Mother's Day (Rugrats)
"Mother's Day" | |
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Rugrats episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 2 |
Directed by |
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Written by |
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Original air date | May 6, 1997 |
Guest appearance | |
Kim Cattrall as Melinda Finster | |
"Mother's Day", also known as the "Rugrats Mother's Day Special"
Norton Virgien and Toni Vian directed the episode from a script by Jon Cooksey, Ali Marie Matheson, J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Susan Hood, and Ed Resto. Series co-creator Paul Germain had pitched two potential storylines to explain the absence of Chuckie's mother, but Nickelodeon executives rejected his proposed ideas that the mother was either divorced from Chas or had died. Before "Mother's Day" premiered, only minor references to Chuckie's mother had been made. Germain left the show in 1993, and several new writers replaced him. The concept was later revised and approved as a Mother's Day special. Germain said that he was disappointed at being unable to cover the topic during his time on the series.
Broadcast on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 6, 1997, "Mother's Day" was one of several half-hour specials that Nickelodeon commissioned for Rugrats. The episode was featured on the 1998 VHS release Rugrats: Mommy Mania, and was later made available for digital download along with the rest of the fourth season. "Mother's Day" was praised by critics and has been the subject of several retrospective reviews for its treatment of the death of a parent. It was also praised for its positive representation of breastfeeding and expansion on the definition of motherhood. It won the CableACE Award for Writing a Children's Special or Series, and was nominated for the Humanitas Prize for the Children's Animation Category. The series received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards after Nickelodeon submitted "Mother's Day" for consideration.
Plot
On
Angelica tasks Chuckie to pick a
Production
The 23-minute and 46-second episode was written by Jon Cooksey, Ali Marie Matheson, J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Susan Hood, and Ed Resto.[4][5] Directed by Norton Virgien and Toni Vian, it was produced by the animation studio Klasky Csupo Productions, a part of Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Cella Nichols Duffy, Gabor Csupo, Arlene Klasky, Paul De Meyer, Stem, and Weiss also produced the episode. Mark Mothersbaugh and Ruby Andrews contributed to the music.[5] In 2016, co-creator Paul Germain revealed that the concept for the episode, and the discussion about the status of Chuckie's mother, was previously pitched to Nickelodeon executives. She was not included in the first season to avoid the need to animate a completely new character. During the production of the show's second and third seasons, Germain noticed that questions about the character's absence became more prominent. He consulted with fellow co-creator Arlene Klasky, and they concluded that the only two possible ways to address the character were that she was divorced from Chas, or had died before the series' debut.[6]
Germain and Klasky initially planned to portray the character as divorced, but Nickelodeon executives rejected the idea, feeling that the subject would be inappropriate for younger viewers. The studio also vetoed an idea to reveal that the mother was dead, contending that it would be "scary" and that "children [would not] want to see that."
Germain left the series in 1993, and several new writers replaced him. At that time, Nickelodeon permitted the writers and animators to include a storyline about the death of Chuckie's mother.[6] The development of the Rugrats Mother's Day television special was announced on December 7, 1996.[11] Kim Cattrall provided the voice for Chuckie's mother, Melinda Finster.[7] Germain described the episode as "this whole very maudlin thing," and said that he was disappointed over his inability to cover the topic. He explained: "I just sat there thinking, 'We weren't allowed to do this, and now you guys are doing it.' That's something I regret."[6] Mary Harrington, a supervising producer of animation for Nickelodeon, described it as one of her favorite episodes of Rugrats, and commended the writers and producers for their handling of the subject.[12]
Broadcast history and release
"Mother's Day", also promoted as "Rugrats Mother's Day Special",
"Mother's Day" was featured on the
Critical response
In 1998, Eric Schmuckler of The New York Times pointed to the "Mother's Day" special as an example of the show's balance between featuring an "always sunny and usually silly" tone while also being "poignant". Schmuckler described Chas' interactions with Chuckie as "an age-appropriate version of the loss of his mother".[21] Rugrats was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards, after Nickelodeon submitted the special for consideration,[5] but lost to The Simpsons.[22] The episode was also nominated for the Humanitas Prize for the Children's Animation Category in 1998,[5] which went to the Life with Louie episode "Blinded by Love".[23] Jon Cooksey, Ali Marie Matheson, J. David Stem, and David N. Weiss received the CableACE Award for Writing a Children's Special or Series for their contributions to the episode.[24]
"Mother's Day" has been the subject of several retrospective reviews of the series. Philip Lewis of Arts. Mic praised the episode as an example of Nickelodeon's potential to cover a serious subject, noting its treatment of "the loss of a parent" as one of the series' most memorable moments.[25] Moviepilot's Kristy Anderson wrote that the development of Chuckie's backstory was a surprise as "few would have expected to be confronted by the topic of death while watching a cartoon about babies".[26] In their book Flickipedia: Perfect Films for Every Occasion, Holiday, Mood, Ordeal, and Whim, authors Michael Atkinson and Laurel Shifrin echoed Anderson's sentiment, commenting that the episode could "hit you like a truck if you let it".[14]
"Mother's Day" has been cited in several lists of commentators' favorite episodes or moments from Rugrats. Anderson placed it on her list of must-watch episodes from the show's third, fourth, and fifth seasons, suggesting that "you will need tissues".
