Tag Archives: paramount+

Dec. 14 – All Grown Up! – The Finster Who Stole Christmas

Original air date December 7, 2004

In 2001, Rugrats had the honor of being the first Nicktoon to make it 10 years. The path to that honor was not a smooth one as the show had effectively been cancelled in 1993 with the third season. That appeared to not be performance related, but more strategic on the part of Nickelodeon as the Nicktoons brand was a constantly changing block of cartoons. It was only when the network realized that reruns of Rugrats were not only their highest rated program, but one of the highest rated cable programs in general did it finally decide that maybe keeping the show in production was a good idea. The show would end up lasting for 9 seasons with the final, new, episode airing in 2004. A new series has since been launched that returned some of the original cast and it would appear that Rugrats is not going anywhere anytime soon.

For that tenth anniversary episode the show aired the two-part special “All Growed Up.” The episode was a flash-forward and fans of the show got to see what the babies would be like as pre-teens. It’s one of the last Rugrats episodes I can remember watching. I did not come back to the show when it resumed in 1995 and I didn’t see any of the movies it spawned, but I was curious enough about “All Growed Up” to give it a look. I really don’t remember anything about the episode, but I do recall my number one takeaway from it was that this special was destined to become a series of its own. And it did! The special was a massive success scoring a 7.2 rating when it originally aired making it the number one cable show that week. It’s estimated that 70% of children in the show’s target demographic tuned in and those were numbers that Nickelodeon could not ignore. They almost immediately ordered 35 episodes of the show and on April 12, 2003 All Grown Up! debuted.

It’s probably a stretch to call them all grown up, but they’re definitely not babies anymore.

All Grown Up! returned basically all of the cast members who were still alive from the original show. At that point, Nancy Cartwright had replaced Christine Cavanaugh as the voice of Chuckie while David Doyle, voice of Grandpa Lou, had passed away in 1997. The show would run for five seasons totaling 55 episodes and aired its final episode on August 17, 2008. The show’s third season (which was part of that initial 35 episode order so we’re talking broadcast seasons) premiered on December 7, 2004 with the Christmas episode “The Finster Who Stole Christmas.” Rugrats had become known for its holiday specials as it was one of the few to dedicate full episodes to Jewish holidays. It was also no stranger to Christian holidays like Christmas thanks to the main character’s family being a mixed household. It’s easy to look back on that decision as one of genius since it creates easy opportunities for holiday episodes, but back in the 90s Jewish holidays were not thought of as marketable. Rugrats blew that preconception to dust as its Passover and Chanukah specials did big ratings proving that audiences just like to see their favorite characters celebrating their chosen holidays.

All of the regulars are back, except Anjelica who isn’t in this episode. Plus Dill, whom I’m too old to think of as a regular.

The show begins with this very generic alternative rock song performed by Cree Summer on vocals. I don’t particularly care for it and I miss the more whimsical charm of the original series’ intro. When it’s done, we find ourselves at a school. It’s pretty well decorated for Christmas and the bell has rung to release a horde of preteens upon the world. Dill Pickles (Tara Strong) is walking with his brother Tommy (E.G. Daily) and explaining to him how he believes that Christmas gets all of the best songs as he compares it to Chanukah. Tommy tries to offer up “The Dreidel Song” as a counterpoint, but seems to concede that yes, it’s not a particularly good song. They’re walking along with Chuckie (Cartwright), Susie (Cree Summer), and the twins Phil and Lil (Kath Soucie). Phil informs the group that his mom just burnt a whole bunch of angel cookies so they’re up for grabs. It would seem this is the show’s way of retaining how Phil, the baby, was always interested in eating gross items. This leads to a brief discussion about how the gang plans to spend the holidays with Susie mentioning she landed a big role in her church’s choir. All of the kids are really supportive of her and let her know they’ll be sure to attend her performance which is really sweet. One kid is conspicuously quiet though and that’s Chuckie.

This is pretty much how I expected Chuckie to turn out.

As the gang heads home, Chuckie lags in the back with his head down. Dill starts explaining to his brother how he has plans to create the world’s best Chanukah song and wants his brother’s help. Tommy thinks this is actually a pretty good idea considering the dearth of quality Chanukah songs. Dill is pretty sure of himself pointing out how he believes he’s an excellent singer in the shower and he makes up songs in there every day! Susie then recaps everyone’s holiday plans for us and in the process informs the audience that Anjelica is away on a ski trip, and then turns to Chuckie to ask what he’s got going on for the holidays. Chuckie just sighs and says, “Oh, the usual – high expectations met by crushing disappointment.”

Chuckie doesn’t have a lot of happy Christmas memories. Or really any.

We cut to what I assume is Chuckie’s bedroom. He and Tommy are watching a video on the television that’s apparently Chuckie’s Christmas gift to his dad: 20 years of Christmas home movies compiled on one DVD. We get to see glimpses of the many Finster Christmases and they’re all pretty terrible. There’s often a tree falling over, Chuckie crying (the tape begins before Chuckie is born, hence why it can total more years than Chuckie’s been alive), and Chuckie’s dad running out of frame due to some catastrophe. Chuckie is longing for a nice Christmas, one that’s more celebratory, but concedes that his dad’s mantra is “Christmas starts with family and ends with family.” He’s not really into the flashy stuff. When Tommy points out how the tree in every scene on the tape is pretty sickly looking it gives Chuckie an idea. If he can get a nice tree this year then that will be the way to setting the proper mood for his holiday.

Braving the cold to get the Finster Family Christmas tree!

The scene transitions to one of Chas (Michael Bell) leading his son Chuckie through the snow apparently in search of a tree. When the camera zooms out we see they’re actually just at a tree lot and the snow is being created by a snow machine. They’re still dressed rather warmly, but I do think this show is meant to take place somewhere in the southwest where there probably isn’t typically snow and frigid weather. The tree lot attendant shows Chas a nice looking tree that he seems to be in awe of. And that’s the problem. Chas Finster is a simple man and doesn’t like flashy items. He’s also probably very pragmatic when it comes to expenses, but Chuckie tries to tell him that buying a big tree is sort of like buying in bulk which is something his dad is prone to do. Chas reminds him that he only buys corn dogs and eyedrops in bulk, which apparently explains the added girth Chas possesses when compared to his character in Rugrats.

