It’s undeniable that Rugrats was one of those television shows that really represented
the 90s.
Heck, even now, the memories of this cartoon live on to make it one of the greatest Nickelodeon
shows in history.
Those of us who remember this epic show will remember that the comical escapades of the
series’ toddlers were the central element of every episode.
And because of this, we either forgot, or in some cases turned a blind eye to some of
the less light-hearted moments and themes.
Truthfully, despite the glee and laughter, when you peer a little deeper into the Rugrats
universe, at times, it can actually be a dark, lonely, and uninviting place cloaked in a
shadow of sadness.
At least, sometimes.
I’m Kyle with WickedBinge.
And these are Dark Theories about Rugrats that change everything.
Ever wondered how the toddlers developed their personalities?
Well, Reddit user ‘uch1993’ shared an interesting theory concerning this, one which
doesn’t exactly show the parents in the kids’ universe in the best light.
He argues that each child’s personality is directly affected by and, consequently,
mirrors how much attention they were given by the parents in their early years.
We’ll start off with Angelica, one of the characters who best brings this theory to
light.
We see that her parents have somewhat of a distant-emotional connection to her, especially
her mother who is a bit of a workaholic.
Angelica is very demanding, so her parents only respond to her attention-seeking antics
by giving her whatever she wants, or by calling her “princess.”
As a direct result, she has become spoiled, and has also developed a controlling personality,
all because she is accustomed to getting everything she wants.
Then, there’s Phil and Lil.
They’re obvious cases of what happens when parents are neglectful towards their children.
The twins’ parents almost never socially interact with their kids.
As a result, Phil and Lil learned to depend on themselves from an early age, creating
for themselves their own methods of keeping themselves occupied, most of which were not
exactly within their best interest.
They play in the mud and eat bugs.
Apart from being unhygienic and just down-right nasty, the kids also exhibit personality disorders.
They are quick to assume the erratic behavior of another, something which spells signs of
psychological trauma.
Hence, Phil and Lil’s unstable personality and bad habits are a consequence of the neglect
from their parents.
No good parent would let their children eat bugs, now would they?
Chucky is often the one to be scared in every situation.
Regardless of the fact that he’s older than Tommy, Phil and Lil.
The theory suggests that Chucky is developmentally behind.
This is likely due to the fact that his father, Chaz, babies him a bit too much.
And blows every small problem out of proportion.
Additionally, Chucky could be afraid of everything because he was introduced to trauma at a young
age when his mother passed away.
No matter the reason, Chucky clearly has developed an irrational fear of much of the world.
The Creators Were Against Parenting Books
As we know, throughout the entire series, parents are seen to make constant reference
to their parenting bibles.
This book on parenting is written by Lipschitz, a man who is revered and lauded as being instrumental
in guiding parents on how to raise their kids.
In the series, we eventually meet him, and his introduction was rather underwhelming,
to say the least.
He didn’t embody the persona expected of someone who is so well respected.
Actually, he seems to not have a clue about kids!
When he’s seen baby-sitting, he does an awful job.
He seems to be a novice rather than an expert.
Probably, creators masked what appears to be a playful jab at a parenting book as a
serious critique of it.
It’s well known that no book can prepare you to be a parent because no child is the
same.
That, and the name ‘Lipschitz’ sounds like a word which, when said aloud, reminds
us of something that’s not quite positive.
We’ll leave it to your imagination to guess what that is.
Credits go to ‘MandalorianFist’ from Reddit for this theory.
The Toddlers Are All Figments Of Angelica’s Imagination
By now, it’s clear that Angelica is a girl who has been spoilt-rotten by her parents.
In light of this, she’s seen to exhibit a number of negative behavioral traits, including
being controlling and excessively demanding.
But what’s to say that she’s not suffering from a psychological impairment as well?
Based on a theory offered by Reddit user ‘wrestlechick’, the toddlers seen are all a by-product of
Angelica’s imagination.
Apparently, Angelica’s mind conjured up these toddlers either as a means to have company
from being neglected by her parents, or as a side-effect from the psychological trauma
she suffered at the hands of her parents, causing her to experience unique psychotic
experiences, namely, inventing toddlers which really don’t exist.
It could also be possible that these toddlers are all dead, and that in an effort to keep
their memories alive, her mind is causing her to believe that they are, in fact, alive.
Tommy could be a stillborn, Chuckie and his mother died, maybe during childbirth, the
twins were aborted: Angelica is aware of these occurrences but feels traumatized.
Therefore, her imagination constructs an idyllic world in which they are all still alive.
Angelica Was Supposed To Have A Sibling
Similar to the previous theory, Reddit user ‘Redwingrunner’ offers yet another interesting
twist surrounding Angelica’s life.
