The Family Tree

"The Family Tree" is an episode Rugrats from Season 5. This episode serves as a lead-in to The Rugrats Movie.

Characters Present

 * Tommy
 * Chuckie
 * Angelica
 * Phil
 * Lil
 * Didi
 * Stu
 * Boris
 * Minka
 * Drew
 * Charlotte
 * Chas
 * Shirley
 * Marvin
 * Randy (cameo)
 * Lucy (cameo)
 * Ben (cameo)
 * Elaine (cameo)
 * Lou (mentioned)
 * Melinda (her face is seen on Chas's computer as he was making the Finster Family tree)
 * Dil (Not mentioned by name)

Summary
''As Chas starts the Finster's family tree, Tommy and Chuckie decide that they're brothers. Meanwhile, we learn that a new branch of the family is on its way when Didi announces that she is pregnant with Dil.'' - Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot
It's Stu and Didi's fifth anniversary! The grownups have thrown a party to celebrate, but the babies are confused as to what is happening, since no one is celebrating a birthday. Angelica explains that the party is a "nursery" party, where two people celebrate being friends for a long time. Tommy understands, but wonders why he and Chuckie have not had such a party. Chuckie agrees, saying that he and Tommy have been friends forever. This makes Angelica jealous.

Meanwhile, Chuckie's grandmother, Shirley, is showing some pictures from an album to Minka. She talks about some baby pictures of Chas, then goes to inspect the bundt cake. Grandpa Marvin chats to Boris about throwing Chas into Lake Michigan for a swimming lesson. Shirley and Marvin lament that they did not have more children. Stu teases Chas about his baby pictures, and Chas explains that he had his parents visit so they could help him with his Finster Family Tree project.

Drew congratulates Stu for his anniversary, but is interrupted by Charlotte yelling at her cellphone to someone. She proceeds to explain to Didi that she and Drew need to quickly go to Japan to save a business deal, and they need someone to watch Angelica. Didi agrees, and Drew and Charlotte quickly leave the party to pack and catch an early flight. Betty enters, congratulating Didi on 5 happy years with Stu. Didi thanks her for throwing the party, and Betty explains that the timing was perfect, since she and Howard plan to fumigate their house (and needed to clear out the cabinets of food). Stu approaches Didi and gives her his surprise gift: two tickets for a cruise to Mexico. But, Didi tells him that she already agreed to babysit Angelica. Since the tickets can't be refunded, they try to think of who could watch Tommy and Angelica. Grandpa Lou is on a fishing trip, Betty and Howard are having their house bug-bombed, and Didi's parents are already exhausted from the party. This means the Finsters are left to babysit Tommy and Angelica, which Marvin and Shirley are all too happy to do. The following morning, Stu and Didi set sail on their romantic cruise.

At the Finster house, Tommy and Chuckie are playing when Angelica approaches them. She tells them they are both lucky to be spending the weekend with her. The babies shrug this off and continue to play. Betty arrives at the house with Phil and Lil, and tells Chas that she will be leaving the twins with him and his parents while she takes the lead on fumigating her house. Chas tries to protest, saying he is busy with his family tree project, but Betty ignores him. She kisses the twins goodbye, puts on a gas mask, and leaves.

The twins enter the backyard, arguing about what a family tree is. Phil thinks it is a literal family of trees, and Lil thinks it is where monkeys live. Angelica "explains" that fruit grows on family trees, and eventually the fruit turns into babies. Tommy muses that he must have come from an apple tree with big leaves, since he loves apple juice and playing in piles of big leaves. Chuckie agrees with the musings, leading Tommy to a revelation. The reason he and Chuckie love the same things and get along so well is because they must have come from the same family tree, making the two of them brothers. Chuckie is happy to have a brother, and the two of them continue to play, calling each other "Brother Chuckie" and "Brother Tommy." Angelica decides to appoint herself their big sister, offering to teach them how to pretend to cry and get grownups to buy toys for them. Tommy and Chuckie decline and walk off arm in arm to play ball with the twins. This angers Angelica again. She fumes to Cynthia that Tommy and Chuckie will be sorry they rejected her, but is interrupted by the ball hitting her in the head. She angrily throws the ball into the bushes. Tommy offers to get it, and begins to search.