Chas and Clark Griswold have very different takes on what the family tree should look like.

Chas then comes across the perfect tree! It’s actually in the kindling section and the tree attendant is surprised that anyone would show interest in what are essentially needle-less sticks. He also positions himself in front of the kindling sign to conceal it from Chas’s view so that he can extract a little more money out of him since he’s committed the cardinal sin as a consumer in letting a salesman know that he’s very interested. The person not interested is Chuckie. When Chas asks for a price, he’s given 20 bucks though a small amount of snow falls on the tree and snaps the top off so the salesman immediately changes the price to 15. Chuckie can only hang his head in embarrassment when his dad tells him they’ll come back tomorrow for by then it will likely only be ten!

Now if you saw this while out for a walk how would you interpret the situation for the tree?

We next find Chuckie sullenly walking up a sloping sidewalk kicking a pinecone in frustration. He kicks it a bit too hard and it manages to knock someone’s Santa Claus decoration from their roof. Chuckie runs over to pick Mr. Claus up, but when he does he notices a Christmas tree bound with twine left leaning on someone’s garbage bin. Chuckie runs over in disbelief that someone would be throwing out a perfectly good tree, but gives it no further thought since fortune has apparently smiled upon him this day. As he drags the tree out of sight, some guy emerges from the house with a puzzled look on his face as he calls to his offscreen wife asking where’s the tree?

Chuckie went at this all wrong, he should have focused on the fire hazard the other tree would have presented. This one is much safer.

Chuckie struggles to get the tree home, but he manages to pull it off with only a minor concussion. He then has his dad cover his eyes so he can lead him into the living room to see what he brought home. When Chas opens his eyes his reaction is actually rather positive. I guess it’s pretty much in-line with how he responded to the resplendent tree at the lot, which is also why he shifts gears pretty quickly and remarks it’s not really a Finster tree. Chuckie points out that’s because it’s green, but then hangs his head once more and tells his dad they can get rid of it if he doesn’t like it. Chas immediately starts reassuring his son that it’s fine and he likes the tree. He gives him a concerned smile while Chuckie returns a more genuine one of his own as his Christmas wish is coming together nicely.

I guess these kids hang out at a coffee shop, because coffee is good for 10 year olds.

Our next scene takes place at the Java Lava Cyber Cafe. When did we stop calling cafes with internet access “Cyber” cafes and just went back to calling them cafes since they basically all have wi-fi now? A mall Santa comes walking out somewhat nervously ready to sip his hot coffee while inside Phil appears to be decorating. Dill and Tommy are rocking out on some keyboard while Chuckie and Susie just hang out eating popcorn. My guess is, since Phil and Lil’s mother Betty was always big into coffee in the original show, this is her place of business and the kids help out. It’s also probably a frequent hang out spot for them in the show (I’ve never watched a single episode until now).

Yup, looks like everything is falling into place and Chuckie is going to have the best damn Christmas ever!

Dill and Tommy’s song sounds pretty terrible and the two seem to know it as Tommy proposes they take a break. Dill seems less aware, but is in agreement on account that he’s creatively spent. Betty (Soucie) and Lil come walking in with trays of holiday themed beverages. They sound pretty awful with names like honey baked java, yam latte, and figgy pudding macchiato. Everyone is reluctant to partake, all except Chuckie who downs a cup of one of the likely terrible concoctions. Lil points out that it’s not like Chuckie to be the brave one, but he’s rather content at the moment and chalks it up to an abundance of holiday spirit. Phil sees this as an opening to bring up that someone in the neighborhood recently had their Christmas tree stolen. Chuckie does a spit-take when he hears about it while everyone has some rather choice words to share about the thief. Chuckie, growing visibly sick at the realization he likely stole someone’s tree, runs off to the bathroom clutching his stomach. Betty just assumes it’s related to her drinks, “Looks like that’s a big ‘No’ on the fig latte,” is the punch line used to go out on.

Or not…

After the break, we find Chuckie outside hyperventilating into a paper bag while Tommy exclaims “You stole a Christmas tree!” Chuckie apparently used the act break to explain partly what happened, though we get to hear him tell Tommy he thought they were throwing it away. He’s quite worried about getting run out of town while Tommy tries to calm him down. Since it was a simple misunderstanding, Tommy sees no reason why Chuckie can’t just tell his dad what happened and return the tree. Chuckie perks up at the idea, and this seems like a pretty simple solution to the episode’s plot. Now what are we going to do for the remaining 15 minutes or so?

Chuckie’s tree has apparently ignited the Christmas spirit deep within his father.

Tommy and Chuckie return to Chuckie’s house where the two are happy to find the tree just standing there undecorated. This seems to affirm in Chuckie’s mind that his dad didn’t even like the tree anyway, which is an assumption that’s about to be shattered. I knew we couldn’t just wrap this thing up so neatly! Chas comes waltzing into the house with his arms full of Christmas ornaments. Chuckie is surprised to see his dad bought new ones, and then Betty enters in behind him to inform him he bought more than just that. Apparently, Chuckie’s tree really pointed out to his dad how shoddy their Christmases were and the old guy has gone Christmas crazy! He’s even got gingerbread cooking in the oven so he can construct an entire gingerbread village right down to the emergency call boxes. Chuckie had initially told his dad he needed to tell him something before he saw all of this Christmas stuff, but now he has literal Christmas stars in his eyes and can’t bring himself to tell him the truth. Instead, he just says he wishes his step mother and step sister could be here, but Chas tells him not to worry as they should be boarding their plane home right about now. Earlier, we learned the two were in Japan and coming home on Christmas Eve so we’re basically right up against the holiday at this point. We then get a quick check on the two as Kira (Julia Kato) and Kimi (Dionne Quan) are being informed by a ticket agent that they’ve been bumped from their flight home. Looks like we’re going to need to order a Christmas miracle.

