Hey Arnold!: The Movie
Encyclopedia
Hey Arnold!: The Movie is a 2002
animated
film
based on the 1996-2004 Nickelodeon
animated television series Hey Arnold!
. The film was released in theaters on June 28, 2002. The musical scores in the film and the Nickelodeon animated series
are written and composed by Jim Lang.
He states that Mr. Scheck, the CEO of a real estate company called Future Tech Industries or FTi, wants to buy all of Arnold's neighborhood so that he can convert it into a futuristic mall. According to the news, the mayor is already approving plans for the mall. This means that Arnold’s neighborhood will be destroyed and everyone who lives there has to move away (which would also mean Helga would not see Arnold again or express her feelings to him). The neighbors state that they should do something about this.
During the night, Helga discovers that her dad, Big Bob Pataki, is working with a Future Tech Industries executive Nick Vermicelli (who had worked with Big Bob in an earlier episode). Pataki is revealed to be planning to build a store in Scheck's mall called Big Bob's Super Beeper Emporium. Helga points out to her dad that people are going to suffer if he builds his store. However, Big Bob counters by saying that if they leave the neighborhood alone, his store won't exist. He also insists that change is good (as does Scheck at various times in the film) and states that when his store is built Helga will be rich and will be able to buy anything. The next morning, Future Tech Industries workers put up a huge electronic billboard above Arnold’s house that shows the number of days until construction begins as well as several Future Tech Industries ads featuring Scheck stating "Out with the old, in with the new", "Change is good", and "I've seen the future, and the future is Future Tech Industries".
Arnold then hosts a protest against FTi. However, their permit was stolen by Scheck’s employees and the protest was declared illegal; Arnold's grandmother was jailed for being hostile to the police suppressing it. She tries breaking out but keeps getting caught. Meanwhile, as demolition day closes in, Gerald tells Arnold to stop looking on the bright side of things and that he can’t always win.
Later on, as the boarders begin packing, Grandpa tells Arnold the history of the boarding house, stating that his ancestors first built it in the 1700s and that the neighborhood was the site of the "Tomato Incident" (a parody of the Boston Tea Party
) during the American Revolutionary War
. The residents at that time were angry over the increase in British taxes for tomatoes. The locals fought the British soldiers by hitting them with the tomatoes, sending them running. Arnold then realizes that if he can find a document containing proof that the event happened, then the neighborhood would qualify as a National Historic Landmark
and can not be demolished. With Gerald reluctantly tagging along, Arnold manages to find out the document (and other historical memorabilia) was auctioned to a collector who turns out to be none other than Scheck himself, though he denies ownership of the document.
Just as Arnold and Gerald are about to give up hope, a street telephone rings, with someone mysterious named “Deep Voice
” tells them that Scheck is lying and that the document is hidden in his vault, which Vermicelli has the key to. He directs them to a woman named Bridget who can provide them with the proper gadgets to do the job and sneak the key away from Vermicelli. After Arnold and Gerald managed to snag the key, Big Bob, having read the fine print of his contract, finds that Scheck had taken control of 51% percent of his company in exchange for the right to build his beeper emporium, and takes his anger out on Vermicelli. They engage in a small fight before Bob is dosed in pickle juice (reminiscent of the Hulk) and knocked out. Vermicelli then realizes that the key is gone and alerts Scheck.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Phil and the men at the boarding house are trying to develop a backup plan just in case Arnold fails to get the document. They have several ideas, but fight on their weaknesses. However, Phil gets an idea that works. Phil and the gang plan to wire the sewer tunnels beneath their street with dynamite. They would then ignite it and blow a huge hole in the ground so the Future Tech Industries workers would fall in. Arnold and Gerald infiltrate FTi and locate the vault, only to find the document missing. Scheck comes up from behind them, with the document in his hand. He reveals that his ancestor, who was the leader of the British forces, was humiliated by the Tomato Incident. For generations, Scheck's family has been planning on regaining control of the city and getting revenge against the boarders. Scheck then burns the document.
His bodyguards then arrive to arrest Arnold and Gerald, who manage to escape and split up. Arnold then remembers that Scheck has cameras everywhere and manages to get a video of Scheck burning the document. However, security forces arrive, forcing Arnold to hide on the roof. He is then contacted by Deep Voice. Deep Voice is then revealed to be Helga, who confesses her romantic feelings for Arnold. They escape the building and meet Gerald on a city bus. The driver, Murray, is unwilling to speed up until he realizes that his girlfriend lives near Arnold and that she is going to be evicted by FTi. Back in the neighborhood, Phil and the gang are waiting with their explosives for FTi to begin taking the neighborhood down. Big Bob is in the area and discovers their plan. Although Big Bob states the gang could do some serious jail time, he decides to help because Nick Vermicelli double-crossed him.