Meanwhile, on the cruise, Stu and Didi are relaxing on the deck. Stu tries to set a romantic mood by describing their surroundings in detail. As he gets to the rocking hull and smell of sea salt, Didi runs to the side of the ship to throw up.

Back at the Finster house, Chas is working on his family tree at his computer. He asks Marvin for input, but Marvin has fallen asleep on the couch in the office. Shirley enters, asking where Chas keeps various baking supplies for her cookies. Marvin wakes up and takes a look at the kids playing through the window. He notices that Tommy is not with the rest of his group. Chas sees this as well, and thinks Tommy may be experiencing separation anxiety. Chas consults a Lipschitz manual, which indicates that a child with separation anxiety should be given extra attention, otherwise they will experience permanent emotional damage. He hurries outside to pick up Tommy, running past Chuckie in the process. Chas tells Tommy they will do something fun together. Chuckie is surprised at this, since Chas is normally so attentive to him. Seeing an opportunity, Angelica tells Chuckie that since he and Tommy are now brothers, Chas needs to choose a baby to keep. She adds that Tommy is the better of the two babies. Chuckie denies this, stating that his father would never pick another baby. He points to his stuffed alligator, Cubby, and says that Cubby was a gift given out of his father's love. Chas then takes Cubby and brings it inside so Tommy can play with it. This breaks Chuckie's heart. Chuckie tries cheering himself up with his lucky bottle cap, but is unable to hold back his tears.

Later, Chas and his parents are playing with Tommy on the couch. Chuckie is upset that his grandpa is playing with Tommy. Phil and Lil offer their home (and grandpa) to Chuckie, but Chuckie states that it isn't the same as having his own father and grandparents. Angelica proposes an idea to make Chas pick Chuckie as his "forever" baby: frame Tommy for doing bad things around the house. Chuckie is unsure, but when he sees Chas playing horsey with Tommy, he agrees.

In Stu and Didi's boat cabin, Didi is lying in bed, apologizing for her seasickness. Stu comforts her, despite wanting to party. The two of them cuddle briefly, but Didi gets up to vomit again. Stu notices there is a seasickness guide on their door, and Didi urges him to read it. After some trial and error with water and lemon juice, Stu opts to take Didi to the ship's nurse.

At home, Shirley gives Tommy a cookie, pointing out that Tommy looks perfectly happy. Chas consults the Lipschitz book again, which reads that the adults should not be misled by Tommy's smile, and that they should make him feel more comfortable with a family activity. Shirley proposes they all bake something. Later, she, Chas, and Tommy are making a cherry pie in the kitchen. Chuckie and Angelica watch, and Chuckie gets upset again, since his grandmother usually bakes with him. Shirley leaves the room to get more vanilla extract. Marvin enters, asking Chas how to get the tv to work. Chas puts Tommy on the floor and goes to help Marvin. Angelica approaches Tommy and asks how things are going. Tommy explains that Chas, Shirley, and Marvin are nice but whenever he tries to leave to play with the other babies, Chas prevents him from doing so. Angelica lies that Chas wants Tommy to feel welcome in the Finster family now that Chuckie is his brother. She adds that Tommy should be nicer to Chas, as that will make Chuckie and Tommy's brotherly bond stronger. Tommy, not wanting to make Chuckie feel bad, decides to show more affection to Chas. While Tommy and Angelica talk, Chuckie throws all of the baking ingredients around the room, making a huge mess. He sneaks off without being noticed, and Angelica promptly leaves the room just as the adults come back in. Chas sees the mess as a cry for help from Tommy. He showers Tommy with hugs and kisses. Angelica decides that she and Chuckie need to escalate their plans.

A little later in the computer room, Chas is showing Tommy the Finster family tree. He is interrupted by Phil and Lil screaming and running around. He leaves Tommy alone to check on them. Chuckie enters from the patio door, holding the garden hose behind his back. He curtly asks Tommy how Chas is, and Tommy, following Angelica's "advice", says that he is having lots of fun with Chas. He asks what the hose is for, and Chuckie lies, telling Tommy that Chas needs help watering the plants. Tommy takes the hose and says he will wait for Chas to come back to help. Chuckie runs off and turns the hose on, causing water to spray everywhere. Chas re-enters and tries to stop Tommy, but gets drenched in the process.