That truck driver was an asshole.

Chuckie and Tommy are outside the Finster home where Chuckie confesses to a somewhat disinterested Tommy that he just couldn’t bring himself to tell his dad what happened. Chuckie sort of rambles on while Tommy can’t get over how good the gingerbread is that Chuckie’s dad made. Chuckie then gets the idea that to solve his problem he just needs to buy a new tree for the family he stole from. Tommy points out how expensive that tree was, but Chuckie brushes aside his concern as he’s been schooled in the Finster art of tree shopping! We cut to the tree lot where only one, scraggly, tree remains and the attendant wants 50 bucks for it. Chuckie literally drops to his knees begging for a better deal, but he’s just met with a “Supply and demand” explanation. We then cut to Tommy and Chuckie carrying the tree with Tommy pointing out how Chuckie had saved all year for that money. Chuckie must have given in, but he’s at least comforted by the fact that he still has a little over 3 bucks left. He pauses to scratch his nose and in doing so lets go of the tree. Tommy does as well, for some reason, and it flops into the street and is predictably run over by a passing truck leaving it in shambles. Chuckie sadly picks up what’s left of it which at least kind of resembles a Christmas tree, albeit at only 9 inches tall. Tommy tries to cheer him up by saying maybe it will look nice with some tinsel or something, but there’s no fixing this mess.

One Christmas tree goes missing and Betty starts reevaluating her security measures. She’s definitely one of those parents that will accidentally shoot one of her kids when they get caught sneaking back into the house after a night out.

A close-up of Betty installing a security camera takes us back into the Java Lava. Susie is working the register while Dill is apparently still working on that song. He asks her what rhymes with dreidel, but Susie just tells him nothing does (how about ladle?) and supposes that’s why there’s so few Chanukah songs. Tommy and Chuckie come walking in and Lil immediately notes that Chuckie has a case of the holiday blues. Betty then draws attention to her new surveillance system and blames the tree thief for the holiday blues going around. Susie reassures everyone not to worry about that and when Chuckie asks why she theorizes that “the big man upstairs” will take notice. I wasn’t sure if she meant Santa or God, but then suggests a smiting shall be upon them which answers that. This freaks Chuckie out and as Betty turns on her camera she tells Chuckie to “Say cheese,” but finds the kid has run off. You would think they would start to piece some things together at this point.

You know Chas, there is such a thing as too much Christmas spirit.

Chuckie heads home only to find his dad rehearsing Christmas carols with a group of authentic looking carolers. Chuckie is bewildered at this continued outpouring of Christmas spirit from his father and is further surprised when he finds out they’re rehearsing for the Christmas party Chas intends to host. He even declares that from now on the name Finster will be associated with Christmas fun! This turn is so intense on the part of Chas that I’m starting to think this is all a dream, but I don’t think so. Chuckie declines the invitation to join in on the fun and tells his dad he’s off to bed instead. Chas doesn’t pick up on any distress in his son, and in his defense I’m guessing Chuckie is frequently mopey, and instead just has everyone whisper their song instead.

This is how Chuckie tortures himself when he sleeps. You know, that family bought an expensive tree, they’re probably not hurting for money.

With Chuckie in bed, it is time for a dream sequence. Chuckie dreams himself outside the home of the family he stole from while the sound of sobbing can be heard coming from inside. He peers through the window and finds a rather Dickensian looking family seated at the table. They appear to be very poor as a young boy consoles his sobbing mother. The daughter curses the one who stole from them while the father instructs her to essentially turn the other cheek. As they prepare to say grace, Chuckie runs off into the woods where he encounters a new creature: the Christmas tree! It speaks to him, and when Chuckie questions who he is, the tree responds rhetorically and turns into a burning bush. Chuckie wakes up with a startle in his bed repeating to himself that he’s going to be smited, wicked smited. I find it weird that he sleeps with his glasses on.

I’ve never known anyone to get upset about getting stuck in Hawaii.

Time to check in with Kimi and Kira who are now in Hawaii. Kira is on the phone with Chas while an airline employee claims to have good news for them. She thinks it’s about their luggage, which has gone missing, but he just wants to offer some macadamia nuts to them. Kira is trying to keep it together, but Kimi attempts to leap across the counter and grab the guy. Kira informs her daughter that he’s probably doing everything he can to locate their luggage, but rather than confirm that assumption the man just keeps waving the little bag of nuts in her face. She sighs and accepts the meager offering. I suspect she’s going to explode next time we check-in on these two.

Back in 2004, the mall was still clinging to life.

Chuckie, Phil, and Lil are next seen strolling through the mall. It must be Christmas Eve at this point and they’re basically exactly where I wouldn’t want to be. Tommy and Dill are there too and Dill is still trying to come up with a song. Tommy points out they only have two days until Christmas, so I guess my assumption was off. As was Chuckie’s earlier explanation that his mother and sister were coming home on Christmas Eve, unless they were planning on all of these travel nightmares they’re going through.

Chuckie, you’re already in enough trouble, you don’t need to go picking a fight with Santa.

It’s at this point that everyone has basically taken notice of Chuckie’s mood, and it becomes harder to ignore when he stops dead in his tracks to basically curse out a display Christmas tree. It’s located where the mall Santa has taken his perch and Chuckie confronts him to share his opinion that the holiday has turned into a sham. He points out a tacky holiday advertisement to support his claim, but the Santa doesn’t really seem to care. Tommy tries to pull his friend away and Chuckie agrees to back down, but not without one of Santa’s freebie candy canes! He lunges for it and at this point a bunch of helpers emerge to the sound of alarms to pry the Finster away.

The smiting has begun!

