Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

Hello and welcome! To start this blog, I should explain Hey Arnold! and The Jungle Movie for those who are unaware of the show.

Hey Arnold! is a popular children's show created by Craig Bartlett and aired by Nickelodeon. It consisted of five seasons. It's original run lasted from its debut in 1996 until 2004.

The show centers around a fourth grader named Arnold who lives in the imaginary city of Hillwood. He resides in a boarding house owned by his grandparents and occupied by four other residents along with various pets.


Arnold, the main character of Hey Arnold!


In each episode, Arnold helps his classmates to overcome their fears and solve their problems. There are, in addition, episodes on many of the characters providing background information as well as character development. Throughout the series, Gerald remains Arnold's best friend and side-kick who often offers advice when he is in need.

The third main character in the series is Helga Pataki--a cruel and ruthless bully who pretends to despise Arnold in order to hide her strong amorous feelings. More than a few episodes revolve around Helga's secret almost being exposed.

The series was turned into a theatrical release titled Hey Arnold!: The Movie. In the film, Arnold and his classmates must save the neighborhood from being destroyed by a greedy CEO who plans to build a Mega-Mall on the site.

The movie did not earn as much revenue as Nickelodeon had hoped. In addition, Bartlett began working on another cartoon for Nickelodeon's rival, Cartoon Network. Due to the film's failure and the disagreement, Nickelodeon cancelled the planned sequel to the Hey Arnold! movie: Hey Arnold! 2: The Jungle Movie.

This sequel was to discover the whereabouts of Arnold's parents as well as have Helga finally admit her feelings for Arnold (without recanting as she had in the previous film).  

The following synopsis of Hey Arnold! 2: The Jungle Movie was taken from the Hey Arnold! Wikia page:


Note: This section is what is known publicly about The Jungle Movie through chats and interviews done with Craig Bartlett and various other sources.
 Arnold's name is revealed in the opening scene. A man comes to the door of the boarding house with a package for him and he signs his full name. 
The whole class, who are now in the fifth grade, go to San Lorenzo in Central America after Arnold wins them an essay contest. However, he has his own secret agenda to go look for his parents with the map that he found in the episode "The Journal". 
Arnold meets the mysterious Green Eyed People, the people his parents were helping. When he was born, he silenced all of nature (the erupting volcano), which prompted the Green Eyes to believe that he is divine. The Green Eyes have designed a motif that is shaped like a football head in all their architecture. They are also impressed with Helga's ferocity. This makes the Green Eyes semi-worship Arnold and Helga. The Green Eyes also think very highly of Miles and Stella, because they’ve all saved each other’s lives before, many times. 
La Sombra, a villain who was briefly seen in the episode "The Journal" is a big character of the movie, he is Miles and Stella's enemy. He is a mercenary treasure hunter and river pirate, who goes in disguise. La Sombra is after La Corazón, a fabulous jewel and a sacred relic of the Green Eyes, which can't be seen in the light of day. 
In 2004, Craig Bartlett stated that after Arnold finds his parents he is going to stay with them, but in 2007 he said that they never decided whether Arnold had to stay in San Lorenzo.
Arnold finally takes the next step in his relationship with Helga. While in the first movie she confesses her love for him, but he dodges out of telling how he feels in return. In The Jungle Movie, he completes the conversation. She acts like she still hates him again, but after they "get together" they realize that they are meant for each other. In the end of the movie they share a short kiss (during a scene when they are in a hurry), but Gerald interrupts them. When they make a really lame excuse he says "Whatever you say". By that point, most of the characters in the movie would probably already notice what's going on between Arnold and Helga, and would start teasing them about it.




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