Critics have also commented on other aspects of the episode. In 2016, Caroline Bologna from
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Lenburg 2006, p. 54.
- ^ "Rugrats: 'Rugrats Mother's Day'". Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012.
- ^ Writer: Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson & J. David Stem & David N. Weiss & Susan Hood & Ed Resto. Director: Norton Virgien & Toni Vian. (May 6, 1997). "Mother's Day". Rugrats. Season 4. Nickelodeon.
- ^ a b "Rugrats, Season 4". iTunes Store (US). January 27, 2014. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mother's Day (1997) Season 4 Episode 67 – Rugrats Cartoon Episode Guide". The Big Cartoon DataBase. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Snetiker, Marc (August 10, 2016). "Rugrats creator talks Chuckie's mom, Passover episode". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Chapman, Tom (August 16, 2016). "'90s Nostalgia: 'Rugrats' And The Tragic Story Of Melinda Finster!". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Writer: Steve Viksen, Joe Ansolabehere, Patric M. Verrone, & Maya Williams. Director: Norton Virgien. (December 1, 1991). "Real or Robots?". Rugrats. Season 1. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Writer: Jon Greenberg & Joe Ansolabehere. Director: Norton Virgien & Steven Dean Moore. (September 13, 1992). "Chuckie vs. the Potty". Rugrats. Season 2. Nickelodeon.
- ^ Writer: Craig Bartlett, Peter Gaffney & Paul Germain. Director: Norton Virgien, Jim Duffy & Steve Socki. (March 14, 1993). "My Friend Barney". Rugrats. Season 2. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Fitzpatrick, Eileen (December 7, 1996). "Nickelodeon Vids Boost Paramount Kids' Line". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Gaines, Caseen; Klickstein, Matthew (June 16, 2016). "The Oral History Of 'Nicktoons', Part III: Exploring The Multigenerational Appeal Of 'Rugrats'". Decider. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Margulies, Lee (May 4, 1997). "The final 'Family Matters' on ABC; 'Sabrina' the Showtime Teenage witch; Mother's Day 'Rugrats'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Atkinson & Shifrin 2007, p. 37.
- ^ "Rugrats – Mommy Mania – Mother's Day". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Rugrats – Season 4". TVShowsOnDVD.com. September 23, 2011. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Rizzo, Francis. "Rugrats Holiday Celebration". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
- ^ "Rugrats - 'Season 3' and 'Season 4' DVDs to 'Go Wide' at General Retail". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Rugrats". Amazon. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Episode Guide: Season 4". Paramount+. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021.
- ^ Schmuckler, Eric (August 30, 1998). "Television; In 'Rugrats,' Babies Know Best". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Simpsons". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012.
- ^ "Humanitas" (PDF). Humanitas Prize. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2017.
- ^ Richmond, Ray (November 16, 1997). "CableAce Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013.
- ^ Lewis, Philip (January 12, 2016). "5 Times Nickelodeon Cartoons Tackled Real Issues". Art.Mic. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Anderson, Kristy (October 3, 2016). "10 Animated Characters With Horribly Tragic Backstories". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017.
- ^ Anderson, Kristy (August 18, 2016). "25 Years Of 'Rugrats' 21 Episodes You Need To Watch Part 2: Seasons 3, 4, & 5". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Pearson, Daniel (March 27, 2015). "This Little Known 'Rugrats' Trivia Will Break Your Heart: The Devastatingly Beautiful Poem Left by Chuckie's Mom!". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- ^ Mullikin, Mara (October 2, 2015). "8 Heartfelt Animated TV Moments". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
- A Plus. Archived from the originalon March 8, 2017.
- The Huffington Post. AOL. Archived from the originalon March 8, 2017.
- ^ Bloom, Priscilla (November 24, 2015). "13 Reasons 'Rugrats' Was The Most Feminist, Socially Conscious Cartoon Ever". Romper.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017.
- ^ Drescher et al. 2013, p. 96.
Book sources
- Atkinson, Michael; Shifrin, Lauren (2007). Flickipedia: Perfect Films for Every Occasion, Holiday, Mood, Ordeal, and Whim. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-714-2.
- Drescher, Jack; Glazer, Deborah F.; Crespi, Lee; Schwartz, David (2013). "What Is a Mother? Gay and Lesbian Perspectives on Parenting". In Brown, Sheila F. (ed.). What Do Mothers Want?: Developmental Perspectives, Clinical Challenges. Hillsdale: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-88163-400-6.
- Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-winning and Legendary Animators. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55783-671-7.
External links
- "Mother's Day" at IMDb