Tommy and the others lead Chuckie to a bench. He apparently got to keep the candy cane and I would say he’s rather fortunate to not be tossed out of the mall at this point. I’m betting that sly Tommy was able to talk him out of any further punishment. Lil asks Chuckie what’s gotten into him and then confesses that it’s kind of attractive. I’m guessing that normally such a declaration from Lil, or any girl, would knock Chuckie off of his feet, but he’s too far down in the dumps now. No longer able to take it, he tells the rest of his friends that he’s the sicko who stole the tree! Tommy quickly jumps to the defense of his bestie telling the others it was an honest mistake. Chuckie insists he’s in real trouble with the man upstairs, but Lil assures him that God won’t smite him. I thought they were purposely avoiding the mention of God until Lil jumped in there. Chuckie disagrees pointing out that he even has elves on his case now. He suspects a smiting is in order and tells his friends they should keep their distance. Right on cue, sparks start raining down on Chuckie, but it’s from someone welding a banister above them (pretty odd to do while the mall is open). Chuckie is beyond consoling and begins to leave and then has to move faster when more sparks start showering him.

The party is our chance to see how time has treated the other adults. Not so well. Lil looks like she’s had a bit too much eggnog. Howard appears to be near death.

It’s party time at the Finster residence! Not only are those carolers present, but Chas hired a full, live-action, nativity scene as well. He really has gone all out. We also get to see all of the adults we’ve been denied up until now. Howard, Phil and Lil’s dad, is looking rather feeble while Didi and Stu have aged more gracefully. The entire Pickels clan decided to wear formal attire, but Chas is doing the same so maybe that was encouraged? One person not in a suit is Chuckie and Tommy finds him sulking in a corner thoroughly miserable. He points out that this is the Christmas he’s always wanted and he couldn’t be more unhappy. The phone rings and it’s Kira and Chas has the Christmas wind knocked out of him when he finds out the two are stuck in Mexico. Chuckie blames himself and feels he’s essentially cursed his family’s Christmas by stealing that tree. Tommy points out that he could potentially fix this since he’s the one who stole it. When Chuckie asks how Tommy replies, “By stealing it.”

It’s nice to see they still go on adventures, just now they’re crimes.

We then find the crew dressed like ninjas and lurking outside the Finster house later that night. Stealing a Christmas tree is clearly a five kid job. They come to the window where Tommy whips out old reliable – his screwdriver, and uses it to break into the house. Chuckie points out that they can go through the door, but the others seem really invested in this ninja stuff. At least Tommy is, and as he makes various hand gestures to the others they just return them with confused looks. He then just tells them to get the tree. They try to shove it out the window, ornaments and all, but it’s a tight fit prompting Chuckie to remind them that the door is still an option.

The “cool” has evaporated.

In Mexico, we find Kira and Kimi on the streets. The good news is they appear to have all of their luggage, the bad news is they’re going to miss Christmas. Kira seems a little frazzled as well with the mariachi playing in her ear and street vendors repeatedly trying to sell her items. Kimi tells her mom she’s proud of her, and when Kira asks why, it’s because she’s managed to keep her cool throughout all of this. That means she’s about to lose it and does when some rando tries to swipe the cab she hailed. She grabs the man by the collar and throws him to the ground while recounting her misadventures up until now in case we needed a quick recap.

Chuckie is the only kid to ever wake up happy to find his Christmas tree stolen.

With that out of the way, we can return to the tree plot. The kids place the tree on the stoop of its rightful home and ring the bell. Then, for some reason, they stand around a moment until a light comes on inside and at that point they finally run. We cut to the next morning and Chas is discovering the missing tree. He apologizes to Chuckie, but the son is happy to just curse those tree thieves that have been making the rounds. As Chuckie dramatically cries out “Why?” Chas concludes that he should have listened to Betty’s warning and given Chuckie “that dog early.” Chuckie then excitedly asks if he’s getting a dog, but Chas just says “No.” He then wonders why someone would steal a Christmas tree, but leave behind “a Kid-Vid X-Game?” In this universe Kid-Vid must have broken free from the Burger King Kid’s Club. Chuckie then repeats the previous gag by asking if he’s getting such a game and Chas deadpans, “No,” once more. Does he know what really happened and is just torturing his son at this point?

Oh look, the family is all together at Christmas. Who could have predicted that?

Chas concludes that Christmas is ruined and draws his son in close and is puzzled at the presence of pine needles in Chuckie’s hair. That’s it, Chuckie is done keeping things from his dad and confesses to stealing the tree not once, not twice, but three times! He then concedes that he’s confused about how many times he stole it (I think it was just twice, Chuckie) and Chas just calmly tells him to explain what happened. And he…doesn’t? He just tells his dad that he wanted a big Christmas like everyone else and that’s it. Before Chas can ask a presumed follow-up question, the door opens and Kira and Kimi come waltzing in. The family embraces and Chas gets to give his son a lesson by showing him they don’t have nothing and repeats the mantra about family and Christmas. Kira is pretty amazed to see how festive the house is, but then asks about the lack of a tree. Chuckie suggests he tell them about that over breakfast. Kira then pulls out a bonsai tree and declares that anything is better than one of Chas’s trees and hands him what I assume is a little gift she brought back from Japan. They place it in the spot vacated by the Christmas tree and the sound of Susie singing “The First Noel” fills our ears.

Here’s that Susie solo we were promised.

As Susie sings we get to see the camera pan over the town and its festive decorations. I thought we were going to check-in on the other families, but no, instead we are taken to the church as the sun goes down. Inside, Susie is singing and all of her friends and their families are gathered just as they promised. When Susie finishes her song she announces that their Jewish friends have something to share as well. This is Tommy and Dill’s cue to launch into this Chanukah song they’ve been working on. It’s an ode to latkes, and most of the audience seems amused by it. Didi, surprisingly, does not. I also notice a lack of Grandpa Lou in attendance which had me running to a wiki to see if he was dead. He’s not supposed to be so I guess he’s just asleep in front of the TV.

And, of course, the Chanukah song as well. I’m guessing Dill is one of those characters that always wears a hat.

That’s it though as the episode ends with a pan up and out of the church as the audience applauds the silly song about latkes. That wasn’t bad and I was surprised at how effortlessly these characters just sort of slip into teenagers. I thought they might have felt forced into these somewhat new personas, but it all felt natural. The episode also didn’t feel like it had to get everyone into it. The cast is rather large now and likely a tad cumbersome, but I was surprised we didn’t get a quick cut to see what Anjelica was doing. Only Betty and Chas of the adult characters had any lines, not that we needed to hear from anyone else, but I was still surprised. Usually these holiday episodes feel the need to get everyone involved, but not All Grown Up!

