‘Rugrats’ was definitely top 10 of Nickelodeon’s original programming and now that the beloved children’s cartoon is getting new life on Paramount’s streaming service, there are some new changes that fans may or may not be so surprised about. In the name of inclusivity, the new ‘Rugrats’ reboot will reimagine Betty DeVille, the mother of twins Phil & Lil, as an openly gay single mother.
In the original series and spin-off, ‘All Grown Up,’ Betty was portrayed as married to the twins’ father, Howard DeVille. In the new series, Betty will be voiced by actress Natalie Morales, who is excited to present a good example for young queer people who may not have any other charaters like Betty on television to look up to, according to Yahoo News.
“Anyone who watched the original show may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia,” Morales said in a statement. “Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that.”
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Morales continued, “And yeah, Betty is a fictional cartoon, but even cartoons were hugely influential for me as a kid and if I’d been watching Rugrats and seen Betty casually talking about her ex-girlfriend, I think at least a part of me would have felt like things might be okay in the future.”
In February, we reported that the original voice cast will return for the new series along with an updated look to its original animation.
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