Kids who grew up in the ’90s probably remember Hey Arnold!, a Nickelodeon show that followed fourth-grader Arnold as he navigated life in the city with his grandparents and motley crew of friends. Sadly, the series was cancelled after eight years, just when Arnold was about to find out the story behind his parents’ disappearance. For those who felt the lack of closure, we have great news: the series is coming back with a movie next year, and everyone will be returning!
The made-for-TV movie will be called “The Jungle Movie” and will pick up where the series left off, when Arnold discover his parent’s journal. He finds out that they took a trip to San Lorenzo, where they were never seen again. The episode ends with Arnold and Grandpa facing the possibility that they will never be found.
Insiders say that the movie will “resolve unanswered questions and plot lines.” The release of the movie will also tie with Nickelodeon’s 25th anniversary celebration of original creator-driven animation.
The entire cast of the series will return, and we’ll see Arnold and his best friend Gerald, as well as Helga, Phoebe, Harold, Rhonda, Olga, Grandpa and Grandma, Eugene, Stinky, and Sid. There is no news whether the boarders of the Sunset Arms will return, too. The actors who voiced the characters will return to the series, including Lane Toran and Jamil Smith, who voiced Arnold and Gerald respectively. However, Toran and Smith will voice new characters.
Hey Arnold! was one of Nickelodeon’s most celebrated cartoons, and often featured adult undertones, like parental abandonment, extended family ties, being a misfit, urbanization encroaching on community spaces, unrequited love, and a suspected suicide in one episode (Pigeon Man).
Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie will be written and executive produced by the series’ original creator Craig Bartlett.
What are you excited to see in the movie? Share your thoughts below!
Follow When in Manila Koji for more stories like this!