The only plot in this one that mattered was Chuckie’s. The bit with his step mother and sister only existed to make Chuckie feel bad and that God was out to get him for stealing a Christmas tree. Even so, it was a rather low stakes plot considering it was a misunderstanding. A rational person would have righted the wrong fairly quickly, but that wouldn’t be very dramatic. We had to wait until the last minute for everything to be set right, though Chuckie really didn’t have any comeuppance. I guess his torture was all the comeuppance he needed. The subplot about the song was unnecessary, though I liked that the episode did end at the church since it was mentioned by Susie early on and I like that her friends are all supportive of her. It’s also somewhat quaint to see a church-going community on television in 2004. The Simpsons has been doing it for awhile, but even with that show it feels like a throwback to a bygone era.

There are a couple of subplots, but the only that matters is Chuckie’s.

And speaking of, the “villain” of the episode being God was pretty interesting. Well, I suppose technically the villain was Chuckie, but he feared God’s retribution and the almighty was even named. That’s definitely rare for a kid’s show, but it did make sense here considering we’re dealing with tweens. It would have felt really silly for Chuckie to fear getting coal in his stocking or something. If the show were Not Quite Grown Up and the kids were in elementary school then sure. They don’t outright say anything about Santa not being real, but it’s implied with Chuckie asking his dad what he got him for Christmas. I suppose Chuckie could have feared the police or another threat instead, but God works.

As for the production, this is still very much a Klasky-Csupo show. Character models are still pretty weird and almost purposefully ugly. The aged-up babies actually all look a lot less monstrous now, maybe it’s simply the hair? If it weren’t for the purple hair, Tommy would look fairly normal. Chuckie looks about the same, while I really dug Lil’s updated design. She has some flair, Phil as well, and I don’t know that I would have predicted that out of the twins. There’s a lot of wardrobe changes too for an animated show and I certainly appreciated the variety. The show is almost mean to the adults though. They all look like they aged 20 years, not 10 or whatever it’s supposed to be. Poor Howard looked the worst, but at least he’s still with Betty. I thought she would have left him for another woman by now. Mark Mothersbaugh is still the composer for the show, but his score is not really evocative at all of the one in place for Rugrats. I’m guessing that was tailor-made for a show about babies and this one needs to be about tweens, but in doing so it lost a lot of personality. Nothing about it stood out to me. At least the character voices all sound great. I’m not sure if they had to modulate Daily and Strong in post at all, but I was impressed with how low they were able to go with their voices. Soucie’s Phil and Lil were left mostly unchanged and same for Summer’s Susie. I actually don’t have much exposure to Cartwright’s Chuckie, but I think it’s basically the same between the two shows with maybe just a bit more confidence in the delivery since he’s no longer a baby stumbling over words.

At least the kid got to experience some fleeting moments of Christmas bliss.

I don’t know that I’ll ever get around to it, but I am curious about the rest of the show. I also wonder if Nickelodeon will ever bring these characters back as high school aged kids. The original audience of the show is approaching 40 at this point, so maybe that ship has sailed. Do those kids want to see them as adults? I was only a casual Rugrats viewer back in the day and I can safely say the idea of adult Rugrats doesn’t interest me. Maybe as a special, but what would I want from it? Can Rugrats be cynical or will everyone be leading happy, healthy, adult lives? I don’t know, but considering these characters are babies once again in the new show, that seems like something pretty far off.

If you want to spend Christmas in agony with Chuckie, All Grown Up! can be found streaming on Paramount+. There, this episode is listed as the seventh in the third season for some reason, but it’s there for you if you wish to view it. I doubt that Nick will air it, but I suppose you never know. You might as well pair it with the other Rugrats holiday specials, they’re all pretty good (the secret best one is actually the Mother’s Day episode), and you’re likely to have a good time whether you’re a kid, adult, or just a kid at heart.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

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Dec. 14 – Aqua Teen Hunger Force – “A PE Christmas”

It was a couple of years ago we looked at the first Aqua Teen Hunger Force Christmas episode because it contained Danzig. I was basically required to talk about it! This year we’re coming back to it, and wouldn’t you know, there is a musical component to this one as well. If you’re unfamiliar with…

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Dec. 13 – The Ren & Stimpy Show – “Son of Stimpy/Stimpy’s First Fart”

Original air date December 19, 1992.

The Ren & Stimpy Show burst onto the scene as part of the original trio of Nicktoons in 1991. The other two, Doug and Rugrats, were fairly gentle cartoons. Rugrats could sometimes get a little blue since the main characters were all babies, but the occasional poop joke was hardly something to get offended by. The Ren & Stimpy Show, on the other hand, was far more crass. It felt like a throwback to the days of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery with its manic pacing and outrageous character animations. It also had its own flair in the form of gross, disgusting, humor. It’s hard to imagine another cartoon in the 90s being more influential on what followed in the world of animation than The Ren & Stimpy Show.

This also came with its own set of problems. Certainly, Nickelodeon had to deal with more letters and phone calls regarding the show’s content than it did probably any other show on its network, but it also had to deal with series creator John Kricfalusi, or John K. The less said about him the better, but suffice to say he was very much a demanding boss and a bit of a perfectionist when it came to the show. This meant the show frequently missed deadlines and John K. also frequently ignored suggestions, or mandates, from the network when things got too risqué. I’m all for standing up for your artwork, but John K. agreed to make a show for kids and there’s some battles worth fighting and some that are not. There’s also been plenty of other things shared about him over the years that are not very kind that I don’t want to get into. At the end of the day, I do think he is a talented cartoonist and without his talents The Ren & Stimpy Show likely wouldn’t be what it was, but there were also lots of other talented people involved in the show’s production and without the likes of some of them the show also wouldn’t be what it is.

