We may be in a golden age of television drama, but the '90s were arguably the golden age of cartoons. (To be fair, we were kids then so we might be a little biased.) Many of us grew up watching favorites like Beavis & Butt-Head, Ren & Stimpy — and for the slightly younger among us, Rugrats.
For those unfamiliar with Rugrats — which premiered 25 years ago this month, back in August 1991 — the animated series follows a gang of babies on the crazy adventures they take while they're supposed to be crawling around a playpen. I loved the show as a kid (and if we're being honest, well into my tween years).
Eventually, I stopped watching, but I continued to wonder what the babies might be like as they grew older. Would Angelica ever put that sass to good use? Would Chuckie ever drop the scared-baby act? And would twins Phil and Lil ever forge separate identities? Nickelodeon never gifted us with answers to these questions. But that's what the imagination is for — so we've come up with some illustrations showing what we think the Rugrats gang would look like now, and what we think they'd be up to as twentysomethings.
Tommy Pickles
Tommy remained the leader of the pack until they all split up to go to college — but even now, he's still the one the crew turns to when they need a gut check, guidance, or a little bit of adventure. A tinkerer in the same tradition of his dear old dad, Stu Pickles, Tommy wound up opening a 3-D-printing shop in Bushwick, where he makes toys but also printed up Chuckie's last snowboard. And yes, he still wears the same outfit every day.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Chuckie Finster
Chuckie may have been the scaredy-cat of the crew, but he grew out of it as he got older, eventually challenging himself to face all of his fears, one at a time. That bravery paid off, and as he became more and more confident, Chuckie took his goals to new heights, eventually taking up snowboarding and winding up in the X Games. The only fear he hasn't conquered is laser eye surgery: He's still sporting those signature glasses, sometimes in ski-goggle form.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Kimi Finster
Chuckie's adopted baby sister didn't join the crew until later in the series, but once she started talking in more than infant babble, she became a fixture. Kimi found her way to Parsons in New York City, and became a super-chic graphic designer. She also wound up stealing Tommy's heart: At first, Chuckie wasn't cool with Tommy dating his sister. But eventually he became fond of the idea of maybe winding up with his best friend as a brother-in-law.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Angelica Pickles
Angelica was definitely a mean girl in her pre-K days, and that didn't change until middle school when — like a lot of sassy tweens — she suddenly found herself a small fish in a big pond. After that, she channeled her bossiness into more worthy pursuits, like mock United Nations. To her mother's joy, she wound up going the Ivy League route. But instead of following in her mom's corporate footsteps, Angelica finished law school, joined the Peace Corps, and returned stateside as an eco-lifestyle blogger and karma coach.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Susie Carmichael
Susie showed her stripes during the series' original run, often as a foil for Angelica's crueler antics even though the girls were actually really close friends. But Susie decided early on that she wanted to stand on the side of the vulnerable and help people. That meant going into grassroots activism and ultimately winding up as an intern on the first Obama campaign. From there, Susie wound up in Washington, where she worked for several congressmen before ultimately being tapped to take on a communications role in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Phillip "Phil" & Lillian "Lil" DeVille
As you may recall, these two were inseparable as tiny tots. And not much has changed in the intervening years. These days, the twins are still super tight, even helming a company together: [B]EntoBox, a meal-delivery startup based in the Bay area that brings insect protein into your lunch routine. (Remember all those bugs they ate back in the day? #Research.) The only downside to this serious sibling love is that they're both still single: It's hard to win at Tinder when you insist on bringing your twin to every date.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
Dil Pickles
Last but not least, the Rugrats caboose: baby Dil, Tommy's little brother, who still has a fair amount of growing up to do. He's been a little aimless since leaving college with a liberal arts degree, and mostly crashes on Tommy's couch for the time being. But he's also trying to get his career as a YouTuber off the ground, which just might work. Hey, we already know he's got a knack for being on camera.
Illustrated by Mallory Heyer.
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