Hey Arnold!: The Movie

Hey Arnold!: The Movie
DVD cover
Directed by	Tuck Tucker
Produced by	Craig Bartlett
Written by	Craig Bartlett
Starring	Spencer Klein Francesca Smith Jamil Walker Smith Dan Castellaneta Tress MacNeille Paul Sorvino Jennifer Jason Leigh Christopher Lloyd
Music by	Jim Lang
Editing by	Christopher Hink
Studio	Nickelodeon Movies
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 28, 2002
Running time	76 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Gross revenue	$15,249,308 (worldwide)

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 from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies.

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 commoition. He states that Mr. Scheck, the German-American CEO of a real estate company called Future Tech Industries or FTi, wants to buy all the houses in Arnold's neighborhood so can convert them into a futuristic mall. According to the news, the mayor of Hillwood 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 and long-time partner Nick Vermicelli (who'd had previously worked with Bob on other projects that were thwarted by Arnold). Pataki is revealed to be planning to build a store in Scheck's mall called Big Bob's 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 varoius 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 puts 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 rallies the neighborhood hosts a protest against FTi. However, their permit was stolen by Scheck’s employees and the rally was declared illegal; Arnold's grandmother was jailed for being hostile to the police suppressing the rally. She tries braking 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 you can’t always win.

Later on, as the boarders begin packing, Grandpa tells Arnold the history of the boarding house, stating that it was first built in the 1700s and it was the site of the "Tomato Incident" (a parody of the Boston Tea Party) during the Revolutionary War. The residents at that time 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 proving the event happened, then the neighborhood would be declared a historical site and can't be demolished. With Gerald reluctantly tagging along, Arnold manages to trace the document to FTi, though Scheck 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 at 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. Vermicelli then realizes that the key was 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 German 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 get 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. But the driver, Murray, is unwilling to speed up until he realizes that his former flame lives near Arnold and that her house is going to be demolished. 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 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.

Video Game

THQ released the Hey Arnold!: The Movie video game for only 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.

References to popular culture

• Poster for Hey Arnold! The Movie based on Nicktoons' previous theatrical release Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
• In the context of a fight with Nick Vermecilli, Big Bob is splattered with green pickle juice, his eyes become red, and fights even harder, a reference to The Incredible Hulk.
• Several film references are made, including Men in Black, and Speed.
• When Grandma Gertie breaks out of prison, her escape is identical to that of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.
• At the end of the credits, the first song that is playing Lil' Romeo's 2-Way and is also the first single for his album Game Time. There also was a music video for the original soundtrack of the movie.
• Deep Voice, the shady characted that gave Arnold the advice, is an obvious reference to the Watergate Scandal, with Deep Voice being a reference to Deep Throat.

Critical reception

The film currently holds a 30% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links

• Official website
• Hey Arnold! The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• Hey Arnold!: The Movie at Rotten Tomatoes

v • d • e Hey Arnold! Characters Arnold • Gerald • Helga • Grandpa Phil • Other characters Films Hey Arnold!: The Movie Video games Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy • Nicktoons Racing • Hey Arnold!: The Movie Other List of episodes