Meanwhile, Vermicelli’s workers blow up a freeway to prevent Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and Murray (who is unconscious at the time) from getting to the neighborhood. However, a truck on the freeway that had a ramp on the back was stopped near the edge. The quartet ride the bus over the truck's ramp to jump the hole and make it to 33rd street. Back at the neighborhood again, Grandma (who has escaped from jail) hijacks one of the bulldozers and destroys the rest. Soon, the hijacked bulldozer and the city bus that Arnold, Gerald, and Helga are on collide. Grandma escapes before they hit and the kids and Murray show up okay a few moments later. Mayor Dixie arrives and Bridget gives Arnold a VCR to show the tape of Scheck burning the document. Bridget hooks it up to the big FTi screen and Arnold shows Mayor Dixie the tape. Scheck then arrives but is dismayed by the incriminating evidence. He gets into his car and tries to run over Arnold and Gerald only to find that Grandma stripped his car of its wheels. He is then arrested and Big Bob gets in another fight with Vermicelli. Arnold’s neighbor Harold is exhausted because the exploding freeway woke him up. He sits down on the button that ignites Phil’s explosives. The explosives beneath the streets ignite, destroying the FTi billboard. Phil and the boarders run away from the police as Helga talks to Arnold. She then denies having loved him and runs cheerfully as Eugene sings a song about the neighborhood being saved. Mayor Dixie declares the neighborhood a National Historic Landmark
and restoration work begins.
the chance to develop a feature adaptation. As work wrapped up on the fifth season, Bartlett and company engaged in the production of Arnold Saves the Neighborhood, which would eventually become Hey Arnold!: The Movie. The Neighborhood project was considered for television and home video, but executives at Paramount Pictures
decided to release it theatrically after successful test screenings. According to animation historian Jerry Beck
(in his Animated Movie Guide), the decision was buoyed by the financial success of the first
two
Rugrats movies.
from the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA). The film's poster is modeled after that for Nicktoons' previous theatrical release, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
. Opening on June 28, 2002 in the U.S., Hey Arnold! grossed US$5.7 million from 2,527 theaters on its opening weekend. Total earnings have amounted to US$13.7 million domestically, and US$15.2 million worldwide. The film was released on VHS
and DVD
on December 31, 2002; its special features consisted of only the theatrical trailer and an interactive game based on Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure
.
THQ
released a video game of the movie
, exclusively for the Game Boy Advance
. The game consists of 5 worlds, with 4 levels each (each including a boss on the fourth level) and the player can play as Arnold, Gerald, Grandpa, and Grandma. Helga is playable only with a cheat code found on various websites.
; the critical consensus stated, "Bland, unoriginal, and lacking the wit of the TV series, Hey Arnold is a 30-minute cartoon stretched beyond its running time." Metacritic
recorded a score of 47, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the film a positive review.
. The film begins when Arnold (Now ten years old) and his classmates are now in the fifth grade. He and the other goes to San Lorenzo in South America after Arnold wins an essay contest. Arnold has a map to locate his parents disappearances which he found in the one-hour episode titled "The Journal". However, Craig Bartlett was then working on the show Party Wagon
for Nick's rival Cartoon Network, and one of the conditions for producing the film was to work exclusively for Nickelodeon. After Bartlett's refusal, and due to other complications, Nickelodeon decided to cancel the project.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
based on the 1996-2004 Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
animated television series Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. The show's premise focuses on a fourth grader named Arnold who lives with his grandparents. Episodes center on his experiences navigating big city life while dealing with the problems he and his friends...
. The film was released in theaters on June 28, 2002. The musical scores in the film and the Nickelodeon animated series
Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. The show's premise focuses on a fourth grader named Arnold who lives with his grandparents. Episodes center on his experiences navigating big city life while dealing with the problems he and his friends...
are written and composed by Jim Lang.
Plot
The film begins with Arnold and Gerald walking back to the boarding house with a popped basketball after being beaten by 5th graders at a game. Before Arnold walks into the boarding house, he sees several of his neighbors making a fuss about something. Mr. Green, a neighbor of Arnold’s, explains the commotion.He states that Mr. Scheck, the CEO of a real estate company called Future Tech Industries or FTi, wants to buy all of Arnold's neighborhood so that he can convert it into a futuristic mall. According to the news, the mayor is already approving plans for the mall. This means that Arnold’s neighborhood will be destroyed and everyone who lives there has to move away (which would also mean Helga would not see Arnold again or express her feelings to him). The neighbors state that they should do something about this.
