‚Rugrats‘ executive producers Eryk Casemiro and Kate Boutilier take Variety behind-the-scenes of the animation process for the 2021 revival.
When “Rugrats” went off the air after a decade in 2006, it did so with a handful of Daytime Emmy wins for animated program, a half-a-dozen Kids Choice Awards and its very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It also happened to be the second-longest running animated series on Nickelodeon (“SpongeBob SquarePants” being the longest), it spawned three movies, and the franchise’s licensing and merchandising potential seemed endless. In other words, reviving the comedic adventures of the animated tots was a no-brainer for Nick, which has already dusted off “SpongeBob” from the shelf and is emerging as one of the biggest subscription drivers to the newly launched Paramount Plus. When Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Angelica return to screens, however, they’ll have a whole new look thanks to the CG-animation style. In reimagining “Rugrats” for new and grown-up audiences alike, executive producers Eryk Casemiro and Kate Boutilier (who both worked on the original series) set out to create a world that honored but updated the ground-breaking animation created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain in 1991. “The unusual line and design style was often referred to as ugly-cute and included a lot of forced perspectives of the camera at the babies’ eyes, at floor-level as they went on their adventures,” says Casemiro.
