Rugrats: The Santa Experience

This would be the first Rugrats Christmas special released back in 1992 during it's second season! I used to love watching Rugrats when I was a kid & owned a lot of the VHS tapes which I'd watch with my sister (especially the one which showed the episode where the characters went on vacation in Las Vegas for some reason from what I can remember). Heck, I even still watched it when Kimi came into the picture after the Rugrats in Paris film (an example of a good animated sequel & also loved watching as a kid) & some of the All Grown Up episodes (although looking back, that didn't really hold up well & never should've been made) on Nicktoons or Nickelodeon. So can this be as special as a baby's first Christmas, or was this as unecessary as the All Grown Up series? Let's find out!

Story: The main plot of this involves Angelica trying to be good after discovering Santa has a Naughty List despite exposing a department store Santa is a fake & being given gifts as an apology in the hopes she's not scarred by it (although she's clearly fine) & tricking Phil & Lil into trading things so they can give each other presents in a Gift of the Magi-esque plot. In another subplot, Chuckie is afraid of Santa & Tommy tries to convince him he's a good guy which segways into another subplot involving Chas also wanting to prove Santa isn't scary along with wanting Angelica to believe in him, but he & Drew have different methods over how with Chas wanting to dress up as Santa while Drew wants to hire a professional from a company called The Santa Experience (hence the title of this special) to dress up as him. All of these subpplots can be pretty funny as hijinks ensue in all of them along with them going to a cabin for the holidays & using a 100% artificial Christmas tree despite trying to chop one down & Angelica's subplot doesn't really feel forced considering it is Christmas which is the perfect time for someone to undo their mistakes even if she's only 3 years old & is still a spoilt brat. If there is one issue I have, it's that it can be pretty predictable towards the end like the Santa being implied to be the real thing (although there's one funny joke with the guy from the company claiming his car skid in the ice on the road which was obviously a lie) & all the subplots wrapping up in a heartwarming way, especially with Angelica's subplot. Sure, it's predictable with the story, but the humour & the subplots are all actually pretty good!

Animation: Yeah, the animation in the show isn't exactly the best (at least during it's early run before the reboot 10 years ago) & it's no exception here! The character designs are all pretty basic along with the quality being Saturday morning cartoon-ish & the character animation being a bit rough. The backgrounds admittedly look really nice with putting me in the Christmas mood, especially when they go to the cabin in the snowy woods & the interiors having a really nice & cozy atmosphere (heck, it even makes me wanna do that one Christmas) to it even with the artificial Christmas tree. The animation may not be the best, but it's not that bad (remember, my rating is by cartoon standards, not to theatrical releases cos that'd definitely not be fair on this!) despite it being over 20 years old!

 

Characters: The main character this time round is Angelica. Despite her bratty demeanour, it doesn't really feel forced when she tries to undo the mistakes she made during this episode & in an odd way, you do feel sorry for her when she tries to be nice & it backfires badly. Chuckie this time round is still his same scaredy-cat self being afraid of Santa (understandably so for his age), Tommy is the same adventure loving leader of the group & Phil & Lil are oddly sweet with what they want to do for each other despite being at loggerheads & Angelica messing around with them. As for the parents, they can be pretty funny like Grandpa Lou's whacky stories over Santa, Drew & Chas argue over how they should which leads to shenanigans, Betty & Didi & Stu is the one to. Overall, the characters in this are pretty enjoyable & funny in their own little subplots during this special! Oh yeah, and the Santa from the Santa Experiecnce company is a total ass despite his one scene wonder being pretty hilarious!

 

Despite the problems, I can't not like this thanks to the nostalgia factor with fun jokes & the characters being pretty likeable & funny even with the subpar animation & predictability of the story! I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the show thanks to the nostalgia factor like I said or those in the mood for a funny yet rather predictable Christmas special based on a cartoon! As for the second Christmas special Babies in Toyland...well, you'll have to find out about my thoughts on that episode tomorrow!
Story: 7/10
Animation: 4/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 7/10