It was announced sometime last year that Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie was greenlit by Nickelodeon. This made-for-TV movie, which is set to air on November 24, picks up where the series left off.
The movie will answer all the questions surrounding Arnold’s parents, which were presented to us in “The Journal”, the two-part series finale of Hey Arnold, which aired in 2002 (though Nick played reruns from 2002-2004).
A majority of the original cast is back, with the exception of the voices behind Arnold and Gerald. While that certainly sucks, Helga, Grandpa, Mr. Simmons, Harold, Stinky and the rest of the gang will be voiced by the same voice actors who played them nearly two decades ago. It could be worse!
The animation is sharp, polished and in HD, a first for any Nicktoon from the 1990s not named Spongebob Squarepants.
The nostalgia is real, and we should all be ecstatic. Though the hour long special is serving as the definitive series finale, you have to assume that if the ratings are good, it might spawn a new season or perhaps a spin-off or companion series.
With the excessive amount of retired programming that has recently been brought back to life (The Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans, Full House, Roseanne, Will and Grace, Twin Peaks – just to name a few), it is entirely possible that we could be in for another few seasons of Hey Arnold! if we go about this the right way.
Tell your roomate, siblings, parents, professors, friends from high school, bullies from high school, neighbors and your doctor to tune in on Nov. 24 because in order for it to generate enough interest, it needs views.
Might I suggest asking that special someone you just swiped right on to “Hey Arnold! and chill”? (For that to work it would have to be on November 23 or 24, so it’s entirely time sensitive).
Nickelodeon also has plans to make made-for-TV movies for Rocko’s Modern Life and Invader Zim in the near future. If that doesn’t excite you, then I’m not sure what will.
Arnold and his pals from P.S 118 will be here in six weeks.