This very episode captures some of the dance the creators and Nickelodeon entered into with seemingly every episode of the show. The network wanted something heartwarming, I’m not sure if it necessarily wanted a Christmas episode, and John K. was willing to give them one so long as it was done his way. Hence why we have an episode about a fart. The original title is just “Stimpy’s First Fart,” but the network changed it to “Son of Stimpy.” Television networks have long had an adversarial relationship with the word “fart.” I don’t know why, but it is a thing and that’s why it still surprises me to this day that Salute Your Shorts got to have the word appear in every episode via the opening song. In this case though, I think the network was right as the “Son of Stimpy” title is a bit more mysterious and helps the fart joke land a little better.

“Son of Stimpy” is the first Christmas episode from the show and has the distinction of being done with digital ink and paint. Most of the show was animated with traditional ink and paint, but maybe the Christmas deadline forced the show to move a bit faster. The show was also transitioning from Spumco to Games Animation and that is said to have played a role. The content of the episode actually did not please Nickelodeon so it first premiered on MTV instead. It would eventually be run on Nick, but sometimes in an edited state. I can remember catching the first broadcast purely by accident. I was channel surfing in my bedroom and found it on MTV. I was super surprised to see an episode of the show I had never seen airing on the network and I was so excited that I recall telling my mom right away (who probably didn’t care). And it was a Christmas episode too! The episode also uses the full running time to tell its story without any other inserts, another rarity for the show, and contains several callbacks to the first episode either deliberately or to save time.

That was a juicy one.

This episode begins with an exterior shot of a house inhabited by Ren and Stimpy. A voiceover, John K., tells the audience that this is a story they just made up. Inside, Stimpy (Billy West) is watching TV and the sound effects sound exactly like the ones coming from the TV of the very first episode. He’s motionless except for his eyes dancing around as they take-in some cartoons. Then we get a shot of Stimpy’s butt and it’s done as a still image so it’s rather lovingly painted. Stimpy has a nice, well-rounded, set of buttocks in this episode to likely make them appear inviting, which is important to the plot (trust me). We then hear a noise, a gurgling kind of noise, and Stimpy looks at his butt with some confusion. The still image of the butt returns only now the image is shaking as a rumbling is taking place which leads to a very satisfying fart sound. It has a lot of bass and as far as fake farts go it’s quite lovely! It’s followed by the sound of a balloon letting out air as Stimpy looks satisfied and a puff of greenish-brown smoke emerges and then disappears. Some ominous “Dun! Dun! Duuuuun!” music plays as we get another shot of the the butt, this time with some skid marks added to the floor. Stimpy notices an odor in the air and is soon running in place calling for Ren.

There’s a pretty clear juxtaposition being portrayed between Ren and Stimpy here.

In another part of the house, Ren (John K.) is seated in a lounge chair in a bathrobe and fez hat reading from a book. The juxtaposition of the naked, cartoon-watching, farter and this very dignified Ren is obvious. Stimpy excitedly tells him in a quiet voice that something happened while he was watching TV. Ren can’t even begin to act like he cares, but he asks Stimpy what happened. Stimpy proceeds to tell him that something came out of his butt, it made a sound, and it smelled funny. Ren repeats everything Stimpy told him as if he’s gathering an understanding of the situation, then deadpans “You’re an idiot.”

You can’t force these things, Stimpy.

Stimpy is distressed that Ren doesn’t believe him, but then decides to just make another one! He moves into the center of the room and starts trying to push something out of his butt. There’s some groaning and obvious straining as Ren even moves into the danger zone to see what happens, but Stimpy’s butt just ends up deflating. Ren kicks at the remains of Stimpy’s cheeks, then tells him he has an overactive imagination and to leave him out of his stinky fantasies! It’s an interesting approach to the situation as when Stimpy originally approaches Ren we think he’s calling him an idiot for not knowing what a fart is, but now it seems clear that Ren too has never farted. I should point out for you continuity nerds, Stimpy did fart in a previous episode when they were in the bathtub together during “Big Baby Scam,” but this is a show that really has no continuity.

The absurdity of boogers being freaked out by Stimpy talking to farts is not lost on me.

As Ren leaves Stimpy to his stinky fantasies, Stimpy claims to himself that Stinky is real as he has apparently named his fart now. He then perks up as he declares he’ll find him! Stimpy then walks around the house calling out for Stinky in an operatic voice. He giggles with embarrassment seemingly acknowledging that we’re watching him act a bit silly – it’s cute. He checks in a few places before getting the idea to consult his Magic Nose Goblins he leaves under the bench for the piano. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, Magic Nose Goblins are Stimpy’s boogers. Before this episode, I don’t think they were ever personified, but here Stimpy is able to ask them if they’ve seen Stinky. When they press Stimpy for info on who Stinky is, he describes the fart as he did to Ren. One of the “goblins” figures out what Stimpy is looking for and whispers to the others “He talks to farts,” in a manner that expresses he views this behavior as extremely odd. The other boogers then just tell Stimpy they haven’t seen Stinky as they seem eager to get rid of him now. He leaves, but in doing so sits up and slams his face into the underside of the bench seemingly killing his booger buddies by mistake.

It’s not often we can say this, but here Ren does mean well.

Unable to find Stinky, Stimpy slips into a depression. He’s just seated in a darkened room as Ren tries to cheer him up. He pulls out a TV Guide-like magazine and reads off some of the programs Stimpy usually likes only for Stimpy to reply sullenly with an “I don’t care.” This setup is very similar to how the Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy cartoons begin, only Stimpy doesn’t get excited about that show or Muddy Mudskipper. Stimpy and Ren’s eyes then well with tears as their mouths quiver with sadness. Ren emotes frustration, and even anger, to the camera, but approaches Stimpy in calm, measured, tones about snapping out of this funk. We find out he’s been moping for 3 years now, which is certainly a long time to miss a fart.

The poor guy just wants his fart back, how can you not relate?!

