When I was a kid, I loved Nickelodeon. Part of the first batch of Nicktoons (original programming from Nickelodeon), Rugrats really held its own against the likes of Ren & Stimpy and Doug. It was funny, cute, well animated, and surprisingly intelligent. But there was one character on the show that always stood out to me as awesomely evil: Reptar.
You remember Reptar, the Godzilla knock-off that was featured as a sometimes hero/sometimes villain on film, TV, and on ice(!) in Rugrats? 'Course ya do. For me, as a movie monster fan, it was great to see the kids in the show show such affection for a giant lizard. Maybe it made me feel less weird in my own fascination with giant monsters and shambling things that went bump in the night? I don't know exactly why, but ever since I first saw him on the show, Reptar made me appreciate Rugrats just a little bit more.
Stupid trivia: Reptar first made an appearance in a 1991 episode entitled "At the Movies".
Now, you may be asking yourself is Reptar really evil? Well, the answer is: sometimes. They played him as both hero and villain at various stages of the show - likely a reference to how Godzilla varied from hero and villain, but my favorite Reptar is the big, bad, villainous one.
And, I swear these guys aren't paying me anything (but I wouldn't object if they did), 80's Tees comes through again to bring us this badass little number to the right. That's right, now you rep Reptar anywhere you go! In the club! At the movie show! Bordellos! Wineries! Anywhere!!!! AHHHH!!!
It would seem that Reptar is actually a little more popular than I thought before researching for this post. In fact, he has his own roller coaster called Rugrats Runaway Reptar at three different theme parks (Kings Island, Dreamworld, and Carowinds). It's an inverted coaster that is specifically meant for kids. I'd say that you know you've made it when you have your own roller coaster.
I guess there's really only one thing left. Enjoy this YouTube video of The Rugrats episode Runaway Reptar!
Runaway Reptar - Part 1 (1 of 4):
3 comments:
Ho. Lee. POOOOOOOOOOOP!!!
I love Reptar. I especially loved the episode where Tommy and Chucky are stuck in the toy store and the animatronic Reptar figurine fights the Kong-esque Thorg one.
"Halt! I am Reptar! Halt! I am Reptar!"
"THORG HUNGRY!!! THORG WANT EEEEEAT!!!"
I know I'm a little late to the party here...but great post! I remember watching this show when I was a youngster, and had almost forgotten about Reptar. Glad you brought him back to the forefront of my mind. I love finding hints of horror where you wouldn't expect them.
--J/Metro
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