Posted 11 July 2018
Hey Arnold
Nickelodeon
Original Run: 7 October 1996 – 8 June 2004
Movie Air Date: 24 November 2017
It’s Hey Arnold, it has to be good. This latest movie was the continuation and closure we have been waiting for for quite some time. Even in the today’s state of Nickelodeon, if a movie of an old show comes out, namely Hey Arnold, you have to watch it.
Returning in the form of a TV movie, Hey Arnold returns in all its charm as well as many returning cast members (some of the best in the industry like Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille). Francesca Marie Smith also returns and continues to nail it as Helga. There were also some new voices; some were great (Mason Vale Cotton (Arnold) did a fine job), some not so great (for example, Oscar and Mr. Hyunh (both played by Wally Wingert replacing Steve Viksten and Baoan Coleman respectively) just sounded over-exaggerated and not as genuine as in the show). Among those new voices were Jet Jurgensmeyer (Stinky) from the Legends of the Hidden Temple movie. The music sounded great as Jim Lang once again outdoes himself composing the movie’s soundtrack. The characters were slightly redesigned. Let me be the first to say, “Miriam has eyebrows!” In the words of Mr. Hyunh, “Veddy Kleeply!” I also enjoyed the tributes and references to the older episodes. Even though the writers had to remember how to do Hey Arnold after an absence of many years, they sure did pull it off!
This movie is great for those millennials who grew up watching Hey Arnold in the ’90s and ’00s. Like other revival movies, this movie could be an encouragement for those younger kids to gain an interest in the show. The movie surely earns its PG rating as there were more mature elements that were not present in the original series.
To me and many other Hey Arnold fans, I’m sure, this movie is a real dream that has come to life. This fine show deserve the ending it deserved. Before I give the movie its rating, I would like to say that I vaguely remember signing an online petition to get this movie made years ago. I can’t remember whether I signed it or not but as naïve as I was in 2004, I’m sure I signed it at least once. I didn’t think it would happen but it did. I had a good cry at the end of the movie because of this quote at the end of the credits:
“Thank you to all the fans who wrote letters and signed petitions encouraging the making of this movie”
This was being pretty sure that my digital signature was on one of those petitions to make it happen.
The Jungle Movie gets 5 stars. All the changes aside such as updated animation and new voice actors, this was the Hey Arnold I’ve adored for over two decades. It was all there. I expected nothing less from the crew. An excellent series has been crowned with a fitting finale.