Ren then dangles a new catnip mouse for Stimpy who makes an “Ehhh,” sound of annoyance that’s amusing to me because he sounds like future Billy West character Zap Brannigan. Ren tries cheering him up by jumping into his litter box and encourages him to drop a big, stinky, one into it. Hearing the word “stinky” causes Stimpy’s eyes to fill with tears again as he says “Stinky” in a longing tone. He then wails and starts sobbing forcing Ren to march over angrily. “So that’s it, you’re still crying about your imaginary butt stinkiness!” Stimpy insists in sad tones that Stinky is real and Ren tries, once more, to be supportive. He tells him he needs to get over this fantasy and says he’ll help him and that they can do it together, but Stimpy just replies once more with “I don’t care.” That’s the last straw for Ren, who has been uncharacteristically supportive and understanding throughout the scene. He stamps his feet and shouts at Stimpy. He tries to muster up one of his usual go-to insults for the cat, but he’s basically choked with anger and can just get out “stupid” over and over. Declaring “Who needs you!” he storms off leaving Stimpy alone and sad.

It’s oddly inviting.

It’s nighttime. Stimpy is laying wide awake in bed staring at the ceiling while Ren is on the other side asleep, his back towards Stimpy, with a smile on his face (this brief shot of Ren is cut from the DVD release, presumably because the DVD uses the Spike TV tapes which probably cut it for time). We move to a close-up of Stimpy’s eyes which once again fill with tears. He lets out a sigh and rolls over giving us a nice shot of his round buttocks covered in a purple blanket. The camera pans over to the window where someone is watching. It’s Stinky! He’s a brownish puff of gas with a face and arms. He’s looking through the window with longing and the camera zooms in on Stimpy’s sparkling butt cheeks. Opera-style chanting fills the soundtrack and Stinky looks so very sad. He lowers his head and drifts away as the snow begins to fall.

Ren’s trying everything to get Stimpy “in the mood.”

We cut to Stimpy in the doorway of the house calling out for Stinky. He has a scarf wrapped around his head and his face and hands are blue from the cold. Ren comes out to urge him to come inside. He says that Stimpy has been out there for months and tells him to come help him with the tree, our first hint at Christmas. Ren suggests he can string the dingleberry garland (gross), but Stimpy gives his “ehh” response again and Ren switches tactics by pointing out the mistletoe over their heads. He leans into Stimpy with a flirty, expectant, expression which might be the pair’s most gay portrayal up to this point in the series. Stimpy doesn’t react at first, and then his eyes widen with surprise. Did Ren maybe touch a sensitive area? Stimpy then explodes at Ren, “Gosh darnit, Ren! Is that all you can think of?!” He lectures Ren further saying that Stinky is lost out in the cold and finishes with a “He needs me.” And Stimpy leaves Ren, who cries for Stimpy to come back, but is ignored. Falling to his knees, he utters a prayer for Stimpy telling a higher power he can hold off on the pectoral muscle implants he presumably prays for usually, just bring Stimpy home!

It certainly would be a festive place for a fart to live at Christmas.

We’re then taken to The Naked City. Stimpy is roaming the streets calling out for Stinky in the dark and cold as the snow continues to pile up. We get a shot of Stimpy’s feet sporting crude shoes as he walks through the snow. A Santa on a street corner cries out “Ho ho ho,” as he rings a bell looking for donations. The cadence of his call changes abruptly like he stepped on something, or maybe someone placed a cold hand where he wasn’t expecting. We then see that Stimpy is behind him checking the fat man’s buttocks for Stinky, but finding nothing, he walks off.

This won’t end well.

Stimpy’s feet are shown again only now his shoes have been worn revealing purplish feet, one toe has a nail sticking out of it. Stimpy has posted signs reading “Have You Smelled Me?” with an image of Stinky on it, which is odd since he never really saw him. We cut back to his feet, now blocks of ice, as he continues his search. He tries filing a missing persons report at a police station, but the cop just throws him out. He smashes into a brick wall, but the scent of something stinky wakes him (this sequence is missing from the Paramount+ version). We see him again clawing his way down the sidewalk towards the smell, but it’s just a manure salesman (Mr. Horse) and Stimpy drops to the ground. A car parks on his head for good measure, and then lo and behold, Stinky shows up! He takes a seat on Stimpy’s ass and wishes he never left home, but Stimpy doesn’t hear or smell him since he, you know, has a truck parked on his head.

It’s tough being a fart.

Stinky then moves on and squeezes in between two guys seated on the ground sleeping back-to-back. One is just in a coat and underwear and they’re clearly meant to be un-housed individuals. One of them notices the stench of Stinky first, then the other who cries out for someone to light a match. They both stand up and start waving a lit match and poor Stinky is terrified. He lets out a tiny scream and is forced to flee to a sewer as the two men give chase.

There’s a lot of sad crying in this episode.

Back at the house, Ren is singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” through tears as he digs out Stimpy’s present from under the tree. He then goes to give it to Stimpy and we see his face, but it turns out it’s just a picture of Stimpy (the DVD version cuts out the tease and jumps straight to the gift next to the picture frame). A ring of the doorbell gets Ren’s attention and on the other side he finds Stimpy, only he’s completely encased in ice. They go into their reunited routine from the very first episode, only Stimpy can’t respond to Ren’s cry of “Pal” because he’s frozen.

It’s our first Christmas miracle.

Ren brings Stimpy into the living room and sets him up by the fire. The ice is gone and Stimpy is shivering in a blanket with his feet in a bucket of hot water. Ren has decorated for Christmas and he’s done a rather admirable job as he looks on Stimpy with glee in his eyes. He tells Stimpy to relax and kisses his forehead as Stimpy’s tongue pops out of the blanket. A ring of the doorbell causes Ren to leave and, at first, it looks like no one’s there. Then a familiar odor wafts into Ren’s nostrils. At first he’s repulsed, but then smiles as he reaches down off camera for something.

Take a big whiff, Stimpy.

Ren returns to the living room to tell Stimpy he has a visitor. Stimpy responds with his now customary “I don’t care,” forcing Ren to thrust his finger under his nose. As he sniffs Ren’s finger, a look of recognition crosses his eyes. The brown cloud then appears and Stimpy is on his feet crying out in joy “Stinky!” Stinky returns the cry with a “Dad!” and the two embrace to some uplifting music the show is returning to from the first episode, only the embrace is punctuated with a fart sound.

