"Mother's Day" is the 67th episode of Rugrats. Besides being the series' Mother's Day special, it is notable for marking the first actual appearance of Chuckie's deceased mother, Melinda (albeit only in flashbacks), and officially revealing why she is no longer around.
Synopsis[]
Angelica is making a macaroni sculpture in her own likeness. When Tommy, Phil, and Lil ask her why, she explains that she's making a present for her mother, telling them that it's Mother's Day, when people have to give their mothers presents. Inspired by Angelica's words, the babies decide to look for presents to give their moms as well. Meanwhile, Didi explains to Betty that she's taking Minka to her favorite health spa. the International House of Mud. Stu then comes in to give Didi "the ultimate breakfast in bed", provided by his new invention, a vacuum cleaner robot. Unfortunately, the robot malfunctions when trying to make Didi's favorite fruit shake and makes a mess, so Stu spends much of the episode trying to fix it, all the while Betty tries to rewrite the robot's programming because she doesn't think the information Stu gave it is accurate. Shortly after, Chas comes by to drop off Chuckie. Before leaving, Chas asks Didi to hold onto a box he's been saving for a while. The box is filled with some things that once belonged to Chas' deceased wife, Melinda, and he doesn't want Chuckie getting into it.
Tommy and the twins ask Chuckie if he'd like to join them in finding gifts for their moms, but Chuckie admits he doesn't know who he could give a present to since he doesn't have a mom. After Tommy and the twins reminisce about their first memories of their respective mothers, Chuckie tells them that he sometimes has a recurring dream about having a mom. Tommy decides to put the gift-search on hold so he, Phil, and Lil can find a mom for Chuckie. However, they get no results from their first picks (a dressmaker dummy and Spike), and Lil's attempt to pretend being Chuckie's mom proves less than desirable. Meanwhile, Angelica is rummaging for some glue in the drawers, complaining that making gifts is hard work and wishing she was a mom so someone could give her a present. Upon passing by the babies and learning about how they're trying to find a mom for Chuckie, Angelica offers to fill the role, on the condition that Chuckie help her finish her macaroni sculpture.
Soon after, Chuckie (whom Angelica renames "Blaine" because "everybody knows TV names are better") finishes putting the sculpture together, and Angelica suggests that all it needs now is a hat (because "all good sculptures have hats"). However, none of the hats Chuckie puts on the sculpture are good enough for Angelica, so she discards that idea and decides to have Chuckie put a flower on it instead. Outside, she points to a specific flower in Tommy's backyard and tells Chuckie to go get it for her. However, a bee lands on the flower, and Chuckie can't bring himself to pick any other flower. Upon seeing his best friend's predicament, Tommy tries to stand up to Angelica and tell her that Chuckie shouldn't have to pick that flower, but Angelica guilt-trips him into picking it anyway. Chuckie picks the flower, causing the bee to start chasing him. In the struggle that follows, Phil accidentally activates Stu's vacuum cleaner robot, causing it to suck up the mud from a nearby puddle, and Chuckie's flower loses most of its petals. When Chuckie brings what's left of the flower to Angelica, she is furious that he just brought her "a green stick with a thing on it" and "disowns" him. Chuckie nervously backs away, only to accidentally knock over Angelica's macaroni sculpture and destroy it.
Now even more infuriated, Angelica makes all the babies go sit in the closet (even though Tommy and the twins did nothing to upset her themselves), saying they'll be as old as Lou when their time-out is over. Chuckie feels bad about getting his friends into trouble, thinking maybe he doesn't deserve a mom. Tommy and the twins, however, say that he deserves a good mom, someone who would love him, help him, and appreciate his broken flower. Chuckie realizes he does have someone like that in his life - his dad - and therefore he can join his friends in looking for presents after all, despite that they're confined to the closet. As they're looking around, Phil and Lil find a trowel from one of the boxes - the very box that Chas told Didi to keep safe from Chuckie. Inside the box, they find a diary with flowers inside ("but they didn't glue 'em in very good") and a photo of Melinda, whom Chuckie recognizes from his recurring dream.
Chuckie found the photo of his late mother.
Down in the basement, Betty finishes rewriting the programming for Stu's invention, which unfortunately causes it to overload and then roll into the living room right as Charlotte comes to pick up Angelica (it turns out that Charlotte likes the broken sculpture), and Didi and Minka come home from the spa. The robot explodes, splattering mud all over the Pickles' living room. Didi feels ashamed that her gift for her mom wasn't something they both liked, but Minka tells her that having her for a daughter is what she likes best. The babies then come tumbling out of the closet, upon which Phil and Lil give Betty a plunger, while Tommy gives Didi one of the flowers from Melinda's diary. Chuckie then comes up to Chas and shows him the picture of Melinda, causing everything to go quiet. Chas decides to put the picture safely away, which saddens Chuckie, who thinks maybe his dad didn't like the picture. Didi advises Chas that maybe now's the right time to share his memories of Melinda with Chuckie, telling him that "then you can miss her together."
Later that day, in the Finsters' backyard, Chas shows Chuckie the diary that Melinda kept when she was in the hospital, and the last thing she wrote in it was a poem, telling that while she can no longer be with him in person, she'll always be there in spirit. The episode ends on Chas putting Melinda's photo and poem in frames on his nightstand, while Chuckie tells his friends that he does have a mom, whose spirit is all over his backyard.
Home video releases[]
- VHS
- Rugrats: Mommy Mania
- DVD
- Rugrats: Season 4
- Rugrats: The Complete Series
- iTunes
- Rugrats: Season 4
Notes[]
- On the Rugrats: Mommy Mania VHS, the opening shot for the second act was removed.
- When aired outside of May (such as when Rugrats in Paris: The Movie was released), the "Happy Mother's Day" caption at the end was removed.
Video Clip[]
Chuckie's Mom Rugrats NickRewind
External links[]
- Rugrats Wiki: Mother's Day
- "Mother's Day" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Mother's Day" recap at TV Tropes