lot of cases, the adults were kind of the source of conflict for the babies, as the babies frequently misunderstood what the parents were doing because of their small, still-developing brains 🧠 and their completely lack of understanding of the world around them. Like, the babies would often misinterpret something the parents said (like taking a figure of speech literally), and then either base their whole world view based on that misinterpretation or go on a baby-sized misadventure based on that misinterpretation. Still, some people felt that the show could’ve still explored how the relationship between the kids and their parents had evolved since they were babies. Even people who like the show.

Speaking of which, now the common consensus has shifted in All Grown Up!’s favor as the people who grew up with it, or at least watched an episode or two of it as a kid like me, are now old enough to be nostalgic about it and express their own opinions about it on the Internet 🛜. Completely drowning out any negative press that the show has received over the years. Nostalgia, it’s a powerful thing. It can make anyone overlook or ignore the flaws in something they watched a long time ago as a kid.

And yes, All Grown Up! is a flawed show, I’ll be the first one to admit that. It’s a show that has great ideas, but flawed execution. It didn’t really get the chance to reach its full potential. Part of that is due to Nickelodeon not really giving it a chance, and kind of screwing it over in the scheduling. That’s just Nickelodeon for you, they’ve always been bad at scheduling their programming, and they’ve always screwed over shows that weren’t SpongeBob 🧽 or The Fairly OddParents or The Loud House. The yellow sponge 🧽 really did change the network for the worst.

Part of it also is that the writers, and many of the people who were working on the show didn’t always have the passion for it they should have while they were working on, and weren’t exactly giving it their all. Klasky Csupo was stretched pretty thin by the time All Grown Up! came along, as they were already working on multiple shows. You had Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and As Told by Ginger. Some of these shows had already ended or were canceled, but As Told by Ginger at least was still airing. There also plenty of people within the company that were against the idea of making a spin-off series where the babies were older. Like, Paul St. Germain, one of the co-creators of the original Rugrats, for example. So, their hearts weren’t in it for some of them.

But, despite that, it is still enjoyable. I will still go on Paramount+ and rewatch episodes of the show when I want to take a break from YouTube, take a break from my laptop 💻, and I don’t feel like playing any video games. I’d say my favorite characters are the older Angelica and the older Dil. Those two characters really carry this show on their shoulders, and are really what made it work. The show would be so much lesser without them, and it’s funny because they were two of the least liked characters in the original Rugrats.

Angelica obviously was the antagonist in the original Rugrats (as well as in the 2021 reboot), and a lot of people didn’t really like her because she was mean, selfish, cruel, and bratty. To be fair though, she was a lot more mean in the earlier seasons, but did kind of mellow out as the show went on. And people didn’t really like Dil because he was an infant who didn’t really talk, and didn’t have much of a personality. But, All Grown Up! took those characters and evolved them, and made them better in some cases. They made Angelica a really funny character with some witty one-liners, and other funny moments.

She is still mean, but not so mean that she’s unbearable or unlikable. She’s more mean in that middle school girl ♀︎ kind of way rather than that annoying spoiled toddler kind of way. She’s a 13 year old who acts her age, and is into the usual things a girl ♀︎ that age is into, at least a girl that age that has rich parents, like shopping and hanging out at the mall. I think the thing that made her more endearing in the show compared to her toddler counterpart in the original is the fact that they emphasized more of her insecurities and her inferiority complex.

She desperately wants to be one of the popular kids, and a lot of her actions throughout the series are driven by that desire to be popular, and she’s rejected every single time. Usually due to her association with her cousins, Tommy and Dil and their friends, and due to her own actions, which drive even the popular kids away. And she usually ends up giving into her better nature, and does something genuinely kind and generous, which helps her grow as a person.

As for Dil, they just gave him a personality. They deepened a pretty shallow pool. I, and many others, liked what they did with his character in this series. They basically turned him into a conspiracy theorist, an alien and UFO true believer 👽🛸, and a true believer in nearly everything else paranormal including Bigfoot, who does canonically exist within the Rugrats/All Grown Up! universe. The episode, “Interview with a Campfire 🔥” confirmed it, as well as confirm the existence of ghosts 👻.

