‘Rugrats’: Tommy Pickles’ Voice Came From ‘Cute’ Elementary School Shenanigans
The original Rugrats serves as a major piece of nostalgia for many adults around the world. The animated storytelling and the voice actors were both top-notch Nickelodeon content, which made their way into pop culture. Rugrats embraced its iconic voice acting talents ranging from Tommy Pickles to his good friend, Chuckie Finster. It turned out that Tommy’s originally came from Elizabeth Daily‘s “cute” elementary school shenanigans.
Tommy Pickles is the brave leader of ‘Rugrats’
Rugrats first premiered on Aug. 11, 1991, with only Doug serving as the first-ever Nicktoon. It follows a group of babies named Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lillian, exploring their daily lives. They use their imagination to go on grand adventures that dig into their greatest fantasies and fears.
Tommy is the brave leader of the group and is generally written as the lead protagonist. However, some episodes explore other members of the cast. He’s constantly at odds with his cousin, Angelica, who’s written as the bully, although they occasionally must join forces to overcome obstacles that hinder them all.
Tommy Pickles’ voice came from Elizabeth Daily’s elementary school shenanigans
Tommy has an undeniably unique voice that instantly draws Rugrats viewers, which fans would recognize anywhere. In an interview with The Guardian, Daily talked about how she developed the iconic voice and where it originated. It wasn’t a new one for her, as it actually came from her days in elementary school as a child. However, it made for the perfect match in Rugrats.
“As soon as they showed me a drawing of Tommy, I could hear his voice in my head,” Daily said. “It was a voice I’d been doing since I was in elementary school, when my friend Michelle and I would walk around the yard holding pinkies and doing baby voices.”
Daily continued: “I’d performed this voice for friends ever since; it was just a cute thing I did. And, of course, once Rugrats was famous, I did the voice even more. Teenage boys were my favorites: at my daughters’ parties, I’d go over to the boys pretending to be tough guys, and then do my Tommy voice, and watch as their whole bravado dropped and they started doing baby impressions at each other.”
However, teenage parties weren’t the only times that Daily pulled out Tommy’s voice in public. She also admitted to using it at “inappropriate,” yet hilarious times.
“I sometimes get the urge to do the Tommy voice at inappropriate times,” Daily admitted. “Recently, I did it for my mother’s bank manager.”
The original ‘Rugrats’ ran for 9 seasons
The original iteration of Rugrats ran for a stunning nine seasons long, with the final episode airing on Aug. 1, 2004. It ultimately inspired films and specials, which kept audiences invested. Daily even told The Guardian that the show’s main director, Paul Germain, “worked us hard, and it shows.” Tommy and the rest of the babies each had an iconic voice that stuck with the series far beyond its run.
A sequel series emerged called All Grown Up!, which aired from 2003 until 2008. It explores the same characters’ lives 10 years later, which also demonstrated why the franchise is praised for its voice acting.