In the episode “Angelica’s Worst Nightmare”, Angelica is scared that she might be getting
a sibling.
Initially, she was against the idea as she felt that in her having a younger sibling,
her parents wouldn’t pay as much attention to her as she would have liked.
However, as time dragged on, she began to warm up a little bit to the idea.
Then, after she’s finally accepted that there’ll be a new edition to the family,
her parents give her the bad news: there won’t be a little baby again.
At least for now.
What could have happened to the baby?
It’s believed that Angelica’s mother may have had a miscarriage, leading to the loss
of the fetus.
This also links very well with the idea that Angelica is actually psychotic.
The combination of the death of her unborn sibling along with the disappointment of not
seeing him be born caused her immense psychological trauma, leading her to create fictitious toddlers
so that they can keep her company.
Dill Pickles Is Autistic
We all know that in the Rugrats universe, the toddlers and characters experience various
challenges.
However, Reddit user ‘DoubleTrouble227’ has offered a theory which puts Dill Pickles,
Tommy’s younger brother, at the center of a rather sad possibility.
Dill might be suffering from autism, and there is overwhelming evidence to support this.
Firstly, in the original run of the series, Dill is incapable of communicating with anyone,
meaning neither babies nor adults.
Viewers would notice that there’s something a bit off with him because of this, as while
the babies can’t communicate with adults, they can at least communicate with each other.
This indicates that Dill has some sort of impediment which makes it difficult for him
to communicate easily with peopleNow, this could be simply because he’s a newborn,
but if the other babies are capable of communicating, it’s possible that this ability is supposed
to happen from birth within the show’s universe.
Then, in All Grown Up!
Bill’s abnormal behaviour continues.
He isn’t shown to follow typical social norms, nor does he really fit in.
He creates shoes out of pillows and wrist watches made of T-shirts.
Another factor which makes some people believe that he’s autistic is that Tommy is extremely
protective over his younger brother.
While a few people might feel that Tommy is just being a regular big brother to his younger
sibling, others feel that he’s protecting him because he knows that his brother has
autism.
If this is true, it’s a sad outcome for poor Dill, especially considering that there
doesn’t seem to be any sort of recourse or assistance given to him to help him.
A Sad Look At The Pickle’s Family
Ever wondered why the Pickle’s parents seem to be struggling to take care of their kids?
It does seem to be a bit odd, when you look at it.
After all, Stew, Tommy’s dad, is an engineer who is shown to make some really amazing inventions.
What’s going on?
Well, ‘tacomane’ from Reddit has an interesting twist on why the Pickle’s family isn’t
doing as well as they could be.
It has to do with Stew’s brother, Drew.
Drew is obviously the more financially successful of the two brothers, although the source of
his wealth is never overtly stated in the series.
This is the catalyst for this theory.
Drew is probably a lawyer who oversees Stew’s business relationships with his clients.
Consequently, Drew stacks up a large percentage of his brother’s profits, essentially getting
the long end of the stick while Stew doesn’t score so well.
Consequently, the two siblings have a rivalry and tension which is felt even by the children.
This also explains why Angelica is so mean towards Tommy and Dill.
She recognizes that her father is committing a crime by robbing her uncle, so she doesn’t
treat her cousins well.
Or her father’s aggression towards his brother has rubbed off on her as well.
Knowing that Angelica’s father might be stealing from his brother is a pretty gloomy
perspective, especially considering the ramifications it has on the way parents are seen in the
series.
Didi’s Parents Might Have Survived WW2
This theory comes from Reddit user ‘BigAkhi’.
Anybody remember Boris and Minka, Didi’s parents?
They’re Jewish parents who migrated either from Germany or Ukraine to the United States
of America.
Given that the show came out in 1991, we can assume that they came to the United States
between the 1950s and the 1960s.
Consequently, given the time-frame, it is probable that they fled Europe in an effort
to escape the dangers after World War 2.
Bearing in mind that they’re Jewish, which was a central aspect of their character specifically
in the Passover episode, the period just before they left Europe was obviously not a very
safe time for them.
Given the show began in the early 90’s, they would definitely been alive during World
War 2.
Likely in their 20s.
Therefore, they left for the States in search of a better life.
While they might not have necessarily been victim of violence, Didi’s parents may have
witnessed scenes that are simply unimaginable.
The Rugrats was a great part of many of our early childhoods.
But like many cartoons, there are traces of darkness sprinkled in.
Do you buy into any of these dark theories?
Or do you have any dark theories of your own?
Let us know in the comment section below.
Don’t forget to like this video, subscribe and hit that notification bell.
But most importantly, stay wicked.