In the summer of 1991, just 20 days before the August Coup, Kovalyov and his family left for Los Angeles. He started working as an animator on "The Simpsons", then moved to work on "Rugrats" as a director and character designer. The series eventually turned into one of the most popular children's TV shows. Kovalyov also contacted some of the leading Pilot animators and suggested them to join him. This greatly upset Alexander Tatarsky who was convinced that Gábor Csupó was enticing his best staff. Nevertheless, Igor visited Tatarsky every year till his death in 2007 and discussed future plans.