He also believes that the Earth 🌎 is triangular shaped. I’ve heard of people believing that the Earth 🌎 is flat, but not triangular shaped. That already sets him apart from other wackadoo conspiracy theorists. But beyond just his belief in conspiracy theories and aliens and UFOs 👽🛸, he’s just generally the weird kid. He has a lot of eccentricities, some of which he no doubt inherited from his father, Stu. He builds wacky inventions, walks and talks backwards, can talk to animals, likes dressing up as a mermaid 🧜‍♀️ (or merman 🧜‍♂️ I guess), created an imaginary friend named Izzy that he managed to convince the entire school was real, and even created his own language and religion.

But, he’s also a genuinely kind and well-meaning boy ♂︎ who generally gets along with everyone he knows in his daily life. The only one he buds heads with is his older brother, Tommy. But even then, it’s usually Tommy who sparks the conflict between the two because he’s always afraid of being embarrassed by Dil. Similar to how Angelica views Tommy in a lot of ways. 

Speaking of which, even Angelica doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with Dil, as the two get along pretty well when they interact with each other. Even though they do say at one point in one episode that Angelica messed with him in the past, he gets along with her better than he does with Tommy in a lot of cases actually. They do kind of imply that he’s autistic, which might explain some of his weird behavior, but it’s never actually stated within the show itself whether or not Dil has autism, and it’s mostly just speculation on fans’ part.

That finally brings me to the reason why I even wrote this. When I was watching All Grown Up! last night (Wednesday July 3, 2024), I noticed the plot synopsis for the Season 4 episode, “In The Family’s Way.” It says, 

Feeling neglected at home, Angelica goes to live with the Carmichaels for a week, thinking she will be appreciated there. But she discovers that they live by a strict, regimented schedule of chores, responsibilities, and schedules.

That’s completely wrong, that’s not what the episode is about at all. Angelica didn’t go to live with the Carmichaels of her own volition. Her mom forced her to live with the Carmichaels for a week in order to teach her a lesson about not being a spoiled brat, and appreciating what she has. She was being super bratty at the beginning of the episode, especially after her mom tells her that they’re not going to Hawai‘i, and her mom starts feeling like she doesn’t realize how easy she has it. 

She also kicks the lawn gnome in the frontyard while trying to go out clubbing at night. Why? Because her mom told her that they weren’t going to Hawai‘i, and she felt that she was owed a night out at a club for being denied the chance to go to Hawai‘i. And really, the only reason she wanted to go to Hawai‘i in the first place was to rub in the popular girls ♀︎’s faces, Savannah, Brianna, and Paris. 

She was already rubbing it in their faces, and rubbing it in Tommy and his friends’ faces too at the beginning of the episode, and that was before she learned she wasn’t going. That’s how petty, ungrateful, and entitled she is, and this little incident involving her trying to walk out to go to a nightclub and kicking their lawn gnome in frustration at not getting what she wants proves to be the last straw for her mom, Charlotte. 

So, she just dumps her on the Carmichaels, and told them to treat her as one of their own for a week until she’s been sufficiently humbled and learns to be more appreciative of the things she has. That’s the punishment that Charlotte chose for her daughter. The reason why she chose the Carmichaels specifically was that she saw how regimented they were, and how well behaved and disciplined their kids were, and she thought that living with them as one of their own for a week would be enough to make Angelica shape up.

At first, Lucy and Randy are hesitant about taking Angelica in because everyone knows who Angelica is at this point, they know what she’s like, and they know how mean, bratty, and mouthy she can be. And not even Lucy and Randy want to deal with that, especially since they’ve already got handful dealing with the huge household full of 5 kids, plus some visiting relatives with a baby. But, Charlotte convinces them to take her daughter in by promising them shares in her new project. They never really explain what the project was, like Charlotte just says that it’s a big business venture, and a worthwhile investment. But, regardless of whatever it is, Charlotte convinces them to take her daughter in by promising them a 50% share in her new venture.