The moment we’ve been waiting for?

Stimpy, through happy sobs, declares that now he and Stinky can be together forever. Stinky’s face hardens and he pulls away from his father’s embrace to tell him, “No, dad, we can’t.” He explains that he’s a man now, and a man has needs, but when he asks Stimpy if he understands the cat just angrily shakes his head “No.” Stinky then gets an idea and tells him to wait here. He goes to the door and opens it and tells Stimpy he wants him to meet his fiancé: Cora.

She’s quite a…catch.

The bride to be is a rotting, mostly decomposed, fish. Stimpy takes one look at her though and declares her beautiful as the fart and garbage embrace, I guess. Ren and Stimpy embrace too and cry out “Memories!” We cut to a wedding, where Stimpy is marrying Stinky to his fish bride. For the first time, he uses the word fart when addressing Stinky so at some point he learned what he is. The two kiss, then head inside Ren’s nose for their honeymoon hanging a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door that suddenly appeared on Ren’s nostril. The camera pans out and Ren looks pretty unhappy about this arrangement, as Stimpy tosses cat litter at his face in place of rice and tells the camera that he just loves happy endings!

“I now pronounce you fart and wife!”

And that’s the end! Nick wanted a heartwarming tale and it got one, albeit a subversive one that only could come from The Ren & Stimpy Show. Stimpy searches for his missing son so the two can be reunited for Christmas. It sounds like a nice and pretty standard holiday premise when you ignore that his son is a literal fart. It’s a bizarre and crazy premise that really puts Stimpy’s stupidity on full display. I suppose, in a sense, it’s funny to think about how we create and pass gas that vanishes quickly and for an idiot like Stimpy he might not comprehend that. Mostly, it feels like a challenge from the show to see if the audience can be moved to feel empathy for an actual fart and the one who dealt it.

A fart is having sex with the corpse of a fish in Ren’s nose right now. That’s a lot to process.

As is customary for the show, there’s tons of visual gags and gross images. There’s numerous shots of nice, round, butts that do look inviting given the cold climate throughout. The show almost made me want to climb in between those two gentlemen in the alley as Stinky did, but not quite. Ren and Stimpy’s relationship is also really interesting here. Ren is shown to be far more understanding and permissive of Stimpy’s depression when normally he’d just lash out with anger. He eventually gets there to a point, but it’s actually depicted rather well as it’s very easy to grow frustrated when trying to talk someone out of a funk. We all try our best not to act like Ren did in the end, but it can be trying. And then we have the obvious romance angle. The show flirts with that here and there before and after this episode, but the depiction of the pair under the mistletoe is definitely the most obvious call out to the two being a romantic couple that we’ve ever seen. Of course, the sequel show would make that plainly obvious to mostly disastrous results. Don’t confuse me for saying Ren and Stimpy being out of the closet is disastrous, that show just happens to be not funny and isn’t worth watching. The fact that it isn’t cut from the episode is rather brave on the part of Nickelodeon considering this debuted in 1992. Not on Nickelodeon, but that’s even pretty brave for MTV. And it would eventually jump to the kid’s network.

Watching Stimpy suffer is not really a whole lot fun, but then he’s also suffering because he misses his fart. It’s hard to know how one should feel, but I think that’s the point.

Ultimately, this episode leans so far into telling it straight that it’s not as funny as it perhaps could be. There are funny moments, for sure. Stimpy describing a fart without knowing what one is works as probably the best scene in the whole episode. The dismissive nature of his booger friends and some of the closeups definitely warrant a laugh. After that though, once Stimpy slips into depression, it’s fairly short on laughs and is really committed to telling this sad story that ultimately has a happy ending. Only I don’t think it succeeds in actually getting the viewer to care about Stinky. I think I identify more with Ren’s frustrations than Stimpy’s depression, which is probably not what the episode wants. Though I do think that aspect of it exists because the staff must have known there would be viewers like me and at least we have something to latch onto via Ren. Because of that, I never know how to feel when this one ends. Am I happy for Stimpy? For Stinky? I guess. I’m relieved it’s over because I don’t enjoy seeing Stimpy suffer like this, but the payoff isn’t there. I think if this one wasn’t as long as it is then it would work better because at some point it just feels sadistic with how it treats Stimpy. Stimpy is a character easy to laugh at when the pain inflicted upon him is physical, but not emotional.

There’s really not a ton of Christmas in this episode, but I think there’s enough.

“Son of Stimpy” is not the only Christmas episode the show created as there is also “A Scooter for Yaskmas.” That one is actually very similar in tone to this one as we basically just see Stimpy suffer, though in that one he creates some of that suffering by desiring a physical object. Both have their moments, but also neither one is a Christmas special I feel required to return to every year. I think others feel differently as “Son of Stimpy” seems to be well-received by the fanbase, so what do I know? If you want to embark on a journey of father and son reuniting for Christmas then this one is available to stream on Paramount+ and was also released on DVD many moons ago. That set is very easy to acquire and contains some classic episodes so even if your response to this episode is tepid like mine that DVD is still a worthwhile purchase. Unfortunately, both versions are edited to some degree. The one on Paramount+ omits the sequence where Stimpy enters the police precinct and gets thrown out, while the DVD version cuts out a shot of Ren sleeping in the bed and his giving a gift to a picture of Stimpy. For the DVD, I think both edits were just made for time as the source video is from Spike TV and their broadcast. With Paramount+, I think their version is the one Nickelodeon aired which apparently didn’t like featuring a cop assaulting Stimpy. Given the two choices, the DVD version is superior, but it continues to be frustrating how hard it is to find truly uncut episodes of The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

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Christmas has a number of characters that instantly come to mind at the mere mention of the holiday. The big man, good old S. Claus, is likely number one. Whether you know him as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, or something else, Santa Claus has dominated the holiday for decades now. Other characters commonly associated with…

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