Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie (2017)

I watched Hey Arnold when I was five years old and it was (and still it is) my favorite cartoon of all time . When Helga punched Brainy I shed some tears because I remember all the wonderful memories this cartoon gave me . I think today's children are so unlucky because they have no chance to see this wonderful , great piece of art . Also the final scene when Helga and Arnold kissed is one of the most heartwarming experiences I have ever had .

Hey Arnold was an awesome series to watch as it had heart, good messages to preach and well told stories centered around Arnold and the city folk. However fans were left unsatisfied with the ending as we were left with unanswered questions about Arnold's parents and whether Arnold and Helga would eventually reveal their mutual feelings for each other. The Jungle Movie brings the needed closure for the fans as it finally answers those questions. The vibe felt just like the original series, except with updated and cleaner animation. It had a perfect story to tie up loose ends. Other than the story being top notch overall, there were a few nit picks I felt should be addressed. Some scenes could've been longer to give weight to the emotional aspect. Gerald should've been given a different reason to be mad at Arnold instead of what we were given. There was also something wrong with the Arnold/Helga dilemma. I doubt she would go as far as throw away her locket just because he left her to warn the captain of another ship. Maybe if Lila was more present in the movie something would happen that would give Helga more of a reason to give up hope on finding mutual love in Arnold. Also the reunion of Arnold and his parents. The scene could've been longer with Arnold finally talking to his parents for the first time. Longer and more emotional. The pig going back to warn Arnold's grandparents was a bit of a stretch but I was fine with it until they showed the pig's flashback and the grandma apparently understanding what the damn pig was saying! It felt out of place as it probably would fit in another cartoon, but it surely doesn't belong in an Arnold film. Other than that this film was perfect as the finale to the original series. I recommend watching it, as the flaws are small nitpicks that can be overlooked.

Wow, Hey Arnold finally got its ending, and not just any old ending, but one that was actually befitting of that wonderful show we never forgot from out childhood. I was so pleasantly surprised by this, I really wasn't expecting it to be so good and well put together. I thought the animation would be poor or the characters just wouldn't feel the same, but that wasn't the case at all - the animation was bright and beautiful, and while noticeably touched up slightly it was very much true to the show's original animation style, and so far as the characters were concerned it was like they had never left. Fifteen long years after the episode "The Journal", which ended the show on a cliffhanger that I never thought would get resolved and leave a truly great and classic series forever marred and unfinished, here we are, and I was amazed at how seamless this movie felt in conjunction with the tone of where the show left off and again, just how much the characters felt like their old selves. It was wonderful to hear Dan Castalanetta as the voice of Grandpa again, seeing the whole cast of characters in action felt like a return of old friends. And it doesn't always work out that way when a long gone series tries for a comeback, they can't always recapture the old magic.. But this didn't have that problem, and I for one was left very satisfied with it. It wasn't perfect but it certainly got more right than it did wrong, and it didn't fall flat, not where it really counted, in the nostalgic connections and the emotional heart that was the pillar of the show, there wasn't amy wasted potential here in my opinion. The early sequence where there's a slideshow that Helga organises to help Arnold that shows various characters thanking Arnold for how much he helped them really touched me and gave me teary eyes, because although in the story it was for Arnold, that part in particular felt like it was made primarily for the core fans who grew up with Arnold and it was a thank you from us too, thank you indeed Arnold. The cameos were so great, the blind man from "Das Subway" was sitting on the bus, not sure how they tracked down Lockjaw the turtle but he was at the party, Mr. Hyun's daughter from the Christmas special, I couldn't stop smiling when the Pigeon Man put in a quick but heartfelt appearance, that one was really awesome. The sadly late Vincent Schiavelli who originally voiced the character in that beloved episode has been gone for some time now, but I thought it was a very good impression. I loved how casually it answered a couple of long-standing series mysteries like Arnold's last name, it really made me laugh when Arnold scrawled it out, and it was what was thought to be an affectionate nickname that Grandpa had always called him throughout the episodes, it was right under our noses the whole time! I also liked how the creepy hovering Brainy helped Helga out and how when she and Arnold finally shared a kiss they weren't immediately an item afterwards, as they were going back to school they were back in pretty much the same roles they had been in before, but with a certain new understanding of each other and where they really stood, as friends and more someday as "Married" once revealed. I thought this was a much better picture than the first Arnold movie had been, with a much more interesting plot and more great moments overall. I liked how it didn't immediately start with Arnold setting off for San Lorenzo to solve the mystery of his parents, but showed that he was in fact a very sad and disheartened Arnold, and Helga outed her secret love for him to virtually everybody by helping him with the aid of her many video tapes of stealthily filmed footage of him helping out others over the years! Like the other reviewers have said, it really did provide what I also thought was true and satisfying closure. It felt very right that the final ever glimpse of Arnold's world be the doors of P.S. 118 closing as Arnold and his friends started a new school year, because so much of the show was set in the school. It was phenomenal how well they brought it all back to life after so many years, and this to me scarcely missed a beat and was a great finale for the fans, and as a lifelong fan of this brilliantly clever, funny and heartwarming show, I promise you that this movie does not disappoint and it does offer a conclusion that leaves things on a solid and happy note, they all did a fantastic job. Long live Hey Arnold! XXX

