All Grown Up!

***All Grown Up!*** is an American half hour animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon. The series was created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain, it is also a continuation of their children's show *Rugrats*. It explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles and his childhood friends, now adolescents. The concept for the series was based on the episode "All Growed Up", which served as the series' 10th anniversary special and proved successful with audiences. The series ran from April 12, 2003, to August 17, 2008, for a total of five seasons, and featured voice actors from the original series. Several episodes also feature Tommy and his friends back when they were babies in flashbacks.

## Premise

Tommy, Dil, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi, Angelica, and Susie are now tweens/teens. They have to deal with the various issues and the situations that occur during this age. As the show has aged, so have the characters as episodes often involve the cast dealing with common issues of preteens and teenagers.

## Characters

* Thomas Malcolm "Tommy" Pickles (voiced by E. G. Daily): Tommy, now an 11-year-old boy with a full head of hair, is the elder brother of Dil Pickles and self-proclaimed leader of the group. Tommy has interests in filmmaking and inventing like his father. His friends look up to him for advice when a situation gets out of control.
* Dylan Prescott "Dil" Pickles (voiced by Tara Strong): Dil is Tommy's 10-year-old brother and shares his father and brother's interest in inventing. Dil is known for his unconventional habits, style, speech, interests, and beliefs. Although he is the youngest, he is often the most insightful of the group. He is ingenious, quick-witted, and inventive, liked aliens, and his only friends are his brother Tommy and the gang.
* Charles Crandall "Chuckie" Finster (voiced by Nancy Cartwright): Chuckie is Tommy's 12-year-old best friend and Kimi's older stepbrother. He is shy and timid, though he has a "rebellious streak".
* Phillip Richard William "Phil" and Lillian Marie Jill "Lil" DeVille (both voiced by Kath Soucie): Phil and Lil are good friends of Tommy, Chuckie, and Dil. Phil and Lil are 11-year-old twins who remained very close and have gross tendencies when together. Lil is a tomboy but has matured more than her brother. Lil is interested in fashion and boys, while Phil is very talented at cooking.
* Kimiko "Kimi" Watanabe-Finster (voiced by Dionne Quan): Kimi is Chuckie's 11-year-old stepsister. While she lives with her mother Kira and stepfather Chas, along with their poodle, Fifi, and her and Spike's puppy Pepper/Sparky (who is never shown), she has a good relationship with her biological father, Hiro, who lives in Japan. Kimi also has a good relationship with Chuckie. She has a punk style, and embraces her Japanese heritage.
* Angelica Charlotte Pickles (voiced by Cheryl Chase): Angelica is Tommy and Dil's cousin, now a 13-year-old. She is usually seen doing many typical "teen things" like getting a cell phone, pursuing boys, and getting the latest fashion trends. Although she has grown up, Angelica continues to be determined and relentless in her pursuit of popularity. She has also kept her self-serving and bossy attitude. She maintains a close relationship with and is best friends with Susie and has learned to work with others, give help, and act kind.
* Susanna Yvonne "Susie" Carmichael (voiced by Cree Summer): Susie, 12 1/2 years old, is Angelica's best friend. Susie tries to keep Angelica grounded, and is helpful and kind to her younger friends while keeping her reputation as the responsible one of the group. She is smart and displays a talent for singing.

## Development and production

### *All Growed Up*

The idea for *All Grown Up!* originated in *All Growed Up*, a television special which aired in 2001 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of *Rugrats* and portrayed the original characters 10 years into the future. The special was nominated for "Outstanding Children's Program" in the 2002 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The special was the highest rated *Rugrats* episode, the highest-rated Nickelodeon program, and the cable's #1 show for the week ending July 22, 2001, with a 7.2 rating equivalent to 12 million viewers. Approximately 70% of all kids aged 2–11 tuned in to watch the special. Nickelodeon president, Herb Scannell, noted that a "Surprising numbers of kids held *Rugrats* parties on Saturday night and watched the show in groups". The following day, Nickelodeon said "'We've got to make this a show,' because of the size of the audience that came to it." Noting the immediate popularity of the show's concept, *All Growed Up* was deemed the network's equivalent of the Super Bowl. Nickelodeon made a two-season order of 35 episodes.