Chas puts Tommy in the living room, and gives him Cubby again. He tells Tommy to wait there while he cleans up the office. Chuckie and the twins watch this, and Chuckie becomes depressed as his plan has had the opposite affect of what he wanted. He concedes that Tommy is the better baby, and deserves to have Chas. Chuckie thinks that he probably was not ripe yet when he came from his family tree, then decides it would be better if he was never born. He sadly walks away, declaring he will go back to where he came from. Phil and Lil watch him leave, worried for their friend.

Angelica approaches Tommy on the couch, offering her "sympathy" for Tommy and Chuckie's failed brotherhood. Tommy gives Chuckie the benefit of the doubt, saying that Chuckie likely does not know how to be a brother. Tommy adds that he knew Chuckie messed up the kitchen and the office, but likely did not mean to do so. Angelica counters with the truth - Chuckie messed up the house on purpose to get Tommy in trouble, Chuckie was jealous of Chas showing affection to Tommy, and Angelica was the one who suggested to frame Tommy in the first place. She finishes by telling Tommy the reason she did so was because Tommy and Chuckie rejected her as their sister. Tommy is appalled at her confession.

Phil and Lil rush in, telling Tommy what Chuckie said. The three of them go back outside, and wonder what Chuckie meant by "where he came from." Tommy sees the family tree image on Chas' computer through the window, and realizes that Chuckie is in the family tree. Tommy and the twins approach the only tree in the yard, figuring that this is the Finster family tree. Phil notices Chuckie's lucky bottle cap is near the base of the tree, and Tommy decides to climb it. The twins try to give him a boost, but Tommy is too short to reach the branches. The babies all fall down in a big pile. Angelica laughs at their failure. Tommy demands that Angelica climb the tree. Angelica jokes that Chuckie will fall out of the tree when he is ripe enough. Angelica stops smiling when Tommy begins to yell at her. He blames Angelica for the whole situation, and says that if she wants to be a big sister so badly, she will get Chuckie down from the tree. Cowed, Angelica rolls up her sleeves and, with another boost from the twins, starts to climb the tree.

Tommy then notices the nearby bushes are sporting a pair of red sneakers. He goes to investigate and finds a still-depressed Chuckie. Tommy asks why Chuckie is not in the tree, and Chuckie responds that the tree was too high to climb, so he crawled into the "family bush." Tommy asks why Chuckie wanted to go into the tree in the first place. Chuckie tells Tommy what he originally told the twins about going back to where he came from. Tommy explains that Angelica made the whole thing up because she is Angelica. Chuckie smiles again, understanding that Chas still loves him. Angelica begins yelling for help, as she is unable to climb down the tree. Chas, Shirley, and Marvin hurry outside to investigate. Chas goes to get a ladder, but gives Chuckie a pat on the head first. He looks at Tommy and notices the baby is much happier. Chas figures that all Tommy needed was to be with his best friend. Chuckie asks Tommy if they are still brothers. Tommy says he doesn't know if they are brothers, but he does know that they are best friends, and always will be.

In the ship's infirmary, Stu goes to check on Didi. Didi tells him that she is feeling wonderful. It turned out that she was not experiencing seasickness, but instead, it was morning sickness. Didi is pregnant! She and Stu hug with joy, but Didi starts feeling nauseous again. Stu accepts this, figuring he will need to once again get used to Didi being sick.