During the night, Helga discovers that her dad, Big Bob Pataki, is working with a Future Tech Industries executive Nick Vermicelli (who had worked with Big Bob in an earlier episode). Pataki is revealed to be planning to build a store in Scheck's mall called Big Bob's Super Beeper Emporium. Helga points out to her dad that people are going to suffer if he builds his store. However, Big Bob counters by saying that if they leave the neighborhood alone, his store won't exist. He also insists that change is good (as does Scheck at various times in the film) and states that when his store is built Helga will be rich and will be able to buy anything. The next morning, Future Tech Industries workers put up a huge electronic billboard above Arnold’s house that shows the number of days until construction begins as well as several Future Tech Industries ads featuring Scheck stating "Out with the old, in with the new", "Change is good", and "I've seen the future, and the future is Future Tech Industries".
Arnold then hosts a protest against FTi. However, their permit was stolen by Scheck’s employees and the protest was declared illegal; Arnold's grandmother was jailed for being hostile to the police suppressing it. She tries breaking out but keeps getting caught. Meanwhile, as demolition day closes in, Gerald tells Arnold to stop looking on the bright side of things and that he can’t always win.
Later on, as the boarders begin packing, Grandpa tells Arnold the history of the boarding house, stating that his ancestors first built it in the 1700s and that the neighborhood was the site of the "Tomato Incident" (a parody of the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
) during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The residents at that time were angry over the increase in British taxes for tomatoes. The locals fought the British soldiers by hitting them with the tomatoes, sending them running. Arnold then realizes that if he can find a document containing proof that the event happened, then the neighborhood would qualify as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and can not be demolished. With Gerald reluctantly tagging along, Arnold manages to find out the document (and other historical memorabilia) was auctioned to a collector who turns out to be none other than Scheck himself, though he denies ownership of the document.
Just as Arnold and Gerald are about to give up hope, a street telephone rings, with someone mysterious named “Deep Voice
Deep Throat
Deep Throat is the pseudonym given to the secret informant who provided information to Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in 1972 about the involvement of United States President Richard Nixon's administration in what came to be known as the Watergate scandal...
” tells them that Scheck is lying and that the document is hidden in his vault, which Vermicelli has the key to. He directs them to a woman named Bridget who can provide them with the proper gadgets to do the job and sneak the key away from Vermicelli. After Arnold and Gerald managed to snag the key, Big Bob, having read the fine print of his contract, finds that Scheck had taken control of 51% percent of his company in exchange for the right to build his beeper emporium, and takes his anger out on Vermicelli. They engage in a small fight before Bob is dosed in pickle juice (reminiscent of the Hulk) and knocked out. Vermicelli then realizes that the key is gone and alerts Scheck.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Phil and the men at the boarding house are trying to develop a backup plan just in case Arnold fails to get the document. They have several ideas, but fight on their weaknesses. However, Phil gets an idea that works. Phil and the gang plan to wire the sewer tunnels beneath their street with dynamite. They would then ignite it and blow a huge hole in the ground so the Future Tech Industries workers would fall in. Arnold and Gerald infiltrate FTi and locate the vault, only to find the document missing. Scheck comes up from behind them, with the document in his hand. He reveals that his ancestor, who was the leader of the British forces, was humiliated by the Tomato Incident. For generations, Scheck's family has been planning on regaining control of the city and getting revenge against the boarders. Scheck then burns the document.
His bodyguards then arrive to arrest Arnold and Gerald, who manage to escape and split up. Arnold then remembers that Scheck has cameras everywhere and manages to get a video of Scheck burning the document. However, security forces arrive, forcing Arnold to hide on the roof. He is then contacted by Deep Voice. Deep Voice is then revealed to be Helga, who confesses her romantic feelings for Arnold. They escape the building and meet Gerald on a city bus. The driver, Murray, is unwilling to speed up until he realizes that his girlfriend lives near Arnold and that she is going to be evicted by FTi. Back in the neighborhood, Phil and the gang are waiting with their explosives for FTi to begin taking the neighborhood down. Big Bob is in the area and discovers their plan. Although Big Bob states the gang could do some serious jail time, he decides to help because Nick Vermicelli double-crossed him.
