Rugrats grown up

When Rugrats premiered on Nickelodeon in 1991, I was 11 years old and more interested in the early 90s fashion on Clarissa Explains It All than in the babyish antics of Tommy and his pint-sized crew.

Nevertheless, my cartoon-watching days weren’t completely behind me; I had a younger sister who tuned in from time to time. The kids I babysat through my middle school and high school years were also fans of those diaper-wearing rascals.

Twenty-two years after their debut, artist Celeste Pille has reimagined the Rugrats tots as college-aged hipsters. On her blog she also shares what each character has been up to in recent years.

Take Chuckie, for example:

Charles “Chuckie” Finster channeled his anxiety into writing and performing and now finds himself a burgeoning slam poetry super star. During the day you’ll find him coaching Forensics and local high school LTAB teams.

Lil and Phil:

Phil and Lil became Youtube sensations with their series of videos in which they conduct gross/messy/entertaining science experiments. Their strong online following has earned them the attention of several television producers who are interested in creating a children’s educational show. Phil and Lil would love to be on PBS in the near future.

Angelica:

Angelica Pickles went on to internet fame for her terrible song called Weekend, and its even more terrible music video (produced by Ark Music Factory and paid for by her parents), and just when everyone thought her 15 minutes were up she leveraged her awesomely bad song’s popularity into a reality show on Bravo called Fallen Angelica. She may not be a good singer, but she’s shrewd, ambitious and makes for incredibly quotable television.

And, of course, Tommy:

Tommy Pickles is honing his skills in mountain climbing, scuba diving, and paragliding to become a master at wildlife photography. He aspires to be a regular contributor to National Geographic and plans to rappel into an active volcano in the near future to capture the terrifying beauty of lava lakes.

Celeste has also doodled characters from Pepper Ann and Hey Arnold!, but I’ve never seen a single episode of either cartoon. Have you? What were your favorite cartoons growing up? As a child of the 80s, I loved Inspector Gadget, Muppet Babies, Rainbow Brite, and Jem!

(via Nylon Magazine, artwork from Celeste Doodles)