Trivia

 * This episode marked the first appearance of Chuckie's paternal grandparents (Chas's parents), Shirley and Marvin.
 * Marvin and Shirley are implied to still be in their fifties, so they're significantly younger than the rest of the grandparents on the show, with Grandpa Lou being stated to be 76 years old, and Didi's parents presumably being in their late 60's. It can be assumed that they were probably somewhere in their twenties when they had Chas.
 * This leaves Chuckie's maternal grandparents unknown.
 * It is revealed Stu and Didi have been married for 5 years, meaning they were married for about 4 years when Tommy was born.
 * It's possible they also have been married for the least amount of time compared to their friends.
 * The title card sequence is used twice in this episode -- once after the opening credits, where the title card says, "The Family Tree Part I," and again after the first commercial break, where it says "The Family Tree Part II." Also, the music in the second title card is different than the regular fanfare used in the first title.
 * This is the eighth half-an-hour episode of the series after "Tommy's First Birthday", "The Santa Experience", "Passover", "Chanukah", "Mother's Day",      "Vacation", and "The Turkey Who Came to Dinner".
 * Since Stu planned to go on the cruise ship to Mexico over the weekend, he should have planned to have someone watch Tommy in advance.
 * Cruise ships can't go to El Pantalón, Mexico because it's landlocked.
 * Throughout their anniversary cruise vacation, Didi becomes very ill, with her and Stu assuming it's seasickness. Morning sickness (what Didi was experiencing), happens during the first trimester of pregnancy. This starts during the first couple of weeks and ends after a month of being pregnant. Stu even confirms this in the final scene when Didi starts to become sick in the doctor's office, "We have to get used to this again".
 * There is never a scene shown of Didi vomiting, as in the classic episodes, there were two instances that we actually get to see throwing up in action--when Tommy threw up on Angelica in "Slumber Party" in his sleep, and when Angelica threw up on Drew in "Chuckie Loses His Glasses". Apparently, tastefulness is not the problem here, as Nick continues to show those two episodes, uncensored so it is unknown why. On the other hand, one of the creators, Arlene Klasky, doesn't go for that sort of thing, according to a recent article in The New Yorker. Dil also spits milk up on Stu in "Accidents Happen", and in "The Way Things Work" (Dil spits up on Tommy and Tommy does call it an oopsie) uncensored, and censored throwing up was shown in "A Dose of Dil" (by Chuckie due to sensory nausea), Rugrats Go Wild (by Kira due to seasickness), and "Ransom of Cynthia" (due to being spun by Drew, by Angelica). Throwing up is mentioned in The Rugrats Movie (Chuckie in the truck), "Raising Dil" (Stu remembers Dil spitting upon his cake), "Tommy and the Secret Club" (Chuckie mentions barfing in his poem), "A Very McNulty Birthday" (Angelica suggests lying to Colleen McNulty that Timmy McNulty threw up so he won't get cake), "The Age of Aquarium" (Chuckie remembers his dad throwing up on a boat) "Accidents Happen" (Chas and Chuckie both throw up on the roller coaster) and "The Inside Story"(Throwing up is suggested as a method for Chuckie to expel the watermelon seed he had swallowed, and he mentions how he threw up in the car once when his dad was driving and singing "Old MacDonald.")
 * It's the same case in All Grown Up!, with Chuckie in "The Finster Who Stole Christmas", Kimi in "O Bro, Where Art Thou?", and Kira in "R.V. Having Fun Yet?"; it's censored.
 * But, with Rugrats not being a total "gross-out" show, things like vomit could be unseen to not gross out the audience. It can also be seen as unnecessary
 * One of Angelica's "bad" tactics was to have Chuckie spray water from a gardening hose onto Tommy. However, water was sprayed everywhere in the room that Tommy was in, and in that room was the computer that held the family tree. For some reason, the computer escaped the watery mess.
 * This episode also served as a sort of pilot to The Rugrats Movie, which was released in theaters on November 20, 1998. However, the only link between this episode and the movie is at the very end, when it's revealed that Didi is pregnant. Other than that, it's more or less a normal Rugrats episode.
 * This is the last episode to air in 1998 and before the release of The Rugrats Movie. It aired 2 months before the film was released.
 * This is also the last episode to use the 1991 Klasky Csupo logo after the credits. For The Rugrats Movie and the later episodes onward, the 1998 Klasky Csupo logo is used after the credits.
 * The adults sing "Happy Anniversary" to the tune of William Tell Overture during the episode's opening.
 * There was no significance towards who was looking after Spike.
 * Chas is said to be allergic to dogs and cats, so it’s possible Spike was put in a kennel or let out/fed by a neighbor.
 * This is the last episode without Dil.