Nick's press releases for the *Rugrats*' 10th anniversary noted that the *All Growed Up* special was a "one time only" special. Nickelodeon was so impressed by the high ratings, they wanted to use the show as a pilot for either a regular spinoff series or a series of occasional one-hour specials. Finally, Nickelodeon decided to commission an entire series around the teenage main characters. Arlene Klasky explained "It got enormous ratings, so Nickelodeon blessed us with another series". Margie Cohn felt that *Rugrats* had endured prolonged success due to the "series' writing, and the appeal of the show's well developed characters to its deeply devoted audience", and argued the sequel resulted from fan support and speculation on how the characters would age.

While Nickelodeon executives were concerned that the new series would maintain the *Rugrats* appeal, they acknowledged a revision to the successful franchise was necessary as the original series was beaten in the ratings by shows such as *The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius* and *SpongeBob SquarePants*. On October 16, 2001, a PC game based on the *All Growed Up* special was released. After release in the US & Canada, *All Growed Up* debuted on Canadian television by YTV, Rugrats' English broadcaster in Canada, on September 3, 2001. The French Canadian version, "Les Razmoket, Dix Ans Après", was broadcast in two parts on VRAK.TV, on December 1, 2001, and December 8, 2001. In Britain and Australia, the video was released as *Older And Bolder*, because a Rugrats video existed in those countries named *All Growed Up.* An *All Growed Up* book was also released.

### Production

Nickelodeon ordered 13 episodes, to be created by *Rugrats* animation studio Klasky Csupo for production in September 2002. *All Grown Up* was intended as the first *Rugrats* spinoff as others were under consideration. The series premiered with its first episode, *Coup DeVille*, on April 12, 2003, following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. By November 2003, *Rugrats* was no longer in production. In 2004, *Rugrats* and *All Grown Up* were aired concurrently to highlight the characters in two stages of their lives. *All Grown Up* aired twice per week.

The new episodes shifted from the 11-minute *Rugrats* format of two stories per episode, to a single 22-minute story. This was to allow "more time to develop and tell a story and see where the characters go with it". Each of the episodes focused on the life of a main character and usually showed the characters facing a lot of firsts for tweens and teenagers. The show included gradual stylistic changes, with the first 13 episodes similar to the *All Growed Up* special and the original *Rugrats* world. The second set of 13 episodes and onward had a more contemporary look, with characters being given "hipper" clothing. Over the 3 seasons of 35 episodes, the developers hoped for a gradual evolution in style to where the audience will be comfortable with the changes. The main cast recorded their parts for each episode in about one hour. By November 24, 2003, 15 episodes began airing while 10 more episodes were in the scripting stage.

### Casting and the evolution of characterization

Template:QuoteboxThe existing cast modified their voices for their characters' new ages. Tommy's voice actress noted "It was a little harder when we were doing the first batch of episodes, when they were just coming in and trying to define everybody and how they've grown". Susie's character changes included having "a little more sass, a little less innocence and a little more bottom end". *All Grown Up!* attracted 30 million viewers a month, including a large number of 12 to 14-year-olds. The producers didn't delve into the "characters' loss of innocence" with topics such as sex and drugs in favor of issues relevant to 9 to 11-year-olds, the show's target demographic. While the producers didn't take the teen approach with *All Grown Up!,* they did with another show *As Told by Ginger*.

Executive producer Arlene Klasky acknowledged "It was always in the back of our minds that we would love to see what these characters were like as they grew". Susie Carmichael's voice actor, Cree Summer, noted that while part of the appeal to this kind of TV show is not growing up, she noted a natural evolution of the show after 12 years on the air. Tommy Pickles voice actor, E.G. Daily, said that while her character was still the star of the show, he was older, wiser, and using more contemporary language. Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon's executive vice president and general manager, said "The tween special proved kids are ready to embrace these beloved characters in a whole new realm. The Rugrats property is 11 years old, so it feels just right to have the babies turn into tweens in their 12th year on the air". On the evolution of Angelica, Marjorie Cohn, executive vice president for development and original programming at Nickelodeon explained: ''She's the center of the universe, and she keeps bumping up against forces that tell her she's not. The writers mellowed Angelica and her voice actress addressed "I welcome the new development in her character, the way she can be vulnerable. She's getting some real acting challenges from the material the writers are coming up with". She compared her role to Bart Simpson's voice actress who will likely play the 10 year old until retirement, noting that now she could play the same character with a "bit more sophistication". She's become more vulnerable and has to learn to navigate the social strata of junior high". The potential for more sophisticated storytelling was one of the factors in the creation of the series. The show's creators thought that "pushing the show to the next age bracket" would be an effective way of "holding on to viewers who have grown up with Rugrats". Tommy's voice actress, E.G. Daily, said: "I'm definitely going to miss doing [baby Tommy], but it's awesome watching people grow."

