T A B L E++T A L K

Are home births safe? Should siblings participate? Share your thoughts and experiences in the Mothers area of Table Talk

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R E C E N T L Y

Second Thoughts: A modest proposal
By Sallie Tisdale
Hurricane Mitch offers U.S. troops the chance not to show force, but to help others -- especially those we've hurt before
(11/19/98)

Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets
By Hillary Rodham Clinton
What kids want to know about Buddy and Socks
(11/18/98)

Drama Queen Contestants
This won't hurt a bit: This month's Drama Queen candidates tell tales of their most hellish experiences at the gynecologist's office
(11/17/98)

Things are not quite what they seem
By Polly Shulman
Themes of transformation populate three weirdly hypnotic children's books
(11/16/98)

Dark night of the iguana
By Anne Lamott
How my son's pet reptile taught me to love all sentient beings -- and Republicans too
(11/12/98)

BROWSE THE WILD THINGS ARCHIVE

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Mamafesto
By Camille Peri
Why it's time
for Mothers Who Think

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THESE BABIES RULE! A 4-YEAR-OLD AND HER DAD GIVE THE NEW "RUGRATS" BRAND EXTENSION A BIG THUMBS-UP.

BY ANDREW LEONARD | My daughter and I were apprehensive about the new "Rugrats" movie. In her short, 4-year-old life, she had only faced the big screen twice, and the last encounter had been a disaster -- the first five minutes of Disney's "Mulan" sent her fleeing from the theater in terror. Not that I blamed her -- the specter of Huns scaling the Great Wall of China has haunted countless generations of Chinese, and if there is anything that Disney does really well, it's scare the bejeezus out of little kids. My wife and I wondered if we'd permanently scarred the poor kid.

Furthermore, my daughter had seen previews of the "Rugrats" movie on the Cartoon Channel. The preview, she advised me, was "a little scary." I feared the worst. "Rugrats," the cartoon, is delightful in large part because it makes journeys such as a trip to the sandbox at the other park a deeply frightful undertaking. Just a few days ago, an episode featuring potty-training angst was so emotionally loaded that my daughter, who graduated from the diaper set a full two years ago, could hardly move -- her tension visible in every line on her little brow.

Of course, to an infant or toddler, Mom or Dad's simple departure to the next room to grab a cup of coffee sets the stage for unspeakable horror. "Rugrats," the cartoon, understands this infant's-eye view of the world better than any other pop-cultural offering. There's no need to up the ante, to trade the drama of the playground for more mundane, real-world thrills. In the preview, the sight of Tommy and Chuckie dressed in mock-Indiana Jones outfits boded ill. I sensed a tragedy in the making.

But Klasky-Csupo, the animation studio that produces "Rugrats," turns out to be too smart to betray its franchise. Yes, my daughter did get nervous at particular junctures -- there is, after all, a great big slobbery wolf, and let's face it, the prospect of a bunch of babies lost in the woods will scare anyone -- but at no time did she feel the need to turn tail. She had a fine time.

That Indiana Jones malarkey turned out to be just a little joke -- a fantasy sequence. That wasn't actually a mysterious mountain that the kids were scaling in search of a fantastic totem -- it was the refrigerator.

The refrigerator revelation elicited laughs from parents and children alike at the "Rugrats" screening -- offering proof, once again, of why "Rugrats" rules. "Rugrats," the movie, maintains the intelligence and sly humor that make the cartoon fun. The kids get their poopy-diaper jokes and the grownups get their yuppie satire jabs -- everyone ends up satisfied. That kind of double-barreled narrative is a tough trick -- something you'll never see duplicated by "Barney" or, God forbid, the "Teletubbies."

So never mind the lost-in-the-woods plot, the wolf and the escaped circus monkeys -- the core dramatic tension in "Rugrats," the movie, is generated by one of the oldest and most well-worn plot devices in children's entertainment: the dreaded new baby. Tommy, the toddler most Rugrat critics agree embodies the moral center of the "Rugrats" universe, gets a new brother.

Why does the new-baby gambit keep popping up in children's books and movies? Because it works, that's why. My daughter will tell you all about it -- she's been there, she's got a new baby brother and boy can she relate. She knows the pain of displacement that comes when suddenly someone else is cuddled next to mom. She knows the agony of having to share her special toys with an interloper. Worst of all, she knows what it's like to be forced to assume the mantle of elder-sibling responsibility when in her heart of hearts she still wants to be the baby.

Again, it's an old story. But "Rugrats," which already so clearly dominates the infants-with-attitude cultural landscape, is exquisitely positioned to exploit this narrative theme and deliver it with devastating impact. When the new baby (Dylan Pickle -- Dill Pickle for short) drains the last baby bottle of milk, you can feel Tommy's anger and despair deep down in your gut. At times like these, inserting a wolf into the plot is pure overkill.

For me, the resolution of the wolf plot was almost an afterthought. The real climax of the film comes earlier, as a rainstorm in the middle of the night pounds down upon the forlorn babies. Tommy and Dylan have been separated from the others, and Tommy's having a hard time coping. But just when all looks lost, rapprochement is reached -- huddled beneath a tree root, the two children make the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate gesture of brotherly love: They share the baby blanket.

Babies, babies, everywhere. I asked my daughter what part of the movie she liked the best. Without hesitation, she said her favorite part was the hospital scene early on when Baby Dill is born -- and the rest of the babies in the infant ward do a catchy little song-and-dance number. Not only did this reassure me as to a happy lack of lingering resentment my daughter might feel about her own family circumstances, but it further underlined why "Rugrats"-viewing is a basically positive experience, for parents and children alike. The underlying message of "Rugrats" is that babies, no matter if they're squalling, puking, pooping or simply refusing to allow you to sleep, are really neat.
SALON | Nov. 20, 1998

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E-mail Andrew Leonard.