A Look Back at Nickelodeon’s “A Rugrats Passover”

When sitting at a Passover seder this year, take notice of who and what you’re imagining as the story is retold. 

Are you thinking about the scenery from a visit to Israel or Egypt? Or perhaps you’re recalling one of the many dramatizations of the story of Passover that have hit movie theaters and televisions over the last century. Maybe you’re picturing Charlton Heston as Moses in Cecile B. Demille’s “The Ten Commandments,” or Dreamworks’ animated “The Prince of Egypt.” Some might be imagining Christian Bale as Moses in “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”

For many adults who grew up watching children’s television programming on Nickelodeon in the 1990s, the Passover episode of the animated series “Rugrats” was the first time they saw a depiction of the story of Passover. 

For many adults who grew up watching children’s television programming on Nickelodeon in the 1990s, the Passover episode of the animated series “Rugrats” was the first time they saw a depiction of the story of Passover. 

The series featured talking toddlers going on adventures while their adult parents remained oblivious. Their parents were only aware that the oldest of the Rugrats, the spoiled brat Angelica, was capable of talking. The parents’ story always echoed a bit of the kids’ main story, and the Passover episode was no exception.

The episode begins with an argument between the main Rugrat Tommy’s grandparents Boris and Minka, who are preparing to host a Passover seder. The two elderly immigrants from Eastern Europe bicker over whose family wine glasses they should use. The fight comes to a head with Boris storming out of the kitchen, leaving Minka in tears as guests arrive. 

While Minka thinks Boris has left the house for the night, he was actually in the attic getting Minka’s family wine glasses, conceding another argument to his beloved wife. The seder starts without Boris, and unbeknownst to adults at the seder table, the Rugrats snuck up to the attic to look for toys. 

Unfortunately, the attic door shuts behind them, locking Boris and the Rugrats inside for the duration of the seder. He passes the time by telling the kids the story of Passover. From there, the Rugrats imagine themselves in ancient Egypt, analogous to the enslaved Jews. Tommy is imagined to be Moses, and his cousin Angelica, fittingly, as Pharaoh. 

Originally, Nickelodeon wanted to do a Hanukkah episode as a companion to the Christmas episode. But the writers of “Rugrats,” many of whom were Jewish, insisted on doing a Passover episode instead. 

“Christmas is such an important holiday and it has so much story to it, and Hanukkah is not our big identity-religious holiday,” “Rugrats” writer Rachel Lipman told the Journal. “The whole commandment of celebrating Passover is to tell this story. So we really wanted to try something new, and  Nickelodeon being the creatively rebellious upstart network that they were, and I think still are, [was] completely supportive.”

Lipman, with co-writers Peter Gaffney and Jonathan Greenberg, as well as series creator Paul Germain, set out to squeeze many Passover story elements into the 23-minute episode. In fact, Boris and Minka were modeled after Germain’s own grandparents. 

Lipman said that they knew the story was great for little kids but also designed to be told to anyone of any age. 

“We thought in the [writers’] meeting, ‘Let’s find the right metaphor,’” Lipman said. “Here’s a story about people sticking up for who they are and their identity and establishing that against the ultimate bully, Pharaoh. So Angelica and the babies being a metaphor that we had already established in the show we thought was a perfect translation.”

The episode features plagues, pyramids and the parting of the Red Sea. There’s a debate amongst the adult characters on whether to pronounce the letter H in “bitter herb.” Tommy, as Moses shouts, “Let my babies go!” You even see the moment the Jews realize they’ve created matzah. 

One of the reasons the episode still resonates with adults is because it was not common for animated shows to depict Judaism-themed episodes, let alone an entire seder. In a world filled with countless Christmas episodes, it was gratifying to have one for Passover. 

“It’s really fun for me now when I see people who say, ‘I was a little kid watching the original shows, and I grew up and now I think about that at Passover or maybe show it to my own kids,’” Lipman said. “And that’s sort of who we always were writing for. It’s fun to have nostalgic recollections with people.”

The Passover episode of “Rugrats” originally aired in 1995 and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In the following year, a Hanukkah episode was created.  

Looking back, Lipman is proud of the work the entire team did in bringing an animated story of Passover to so many children. 

“Writing the Passover episode was a privilege with everybody on our team that really just showed how important telling stories and entertaining people are,” Lipman said. “When you have a classic story, it should last for many, many generations. I think that’s what Passover’s all about.”