I’ve written before about how much I love the new, very different (3D!) yet still eccentric and delightful reboot of the beloved ’90s show “Rugrats,” which follows a band of delightful babies and their adventures.
I’ve shared how much I love the way it incorporates Jewish families and traditions, very much in the vein of the original “Rugrats,” which brought us some of the best Jewish holiday specials ever — yes, we’re talking about “A Rugrats Passover,” and “A Rugrats Chanukah” (and yes, those two still totally hold up).
In the new reboot, we get Henry Winkler as Zayde Boris, a Jewish Florida retiree who beautifully chants the Hanukkah prayers in a 2021 episode of the show that is all about celebrating interfaith traditions. We also get that same feeling of Jewish family love and connection, except now with a little more FaceTime with Zayde and Bubbe (played by Swoosie Kurtz).
So imagine my surprise when I opened the internet this morning to discover that a new “Rugrats” Purim special was coming TODAY!
But I dutifully tuned in to Nicktoons on YouTube TV at 3 p.m. this Friday to discover that yes, a new “Rugrats” Purim episode really did premiere today, a little over 24 hours before the start of Purim this Saturday evening. It features Bubbe and Zayde, a Jewish food truck, and Henry Winkler wonderfully retelling the Purim story and really diving into its meaning (and then of course sharing it on the “Rugrats” version of TikTok to much fanfare).
As we did in the original Jewish holiday specials, this episode travels back in time, this time to ancient Shushan, or Persia, where Susie Carmichael plays Queen Esther, Tommy plays Mordechai and Angelica plays… who else? The evil Haman. Instead of having to hide that they’re Jewish, Esther has to hide from King Ahasuerus (played by playground “bully” Josh, who you may remember from the original show, too) that she’s a baby. We also get to see Kim play Queen Vashti and say that the king is “not the boss of me!”
There are hamantaschen with both traditional and nontraditional fillings (apricot habanero does sound delicious!) and Zayde doesn’t forget to give the babies some groggers (always a mistake, and yet delightful). He also warns Bubbe Minka against kibbitzing in a nice little extra touch of Yiddish.
There’s truly not enough Purim TV out there, for kids or adults (well, aside from “For Your Consideration“) so this “Rugrats” Purim episode is very, very needed. The world needs to know about this delightful Jewish holiday that is all about fierce heroines and eating lots of delicious treats that may or may not represent our enemies’ ears, and “Rugrats” did a truly great job with this sweet episode.
Happy Purim to all!