### Other proposed spin-offs

 File:Rugrats All Grown Up comparison.png
At the Television Critics Association tour in July 2001, Nickelodeon executives mentioned that *All Growed Up* was one of three spinoff concepts proposed by Nickelodeon to continue the successful Rugrats franchise. In 2002, Nickelodeon aired the episode "Pre-School Daze", the pilot for a series in which Angelica and Susie attend preschool. According to *Variety* in September 2002, the show was to be repurposed as a series of four standalone specials. The program aired in the UK in 2005. The North American debut took place in late 2008 after the cancellation of the series. Another proposed spinoff was a series featuring Susie and the Carmichael family, who would move from California to Atlanta, Georgia; it was first proposed for the 1999–2000 television season, but Nickelodeon and Klasky-Csupo decided instead to concentrate on all the original-aged *Rugrats*. The Kwanzaa special, which aired in 2001, served as a pilot for this new series, but the series would have contradicted the established continuity.

In the thirteenth episode of *All Grown Up!*, "Lucky 13", Angelica leaves the pre-teen world to become a teenager. When asked if the popularity of that episode would produce a spinoff as the characters enter teendom, Nickelodeon executives explained: "It has been talked about but said the network had no immediate plans to push the entire cast into puberty", though noted that those connected with the franchise were "eager to continue developing the characters". The show was preceded by a six-hour marathon of Angelica-centered episodes of *Rugrats* and *All Grown Up.* Angelica's voice actor expressed a desire to take part in any spin-off the Rugrats, from *Angelica Goes to College* to *Rugrats in the Nursing Home*. In 2003, Cohn proposed that Rugrats characters' play the leads in classic fairy tales for Nickelodeon.

### Premieres with other networks

A preview show premiered on April 12, 2003 before its regular run began on May 23, 2003. More than 5.2 million viewers watched the regular run, in 2nd place behind an NFL game on ESPN, and making it the highest-rated premiere at Nickelodeon's to date. The show aired in reruns on "Nick on CBS" for six months from March 13, 2004, to September 4, 2004.[*Citation needed*] In addition, in its first season, *All Grown Up!* had its first of two celebrity guest stars: Lil Romeo as "Lil Q" (Cupid) in episode 11, "It's Cupid, Stupid". The German broadcast premiered on August 21, 2006 on Nick. In November 2006, *All Grown Up!* was removed from the schedule, until the remaining episodes aired from November 12, 2007 to August 17, 2008. Since the series' cancellation, Nickelodeon US aired reruns until January 27, 2013 while Nicktoons aired reruns until October 28, 2013.

## Reception

The debut show was in the top 15 ratings spots.

Common Sense Media felt that the show's scenarios were not as good as in the original series, commenting that they were "thoughtfully crafted" but lacked the satiric take of babies misunderstanding the adult world. Rather, the show was choosing to tackle more standard pre-teen themes. The *Los Angeles Times* stated it was "a revolutionary idea" for a series with characters perpetually stuck in their status quo. Image felt *All Grown Up!* was the "natural progression of the show"*.* GamesRadar felt it was an "ill-advised venture". CBR commented "The sense of adventure and exploration of the original had been lost, those special personalities they had as babies vanished in a haze of pre-pubescent insecurities", though felt it was a "fun 'what-if'". NYU argued the show didn't pursue the character's progression with a sense of accuracy. The Gamer thought it was a "terrible excuse for a sequel". Chicago Tribune wrote that in the new series, Angelica has "become an overbearing teen, still bossing around Tommy and his chums".

*Rugrats* co-creator Paul Germain (who was showrunner for the first three seasons before leaving to work for Disney) has admitted that he was not a fan of the idea of a spin-off where the babies are all grown up because he thought it wouldn't make any sense as the original series was about babies who don't understand the world.

## Merchandise

### VHS and DVD releases

A total of twelve *All Grown Up!* DVDs have been released. The following is a chart providing information about each DVD:

### Books

*All Grown Up!* led to a wide range of books being published. The following is a list of all the books published thus far: <templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

* Ask Angelica!
* What's with Dad?
* Chuckie's Ghost
* Cookie Crisis!
* It's About Time
* The Scavenger Hunt
* Welcome to Fifth Grade!
* Boys vs Girls
* Angelica for President
* Coolest Girl In School

### Video game

*All Grown Up: Express Yourself* is a video game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Altron and published by THQ. Released in 2004, it follows Angelica that got an assignment for the school newspaper. The game is a compilation of mini-games that are linked by a series of eight missions. There is a PDA mode with a To Do list that collects events and places for each day.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "'Rugrats' lifts Nick to new ratings heights" (en). *Variety* (2001-07-25).
2. ↑ Shattuck, Kathryn. "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; TV's No. 1 Babies Celebrate Their 10th Birthday", *The New York Times*, 2001-07-15. (in en-US)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "The Tweenage Rugrats" (2004-12-13).

