As little girls watching TV, it was a riot seeing Susie Carmichael because she looked just like us: brown skin and her black hair in braids, swinging about with barrettes on the end. We had already adored viewing the world through the curious minds of the babies on Rugrats. With the addition of Susie, the optimistic heroine against Angelica Pickles‘ antagonistic girl-child wrath (though we loved her too), the increased diversification of the program also felt natural.
Susie and her family first appeared during the second half of episode 18 on season 2 in 1993. She was voiced for the entire run of the Emmy Award-winning cartoon by actress Cree Summer (whose voice overs are incredibly recognizable. You’ve also heard her as Penny on Inspector Gadget, Elmyra on Tiny Toon Adventures, and Cleo the Poodle on Clifford the Big Red Dog, amongst her 100+ credits in voicing fun characters in animation).
Well into adulthood, we could still learn a thing or two about confidence and taking chances from Susie! To celebrate, here are five of her greatest lines and words of wisdom on Rugrats!
“Meet the Carmichaels” (Season 2)
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Susie: “This is our living room. The movers came to our old house and moved the whole thing over to our new house!”
Tommy: “Really? Wow!”
Susie: “And those are my big brothers and that’s my big sister. They moved them here too.”
“Susie vs. Angelica” (Season 2)
Tommy: “You guys! You guys…don’t fight.”
Lil: “Yeah! Use your words!”
Phil: “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lil: “I don’t know.”
Susie: “You guys are right. Fighting never fixes nothing. C’mon! Let’s go inside. I’ll get my dad to make us some peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches.”
Angelica: “Susie’s a chicken!”
Susie: “Am not!”
Angelica: “Bababababababa! Babababababab!”
Susie: “I am rubber and you are glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!”
Tommy: “Oooo! Good one Susie!”
“The Slide” (season 2)
Chuckie: “Don’t waste your time on me Susie. I’m a loser!”
Susie: “Now, see Chuckie. That’s your problem. The first thing you’ve got to do is stop feeling sorry for yourself. [So you’re afraid of the slide. It] happens to a lot of kids. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Chuckie: “Has it happened to you?”
Susie: “No. But I know a lot of kids it did happen to, and I like them anyway.”
Chuckie: “Oh great. I’m going to be a liked loser.”
Susie: “The next you’ve got to do is stop saying you’re scared! You’re big! And you’re brave! Like a big, brave dog! Say it!”
Chuckie: “I’m a big brave dog!”
“The Tricycle Thief” (Season 3)
Tommy: “Maybe Angelica’s telling the truth ”
Susie: “Telling the truth? Like that time you told Tommy that his new baby sister was coming in the mail? Or the time you told Phil and Lil that their daddy’s hair was a wig?”
Phil: “Boy did he get mad when we tried to pull it off!”
Lil: “It was kind of funny though.”
“The Last Babysitter” (season 3)
Alisa: “And thanks again you guys. You really saved the day.” [shuts off bedroom lights and closes the door].
Tommy: “So there wasn’t any monsters?”
Susie: “No. I guess not. But look on the bright side. At least nobody got eaten.”
