Mother's Day (Rugrats) facts for kids

"Mother's Day" is a special episode from the fourth season of the American animated TV show Rugrats. It's the 67th episode overall and first aired on May 6, 1997.

This episode looks at the Mother's Day holiday from the viewpoint of the babies: Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil Deville. Tommy, Phil, and Lil try to find the perfect mother for Chuckie. Chuckie is raised by only his dad, Chas, so he doesn't have a mom to celebrate with. The babies also share their favorite memories about their own mothers.

Towards the end of the episode, it is gently explained that Chuckie's mother passed away from a serious illness. The episode finishes with Chuckie and Chas looking through a box of her things. They find a special poem she wrote for her son. Meanwhile, Didi Pickles tries to plan a perfect Mother's Day with her mom, Minka. Also, Betty DeVille helps Stu Pickles with a funny invention meant to help mothers.

The episode was directed by Norton Virgien and Toni Vian. Many writers worked on the script, including Jon Cooksey and David N. Weiss. The show's co-creator, Paul Germain, had wanted to explain Chuckie's missing mom earlier. However, the TV channel Nickelodeon didn't approve his ideas at first. They thought explaining that she was divorced or had died would be too much for young viewers.

Before "Mother's Day" aired, there were only small mentions of Chuckie's mother. Paul Germain left the show in 1993, and new writers took over. Later, the idea of Chuckie's mother having passed away was approved as a Mother's Day special. Germain later said he was sad he couldn't tell this story when he was still working on the show.

"Mother's Day" was one of several special half-hour episodes made for Rugrats. It was released on the 1998 VHS tape Rugrats: Mommy Mania. You can also find it online with the rest of the fourth season. Critics liked "Mother's Day" a lot. It was praised for how it handled the sensitive topic of a parent's passing. It also received good reviews for showing breastfeeding in a positive way and for expanding on what it means to be a mother.

The episode won an award called the CableACE Award for Writing a Children's Special or Series. It was also nominated for the Humanitas Prize in the Children's Animation category. The Rugrats series itself was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program because Nickelodeon submitted "Mother's Day" for consideration.

Episode Storyline

On Mother's Day, Angelica Pickles makes a macaroni sculpture of her own head. She tells the Rugrats what the holiday means. After dropping off his son Chuckie, Chas Finster gives Didi Pickles a box of his wife's belongings. He worries Chuckie might find it and he isn't ready to talk about his mom yet.

While helping Phil and Lil DeVille and Tommy Pickles find gifts for their mothers, Chuckie feels unsure. He doesn't know how he should celebrate Mother's Day. Tommy, Phil, and Lil share happy memories of their moms with Chuckie. Phil and Lil say their first laugh was the best gift for their mom. Tommy remembers his mom comforting him when he was a tiny baby in the hospital.

The babies then try to find Chuckie a new mom. Their ideas, like having Tommy's dog Spike or Lil pretend to be his mom, don't work out. Angelica agrees to be Chuckie's mom only if he helps her finish her macaroni sculpture. Meanwhile, Didi takes her mom Minka to a spa. Betty DeVille helps Stu Pickles with his invention for mothers.

Angelica tells Chuckie to pick a dandelion for her sculpture. He can't get it because a bee chases him. Stu's broken Mother's Day invention, a vacuum-like machine, also causes trouble. It destroys most of the lawn. After Chuckie accidentally breaks Angelica's macaroni head, she makes him, Tommy, Phil, and Lil stay in the closet.

While in the closet, the babies comfort Chuckie. He realizes that his dad, Chas, has all the qualities of a good mother. They open Chas' box and find a small shovel, a journal of pressed flowers, and a picture of Chuckie's mother. Meanwhile, Stu's invention keeps vacuuming up mud before it finally explodes inside the house. Didi is sad that Minka didn't like the spa. But Minka says she only wanted to spend time with her daughter for Mother's Day.

Chuckie gives Chas the picture of his mother as a Mother's Day gift. Chas decides it's time to talk to Chuckie about his mom. He tells him that his mother passed away from a serious illness shortly after he was born. He explains that she wrote the diary while she was in the hospital. Chas then reads a poem aloud that she wrote for Chuckie. The mother's voice narrates the poem during a flashback. It shows her playing with Chuckie in the backyard. As they play in the backyard, the episode ends with Chuckie telling his friends that his mother is all around him in nature.

How the Episode Was Made

Kim Cattrall was the voice of Melinda, Chuckie's mom, in the episode.

This episode is 23 minutes and 46 seconds long. It was written by Jon Cooksey, Ali Marie Matheson, J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Susan Hood, and Ed Resto. Norton Virgien and Toni Vian directed it. The animation studio Klasky Csupo Productions made the episode.

In 2016, Rugrats co-creator Paul Germain shared some interesting facts. He said that the idea for this episode, and talking about Chuckie's mom, was suggested to Nickelodeon executives a long time ago. Chuckie's mom wasn't in the first season because they didn't want to create a new character to animate. As the show continued, people started asking more about her. Germain and co-creator Arlene Klasky thought of two ways to explain her absence: she was either divorced from Chas or had passed away.

Germain and Klasky first wanted to show her as divorced. But Nickelodeon executives said no. They felt this topic was not right for younger viewers. The studio also said no to the idea of her being gone. They thought it would be "scary" and that "children [would not] want to see that." Germain said this stopped them from saying much about her in earlier seasons. He added, "We mention that she exists but we don't tell you what happened to her." Even in this episode, the word "dead" was never used by any of the characters. Chuckie's mother had been mentioned briefly in earlier episodes like "Real or Robots?" (1991), "Chuckie vs. the Potty" (1992), and "My Friend Barney" (1993).

Paul Germain left the series in 1993, and new writers joined the team. At that time, Nickelodeon allowed the writers to include a story about Chuckie's mother passing away. The plan for the Rugrats Mother's Day special was announced on December 7, 1996. Actress Kim Cattrall provided the voice for Chuckie's mother, Melinda Finster. Germain described the episode as "this whole very maudlin thing." He was disappointed he couldn't cover the topic earlier. He explained, "I just sat there thinking, 'We weren't allowed to do this, and now you guys are doing it.' That's something I regret." Mary Harrington, a supervising producer for Nickelodeon, said it was one of her favorite Rugrats episodes. She praised how the writers handled the sensitive subject.