Hey Arnold! was a show centering around a kid named Arnold and his adventures with his friends and around the city. But one thing the show never got a chance to do was show us what happened to his parents when they went to South America. After 14 years though, Nickelodeon allowed Craig Bartlett to come back and bring us the conclusion we've been waiting for.When Arnold and his friends are selected to a trip to San Lorenzo, he hopes to find his parents in the country he disappeared in. But they all soon end up getting caught up by the infamous river pirate, Lasombra, and their trip takes a turn for the worse. Now on the run from Lasombra, Arnold and his friends must find the mysterious Green-Eye People and discover the truth of what happened to Arnold's parents.If you've been a longtime viewer of Hey Arnold!, you'll notice nothing hasn't changed much from how the characters are, the jokes, and everything that made the show so charming and wonderful. In fact, it feels like everything was preserved perfectly and it picks up where the first movie left off. Every running gag from Pookie's wild antics to Brainy getting punched by Helga is in it, and there are plenty of callbacks.The voice work is also fantastic. While Mason Vale Cotton's Arnold voice may seem a bit odd, he seems to do a fantastic job capturing the football head we all know and love. The original cast come back to reprise their roles and all sound fantastic as well.The story, as mentioned before, focuses a lot on Arnold finding out what happened to his parents, but also focuses back on the love Helga has for Arnold. I have to admit, I feel the romance subplot is handled way better in this movie than how it was in the theatrical movie. The interactions between Helga and Arnold are handled well here and it all builds up to the inevitable confession near the end. It also finally gives closure as well to the Gerald and Phoebe romance hints we got in the show with them becoming a couple too.I have to also give the movie props for not only maintaining a lot of the elements from the show, but also managing to get emotional about Arnold's desire to find his long lost parents, to even getting dark at times; especially with Lasombra. The movie manages to hit a lot of emotional high notes and takes a lot of risks with some of its dark moments. Something I really appreciate since a lot of shows these days love to play it safe.Lasombra himself is a fantastic and cunning villain. I got to admit, he's clever in what he does from manipulating Arnold about his parents, to even getting most of his crew killed just to get to the treasure and not care at all. He even manages to fight off a poison dart for a while just to try and kill Arnold and his friends. He's a really threatening villain all around.About my only real gripes are that the Pataki's are still so careless around Helga (although Bob at least remembers her name), and that the movie kind of ends a bit abruptly. I was kind of hoping for a scene of Arnold showing his other friends his parents, but it just suddenly stops with them being back home again, and everything ends with Arnold and Helga closer, and Gerald and Phoebe a couple.Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie does have some minor flaws, but after 14 years of waiting, it was worth. Everything is handled fantastic from the writing, to the character, to the jokes. The story is good with lots of great twists. The villain is awesome. It's a good movie all around and serves as a great series finale for Hey Arnold! I've heard rumors that if the movie does well enough, Nick may ask Craig to revive the show, and the crew would be back again to get the show going. If they do so, it should be about the spin off series; The Pataki's. It was supposed to center around Helga's family, but Nick deemed it too dark. If there is no revival though, I won't complain as this movie perfectly wraps up everything. It took 14 years, but Bartlett and the Hey Arnold! crew brought us a fantastic movie that wraps up everything and will satisfy everyone.