Okay, this is a first. How can I go into a show that I can't even look at? I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to shows people deem ugly, I'd defend Mr. Meaty to the bitter end and I do enjoy the art style Klasky-Csupo was once known for. But... this somehow broke me.
Not going into the quality of the show, I'm just gonna go into my overall impressions and why I won't watch it.
I was watching a JordanFringe video about the show, I got to a point I had to scroll down just to not see the footage, something about it gave me a fight or flight reaction, and I couldn't keep going. Keep in mind a glut of videos like Jordan's tend to feature clips of the show covered for a bulk of the video. I'd get an eye-full of the show just through those clips alone.
Now granted, the initial seasons of Rugrats looked... abstract, to say the least. It takes time to get used to it. Either we've seen so much of the original show we've built a tolerance for it, or maybe we've seen worse, who knows? For the strangest reason I always thought Rugrats was for preschoolers, serves my judgmental ass right.
What I know about it
Though I haven't seen an episode proper nor intend to, I've discovered some aspects through word of mouth and whatever I heard from JordanFringe. Based on some clips, it looks like they made Grandpa Lou gay, or just gave him a friend. Now granted I'm not against gay couples, more power to them and it is a nice change, but altering a character just to fit that is just asking for trouble and making people assume they're forcing labels onto people. This is just speculation on my part, correct me if I'm wrong on that.
I do know for sure they made Betty into a lesbian. It seemed to be quite an abrupt change as she was previously married (I mean then again they could've split sometime after having Phil and Lil). Let's say I'm open to these erratic changes, of all people to turn gay, why would they pick the butchest looking woman in the room?
All for representation, not for caricatures. It's less "Let's experiment with sexuality and help inspire new ideas for plots, further representation and show kids that it's okay to be gay." and more "She looks pretty lesbian, quota complete."
It's a pretty dangerous move and it could cause newcomers to assume all lesbians look a certain way, rather than just understand any woman could pine for the same sex. You mean to tell me if a girl practices tomboyish behaviors and has short hair they are automatically declared a lesbian? Well how dare you force labels onto people because of a clear lack of communication and care to the sensibilities of people who are different.
You may be thinking, well who would I wish to be gay if there had to be those? Well Chaz can fit the bill (I know it's tempting the fate given his nature), but the opportunity is there. Kira can be a lesbian as well, as she got the gall to stick up to her former superior, but is still willing to act as a godmother to Chuckie.
By the way, Kimi's gonna be a late inclusion to the show, again.
There is one big notable change. They made Suzie the same age as the babies. I'm about to potentially repeat points by Jordan verbatim, but I doubt there's any other way to say something I happen to agree with. The point behind Suzie was to create a foil to Angelica, someone her age who can easily work against her. Just because Suzie aligned to the babies, that doesn't mean she had to be aged down for it, she could already understand them.
I get Suzie is a more divisive character, a bit of a mary sue in some cases (though All Grown Up hammered the latter point straight to the ground.), but was this really the best option? I mean again, Kimi's getting thrown into the mix too. Anything else I'd say would either be wishful and over-thinking.
Also for the clips I saw, apparently there was a gag involving Snapchat filters.
How is this hard to look at?
I don't know if the changes got to me or not, but just looking at the footage gave me quite a reaction. I'm not one to lose my mind over reboots looking drastically different, I was willing to give this the benefit of the doubt of being an expendable reboot, not worth losing one's mind over. But let me tell you this, give the 2016 PPG reboot whatever crap you want, I'd defend it's easier on the eyes than this.
What prompted a CG reboot? This was well after theTV CGI craze of the mid 2000s, and even those cartoons look better than this. Because Rugrats had a very particular style, it was hard to translate to 3D, surely, and the results go to the uncanny valley, by foot and flight. It's a sharp turn, and the world wasn't ready for it. There's something about bulgy bodies with big eyes and tiny pupils.
When even most of the Rugrats video games are more aesthetically pleasing, something is seriously wrong. Hell, Kamp Koral looks better than this. Anything that doesn't have a malleable style hardly translates well to 3D.
How big was the demand for a Rugrats reboot? Has rampant nostalgia gone too far to the point Nickelodeon is seeking to bank on it? I hope it's the latter because all my complaining in the past would not be in vain.
There's a Ren and Stimpy reboot coming to comedy central, and I doubt that'd look any worse than this, hell, Adult Party Cartoon will always look worse.
Am I missing much with this? Let me know.
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