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Movies / On DVD / Hey Arnold! The Movie
Hey Arnold! The Movie

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Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002)

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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

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Reviews for Hey Arnold! The Movie

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
06/28/02
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

Comes off as a bland and uninspired 'full length' version of one of the show's various episodes.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
06/28/02
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

It is great summer fun to watch Arnold and his buddy Gerald bounce off a quirky cast of characters.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/28/02
C.W. Nevius
C.W. Nevius
San Francisco Chronicle

Its plot and animation offer daytime TV serviceability, but little more.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
06/28/02
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Kids surely will like it. And for adults, it's perfectly watchable in a Rugrats-y sort of way.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
06/28/02
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

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.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
06/28/02
Loey Lockerby
Loey Lockerby
Kansas City Star

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!.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/28/02
Mike Bell
Mike Bell
Jam! Movies

Sweet and inoffensive.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/28/02
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

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.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
06/28/02
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

The movie is hopelessly bland.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
06/28/02
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Craig Bartlett and director Tuck Tucker should be commended for illustrating the merits of fighting hard for something that really matters.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
06/28/02
Valerie Kuklenski
Valerie Kuklenski
Los Angeles Daily News

Though it feels at times like a direct-to-video release, director Tuck Tucker's movie is still well-paced and funny.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
06/28/02
Bryan Reesman
Bryan Reesman
Citysearch

Lacks depth.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/28/02
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

Adults won't find the film nearly as amusing as your 8 year old.

Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
06/28/02
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

Formulaic yet funky.

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
06/28/02
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

There's no better role model than Arnold - animated or otherwise. He's a good kid, who always looks on the bright side.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
06/28/02
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

This tale offers little more wit or charm than just another episode of the TV series.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
06/28/02
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/28/02
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

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.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/28/02
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

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.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/28/02
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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