 Template:Verify source
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Rugrats Get All Grown Up Nov. 29 on Nick" (en). *Animation World Network*.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Mallory, Michael. "'Rugrats' spinoff leaves sandbox world behind", *Los Angeles Times*, 2003-11-29. (in en-US)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Graeber, Laurel. "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Queen of Mean Turns 13: How Unlucky Is That?", *The New York Times*, 2004-08-22. (in en-US)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "What Makes a Hit a Hit?" (en). *Animation World Network*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "Rugrats: All Grown Up". *The Age* (22 January 2004).
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "'Rugrats' grows up" (en). *Variety* (2002-09-27).
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ball, Ryan (2004-08-27). "Cheryl Chase Turns 13 AgainVoice actress discusses being Angelica All Grown Up" (en-US). *Animation Magazine*.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mallory, Michael. "'Rugrats' spinoff leaves sandbox world behind", *Los Angeles Times*, 2003-11-29. (in en-US)
12. ↑ "Inside The "All Grown Up" Series" (2004-12-13).
13. ↑ Mallory, Michael. "'Rugrats' spinoff leaves sandbox world behind", *Los Angeles Times*, 2003-11-29. (in en-US)  Template:Verify source
14. ↑ Ball, Ryan (2004-08-27). "Cheryl Chase Turns 13 AgainVoice actress discusses being Angelica All Grown Up" (en-US). *Animation Magazine*.

 Template:Verify source
15. ↑ "Preschool Daze" (4 December 2004).
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "The Tweenage Rugrats" (13 December 2004).
17. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/2004/08/22/on-cable/402ea7e4-c62e-4ae9-9fa6-3f035ec96e31/
20. ↑ "Romeo Miller".
21. ↑ http://sonofthebronx.blogspot.com/2013/01/nickelodeon-ratings-january-21-27-2013.html
22. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131027122903/http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCSGrid.do?stnNum=30420&channel=82&aid=zap2it
23. ↑ "All Grown Up - TV Review" (en). *www.commonsensemedia.org* (2010-12-16).
24. ↑ jrudolph91 (2018-01-29). "Anaheim Ducks Weekly Rankings Jan 20th-26th: Nick Nick Nick Nick na Nick Nick Nick Nickelodeon". *Anaheim Calling*.
25. ↑ ODonoghue, Niamh. "The Rugrat's Angelica Pickles is the accidental style icon of 2018". *IMAGE.ie*.
26. ↑ Staff 2018-08-03T16:00:34ZPS4, GamesRadar. "8 things to watch out for this week" (en). *gamesradar*.
27. ↑ "Tooning Out: 15 Failed Cartoon Sequels, Spin-Offs, And Reboots" (en-US). *CBR* (2017-08-13).
28. ↑ "10 Cartoons Who Look Cooler Older (And 10 Who Should Have Never Grown Up)" (en-US). *CBR* (2018-08-25).
29. ↑ Local, N. Y. U. (2010-11-04). "We Didn't Know Any Better: Rugrats (Again!)". *NYU Local*.
30. ↑ "25 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Nickelodeon Cartoons" (en-US). *TheGamer* (2018-11-22).
31. ↑ Post, The Washington. "As Angelica Pickles, Cheryl Chase gets to release her inner brat" (en-US). *chicagotribune.com*.
32. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVsZW1O41IY
33. ↑ "Beyond Home Entertainment – Beyond Home Entertainment".
34. ↑ "Amazon".
35. ↑ "Beyond Home Entertainment – Beyond Home Entertainment".
36. ↑ "Beyond Home Entertainment – Beyond Home Entertainment".
37. ↑ "Beyond Home Entertainment – Beyond Home Entertainment".
38. ↑ "Beyond Home Entertainment – Beyond Home Entertainment".
39. ↑ Hollingshead, Anise (November 10, 2004). "All Grown Up: Express Yourself Review". *GameZone*.
40. ↑ Starr, Austin. "All Grown Up: Express Yourself". *Nintendojo*.

## External Links

* All Grown Up!|Nickipedia
* Rugrats Wiki
* Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All\_Grown\_Up!
* *All Grown Up* at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on April 4, 2012.