Five Reasons Reptar from Rugrats Rocks
Five Reasons Reptar from Rugrats Rocks
Why Rugrats' famous lizard is the tyrant king of our hearts.
If you grew up in the '90s, there's a non-zero chance you were a Rugrats fan for part of the decade. Nickelodeon has been airing the adventures of this pack of weirdly sentient babies since 1991—in fact, it premiered on the same day as another '90s staple, The Ren and Stimpy Show. That's very funny! A fly marrying a bumblebee!
Rugrats wears the decade of its birth on its onesie sleeve: The titular ’rats that run around with main baby Tommy Pickles look kind of weird and lumpy, and they all constantly leak mucus from their every facial orifice. But the kids are all right (except Angelica) and do their best to be kind to each other as they grow up into this crazy world (except Angelica). The fact they're all willing to die for Reptar is proof enough they'll turn out OK.
Reptar, may his name be bathed in Glory, is a giant lizard who shows up on TV to stomp his way across New York, Godzilla-style. Reptar quickly becomes the touchstone of the babies' cultural knowledge, which is admittedly a change from quieter, gentler kids' shows like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Which, by the way, would not last a minute under Reptar's fiery breath. Here are five reasons why Reptar rocks.
Reptar has a baby-endangering ice show
Ice shows (that is, shows performed while ice skating) were yet another '90s staple; everyone from Disney to Bon Jovi cover bands spent the decade singing songs while simultaneously trying to avoid colliding with the sideboards. It was good entertainment, and we should bring it back. Especially if it leads to a class-5 babies-on-ice incident like we see in "Reptar on Ice" from season 2 of Rugrats. The troupe of tiny tots spill onto the ice while trying to reunite "Reptar's son" (a lizard from Tommy's backyard) with its "father" (the ice show's lead, a normal Joe who just puts on the Reptar suit and skates for a paycheck—same, bro), and they somehow don't get slashed into human veal by the skaters who are forced to keep performing around them. That's the kind of devotion Reptar inspires… and the protection he provides.
Reptar has his own chocolate bar
The children begin eating the Body of Reptar in the season one Halloween episode, “Candy Bar Creep Show.” The coveted "Reptar Bar" even has its own jingle that brags about its ability to turn the consumer's tongue green. Oh, right, another '90s thing: Green. Just, green. The gloppier, the better. Rugrats fans dig the idea of joining the green tongue club, which is why Reptar Bars pop as a real-world treat from time to time. Each release looks and tastes different, but you can always count on biting into chocolate with a gooey green center. Mmm!
Reptar used to have his own roller coasters
Nickelodeon used to have quite a presence in North American amusement parks, back when Paramount owned several of those parks. The Rugrats were a big hit with visiting kids, but not every sign of the babies was kept enclosed in the parks' kiddie lands. "Rugrats Runaway Reptar" once stood mighty and proud at Kings Island, Carowinds, and a few other parks. It was an inverted steel coaster that left your feet dangling as you zoomed through twists and turns. It's more thrilling than frightening, making it a perfect ride for tough babies. Runaway Reptar has since been given a Charlie Brown makeover and transformed into "Woodstock's Air Rail Coaster" at Kings Island, but a dinosaur becoming a bird is just a sign of evolution doing its thing… right?
Reptar took on Toho, and he…well, he lost. But he persists
Toho's 1954 masterpiece Godzilla used its world-famous monster to deliver a solemn warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the steep price of tampering with the natural order of things. Toho is extremely litigious towards anyone who tries to depict Godzilla without its permission, and we're all like "Nope, uh-uh" when Reptar first stomped into the babies' lives in Rugrats. Nickelodeon lost the ensuing lawsuit, leading to the lizard king's diminished appearances in the show. But if this list is any indication, he carries on through roller coasters, chocolate bars, and video games. Which brings us to our final point:
Reptar is in a heck of a lot of Rugrats games
You can do a lot with a giant dinosaur in a video game, and the Rugrats games understand the assignment. There's a crop of Rugrats titles to choose from, and Reptar cameos in a lot of them. But if you want to get directly involved with the big man himself, it might be worth teleporting back to the 32-bit era to go on a Search for Reptar. Or maybe you don't have to teleport at all. The '90s had their charms, but this era sure has ’em beat for convenience.