Then the episode becomes about Angelica trying to survive the week living within the Carmichaels’ strict household, and Susie trying to do everything within her power to make the experience as miserable for Angelica as possible so that she’ll quit and leave. All because Tommy and the gang made a bet with each other to see whether or not Angelica would stick it out or quit and go back to her own house. Lil and Kimi really want to win the bet, so they’re pressuring Susie to get Angelica to quit. And that drives Susie to concoct a bunch of chores with the help of two of her brothers that are really unfair and harsh, and they almost get Angelica seriously injured 🤕.

So, Susie and two of her brothers are punished by their parents for trying to make Angelica suffer with cruel and unusual chores, and Angelica wins, managing to make it to the end of the week without running back to her own house. But, she comes out of it a changed woman ♀︎, as she not only values what she has, but she’s also more self-sufficient, independent, and responsible, better able to do daily chores like clean the dishes, mop and sweep the floors, clean the bathrooms, do laundry, and even cook. She also values sitting at the table with her parents as a family, and discussing their day, something that they never really did before.

Also, I don’t like how the plot synopsis on Paramount+ is generally written. Like, “schedule of chores, responsibilities, and schedules?” That’s pretty redundant. Why not just write “schedule of chores and responsibilities?” We already know the Carmichaels live by a schedule because you already wrote that. You don’t need to write it twice in one sentence. I mean I repeat myself, and reiterate things I’ve already said, but not to that degree. I usually try to add to the point I was making, and really emphasize what I’m saying and really drive the point that I’ve trying to make home rather than just repeating exactly what I wrote a sentence ago. I think we all know at this point that plot synopses on streaming services aren’t always accurate, but this one really bothered me that I felt that I had to write about it.

Speaking of the Carmichaels though, they did talk about the idea of doing a spin-off series centered around the Carmichaels, with Susie obviously being the main protagonist. But, it never went anywhere, it never got made. Probably because of the negative reception of Rugrats Pre-School Daze and the mixed reception of All Grown-Up! as well as the negative reception of the two Rugrats: Tales From the Crib movies, and also because the company, Klasky Csupo was going under. They declared bankruptcy in 2008, the same year All Grown Up! was canceled, and the company’s financial problems probably played a significant role in why the show got canceled after 4 seasons.

So, they were in no position to make another Rugrats spin-off, but this time focused entirely on the Carmichael family. What’s the point in making them when you’re going bankrupt and they aren’t even that well liked in the first place? But, had it been made, it would’ve been the first animated show on Nickelodeon to have a black lead 👧🏾, and focus on a black family 👨🏾👩🏾. It would’ve been groundbreaking. It would've given viewers a perspective that they really didn't see that often in animated television outside of The Proud Family, which ultimately beat them to the punch in terms of having the first black-lead cartoon show on a children's network. But alas, it was not meant to be.

They also talked about the idea of making a spin-off centered around Angelica in her college years, but that also never got off the ground. Likely for many of the same reasons that the Carmichael spin-off didn’t get made either. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing a spin-off show with Angelica as a fully fledged adult, or any of the Rugrats characters as adults. In fact, instead of rebooting the series, I think they should’ve just continued on and evolved the characters even more to where we see them as adults in their 20s, 30s, and perhaps even 40s, since the oldest Millennials are now in their early 40s, and the Rugrats characters, at least in the original continuity/timeline, were no doubt Millennials.

I also have this idea of doing an episode of All Grown Up! where Angelica meets her younger self from Rugrats and the two of them go on an adventure together, and have to save the day or something. I think that would’ve made for a fun episode. I’m not sure how you would pull it off given how the grounded the show is, but I’m sure the writers could’ve figured something out. I’m sorry for how long this was, I didn’t mean for it to be this long. I just wanted to write a streaming service episode description that I didn’t like, and yet it ballooned into this. It kind of turned to “My Thoughts on All Grown Up!” and I really didn’t mean it to. But, I hope you liked it regardless.