Passionate, irrational, long-suffering but cruel as a tarantula, Helga figures prominently in this movie, and helps keep the proceedings as funny for grown-ups as for rugrats.
Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:23
Rotten:53
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Bland, unoriginal, and lacking the wit of the TV series, Hey Arnold is a 30 min cartoon stretched beyond its running time.
Runtime: 76 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: The popular Nickelodeon cartoon HEY ARNOLD! gets its big screen animation debut with this feature, directed by Tuck Tucker. The plot finds the kid with the "football-shaped head" (Arnold, voiced by... The popular Nickelodeon cartoon HEY ARNOLD! gets its big screen animation debut with this feature, directed by Tuck Tucker. The plot finds the kid with the "football-shaped head" (Arnold, voiced by Spence Klein) working overtime to save his New York City neighborhood. Paul Sorvino supplies the voice of the sinister corporate bad guy Scheck, who intends to bulldoze Arnold's block in order to make room for a shopping "mall-plex." With the adults too passive to lift a finger in their own defense (or else profiting from the deal), it is up to Arnold to devise a plan. Luckily he has friends to help him out, like Gerald (Jamil Walker Smith) and Helga (Francesca Smith)--the abusive little girl who harbors a secret crush on him. Arnold develops a crush of his own, on Bridget (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the slinky local super hero who helps him out with a little industrial espionage. Other recognizable voices include Christopher Lloyd and Dan Castallenata (Homer on THE SIMPSONS) as Arnold's Grandpa Phil. The simple, colorful animation and amiable story should make it a hit with young children already enthralled by the television show. Series creator Craig Bartlett cowrote the script with Steve Viksten. [More]
Starring: Spencer Klein, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Lloyd, Jamil Smith
Starring: Spencer Klein, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Lloyd, Jamil Smith, Paul Sorvino, Sam Gifaldi, Dan Castellaneta, Tress MacNeille
Director: Tuck Tucker
Director: Tuck Tucker
Screenwriter: Craig Bartlett, Steve Viksten
Producer: Craig Bartlett, Albie Hecht
Composer: Jim Lang
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for Hey Arnold! The Movie
Comes off as a bland and uninspired 'full length' version of one of the show's various episodes.
It is great summer fun to watch Arnold and his buddy Gerald bounce off a quirky cast of characters.
Its plot and animation offer daytime TV serviceability, but little more.
Kids surely will like it. And for adults, it's perfectly watchable in a Rugrats-y sort of way.
Its makers coast along on the assumption that kids who like the show will drag their parents to the multiplex -- whether the film is any good or not.
The animation itself, while stylized, is fairly cheap and drab-looking on the big screen. All of those are merely adult complaints and minor ones compared to the good aspects of Hey Arnold!.
Hey Arnold! The Movie could have been made 40 years ago, and parents' appreciation of it may depend on whether they consider that a good thing.
Craig Bartlett and director Tuck Tucker should be commended for illustrating the merits of fighting hard for something that really matters.
Though it feels at times like a direct-to-video release, director Tuck Tucker's movie is still well-paced and funny.
There's no better role model than Arnold - animated or otherwise. He's a good kid, who always looks on the bright side.
This tale offers little more wit or charm than just another episode of the TV series.
The movie feels like a long-form version of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series on which it's based, which probably won't bother Arnold fans.
Hey Arnold! is now stretched to barely feature length, with a little more attention paid to the animation. Still, the updated Dickensian sensibility of writer Craig Bartlett's story is appealing.
I am not generally a huge fan of cartoons derived from TV shows, but Hey Arnold! The Movie is clever, offbeat and even gritty enough to overcome my resistance.
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