Angelica Pickles

Angelica Charlotte Pickles is a character voiced by Cheryl Chase in the Nickelodeon shows Rugrats and All Grown Up!, and is among the series' original characters. She is a spoiled brat and the cousin of Tommy and Dil Pickles.

In Rugrats
Angelica's physical features and clothing on Rugrats were blonde hair with 2 pigtails (each punctuated with a large purple bow), a red-and-black-striped shirt with flared cuffs, a purple dress, blue tights with green dots, red socks, and purple sneakers. In some early episodes she also wore diapers over her blue tights. She is an only child &mdash; as a result, she has become a very spoiled child whose parents pander to her every need and give her anything she wants without cease. Her parents &mdash; Drew and Charlotte &mdash; are hardly ever around because of their jobs, which in turn may mean that her parents are neglectful; they also rarely punish or discipline her (the only time we see her being punished for doing something bad was in Runaway Angelica, where she gets a time-out in her room for breaking her father's fax machine after going into her father's study without his permission). Being spoiled could also come from her parents' vast wealth, which is used to buy her toys and very expensive birthday parties. She whines and cries to get what she wants, and has a very whiny voice.

Until Susie came along, Angelica was unique among the regular children in that she could properly talk to grown-ups, and as such, she acted nicely towards the adults, and was notoriously mean to the other babies (especially by lying and distorting their view of the world). Despite this (or because of this), she became among the show's most popular characters. When Susie did come along, Angelica soon became a rival to Susie, and often competed in many things. In fact, almost every time Susie is in an episode, Angelica is also in it, although perhaps ironically, Susie's introduction episode did not feature Angelica.

Despite acting mean to the babies most of the time, it is revealed in the 1995 season finale "Moving Away" that she was the reason Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil befriended each other and, even more, that Angelica considered the other babies her best friends.

Angelica's parents, especially her mother, seem to also be spoiled. In Rugrats, Charlotte was Angelica's role model in some ways. Charlotte is a powerful member of a major corporation. In a realistic dream sequence, she said that the only thing she liked better than corporate domination was corporate domination with her special girl. For Angelica's thirteenth birthday party, she hired an ice sculptor to sculpt Angelica out of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. She even suggested adding Angelica's face to Mount Rushmore for her sixteenth birthday. Drew is a little more responsible and reasonable with his daughter. He is often the one who worries about Angelica becoming too spoiled, but when he discusses this with Charlotte, she usually disagrees.

She has a cat named Fluffy, most recently seen in the All Grown Up! ("AGU!") episode "Lucky 13" (first transmitted in the US: August 28, 2004). Also, since 1992, she was often seen with a doll named Cynthia, which she apparently considered her most prized possession (also see Trivia).

When the series started, she, Tommy and Chuckie were their respective parents' only children. However, by the end of the series, Angelica was the only "only child" remaining, as Tommy gained a brother Dil through birth and Chuckie gained a sister Kimi through marriage. One episode late in the run focused on this fact ("Sister Act", first transmitted: January 26, 2001).



In the second Rugrats movie, when the babies control the robot Reptar, Angelica Pickles has many near-death incidents:


 * When the babies crash into the balcony Angelica is on, she falls onto Reptar's nose, hanging on for dear life.


 * As soon as the babies notice, Tommy presses a button that sends green gas out of the nose Angelica is on. She falls to the ground but the babies catch her in Reptar's hand. She squels: "This isn't the parade I wanted!"


 * Robo-Snail squirts purple goo at her.


 * Lil opens a hatch and Kimi climbs up. As Angelica starts to, Robo-Snail grabs Reptar and Angelica falls but manages to grab a tooth. Reptar starts spinning aroud but poor Angelica manages to stay on.


 * When Reptar boosts up the Eiffel Tower, he stops with a huge jolt at the top, sending a shrieking Angelica flying into the sky. She falls but is caught again. Angrily, she shouts: "What's the big idea? Are you party-heads trying to get rid of me?"


 * With Angelica in his other hand, Chuckie points at the Church his dad is at. Now he isn't holding onto the Tower, Reptar falls. He throws a screaming Angelica into the air and grabs the rail of the Tower. Angelica falls and lands on the head though.

In All Grown Up!
Although she has grown up, Angelica continues to be mean and spoiled, however, not as much as she used to be. Her parents are still quite wealthy as well. Since turning 13 (see below) she has been doing many stereotypical "teen things" like getting a cell phone, pursuing boys, and getting the latest trends in fashion. Also, she still constantly rivals Susie, mostly at singing. At 13, she looks more like her mother than ever before.

One of Angelica's most important storylines was when she turned 13 in "Lucky 13", and had many things to deal with: an obligation to invite the other kids to her birthday party, and a popular teenager, Savannah, organizing a spring bash to lure away any other potential party-goers. Savannah has since warmed up to Angelica, even letting her sit at the "popular" table at the cafeteria.

She and Susie have also become good friends, with Susie giving Angelica advice or help, despite the fact that Angelica tries to weasel Susie out of opportunities, like singing on stage (as seen in the 2005 episode "It's Karma, Dude!"). However, Angelica has softened up to others, frequently giving help or acting kind, and she and Susie still consider each other as rivals, albeit mildly.

Trivia

 * One episode of AGU! "Saving Cynthia" (first transmitted: October 2, 2004) was devoted to her pursuit of her old doll from Rugrats. However, even though she ended up getting it back (at the cost of her new "robo-maid"), her doll has not appeared since.
 * Angelica came #7 in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters, above Bart & Lisa Simpson and Mickey Mouse, and she was the only Rugrats character to appear in the list.


 * Angelica helped Chuckie Finster deal with many of his personal insecurities and fears as they aged, though her methods were far from safe. Events such as this and storylines in the now-cancelled Rugrats newspaper strip indicate she has had feelings for Chuckie since she met him, but keeps her distance with her relentlessly cruel teasing and treatment of him.
 * In Rugrats Tommy turns 1, then Angelica turns 3. However in AGU Tommy is always 10.