Meanwhile, Vermicelli’s workers blow up a freeway to prevent Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and Murray (who is unconscious at the time) from getting to the neighborhood. However, a truck on the freeway that had a ramp on the back was stopped near the edge. The quartet ride the bus over the truck's ramp to jump the hole and make it to 33rd street. Back at the neighborhood again, Grandma (who has escaped from jail) hijacks one of the bulldozers and destroys the rest. Soon, the hijacked bulldozer and the city bus that Arnold, Gerald, and Helga are on collide. Grandma escapes before they hit and the kids and Murray show up okay a few moments later. Mayor Dixie arrives and Bridget gives Arnold a VCR to show the tape of Scheck burning the document. Bridget hooks it up to the big FTi screen and Arnold shows Mayor Dixie the tape. Scheck then arrives but is dismayed by the incriminating evidence. He gets into his car and tries to run over Arnold and Gerald only to find that Grandma stripped his car of its wheels. He is then arrested and Big Bob gets in another fight with Vermicelli. Arnold’s neighbor Harold is exhausted because the exploding freeway woke him up. He sits down on the button that ignites Phil’s explosives. The explosives beneath the streets ignite, destroying the FTi billboard. Phil and the boarders run away from the police as Helga talks to Arnold. She then denies having loved him and runs cheerfully as Eugene sings a song about the neighborhood being saved. Mayor Dixie declares the neighborhood a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and restoration work begins.
Production
In 1998, the Nickelodeon cable network renewed the original Hey Arnold! series for a fourth season, and gave creator Craig BartlettCraig Bartlett
Craig Michael Bartlett is an animator best known for writing for Rugrats and creating the television series Hey Arnold!.-Career:...
the chance to develop a feature adaptation. As work wrapped up on the fifth season, Bartlett and company engaged in the production of Arnold Saves the Neighborhood, which would eventually become Hey Arnold!: The Movie. The Neighborhood project was considered for television and home video, but executives at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
decided to release it theatrically after successful test screenings. According to animation historian Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
(in his Animated Movie Guide), the decision was buoyed by the financial success of the first
The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....
two
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, also known as The Rugrats Movie 2: Rugrats in Paris and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II, is 2000 American animated film, and the sequel to the 1998 film The Rugrats Movie that follows the continuing adventures of the Rugrats. In the film, Chuckie Finster takes...
Rugrats movies.
Release
Hey Arnold!: The Movie was Nickelodeon's first animated feature to receive a PG ratingMPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
from the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA). The film's poster is modeled after that for Nicktoons' previous theatrical release, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (film)
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a 2001 computer-animated film based on a few three-minute animated shorts shown on Nickelodeon between the years 1999-2002, and a pilot in 1998. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies with O Entertainment and DNA Productions...
. Opening on June 28, 2002 in the U.S., Hey Arnold! grossed US$5.7 million from 2,527 theaters on its opening weekend. Total earnings have amounted to US$13.7 million domestically, and US$15.2 million worldwide. The film was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on December 31, 2002; its special features consisted of only the theatrical trailer and an interactive game based on Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure is a 2003 direct-to-video animated film, and a sequel to the 1973 film Charlotte's Web. It was produced by Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures , Universal Cartoon Studios , and Nickelodeon; and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment in North...
.
THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
released a video game of the movie
Hey Arnold!: The Movie (video game)
Hey Arnold!: The Movie is a platform video game developed by a Japanese video game studio, Altron and published by THQ, based upon the TV show's film released the same year. The game consists of five worlds holding four levels in each and one boss...
, exclusively for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The game consists of 5 worlds, with 4 levels each (each including a boss on the fourth level) and the player can play as Arnold, Gerald, Grandpa, and Grandma. Helga is playable only with a cheat code found on various websites.
Reception
The film received mainly mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a 30% "Rotten" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
; the critical consensus stated, "Bland, unoriginal, and lacking the wit of the TV series, Hey Arnold is a 30-minute cartoon stretched beyond its running time." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
recorded a score of 47, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the film a positive review.
Sequel
Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies felt it was obvious to plan a second Hey Arnold! movie. Craig Bartlett wrote a script sequel titled Hey Arnold! 2: The Jungle Movie, set in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The film begins when Arnold (Now ten years old) and his classmates are now in the fifth grade. He and the other goes to San Lorenzo in South America after Arnold wins an essay contest. Arnold has a map to locate his parents disappearances which he found in the one-hour episode titled "The Journal". However, Craig Bartlett was then working on the show Party Wagon
Party Wagon
Party Wagon is an animated television movie created by animator Craig Bartlett for Cartoon Network. It was made to be a pilot for an animated series that Bartlett was making for Cartoon Network after he left Nickelodeon. However, the series was later scrapped. Little information of this series...
for Nick's rival Cartoon Network, and one of the conditions for producing the film was to work exclusively for Nickelodeon. After Bartlett's refusal, and due to other complications, Nickelodeon decided to cancel the project.