It appears that Craig Bartlett has risen from the grave. After a decade of silence, he's finally come back to Nickelodeon to bring back what people been begging for and to finally answer a long awaited question. Just kidding, he has been busy running a time-traveling train for dinosaurs and answering science questions that every preschooler would ask.
On November 24th, 2017, we were able to witness one of the greatest throwbacks to a classic and well-loved show in the history of Nickelodeon. The movie "Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie" was a heavily awaited movie since the early 2000's after the final episode: "The Journal" premiered leaving fans in a perplexing dilemma. We were left one of the biggest mysteries in the show:
"Where are Arnold’s parents?".
We return to football head's world in new graphics that compliments it well enough that it still feels like the good old 2000's show. We can tell in the beginning of the movie how the writers are aware of the fandom. We are immediately introduced to an animation book opening to a map with an excellent choice of voice actor, Mason Vale Cotton as Arnold: "A map, the key to finally finding my missing parents". This incredible intro already informs us the audience of how much effort has been placed into creating this. The writers heard our prayers for the age-old question and they have replied, we finally are going to get an answer.
The movie starts with Arnold’s class getting the opportunity to win a trip to San Lorenzo, by showing their humanitarian spirit. Although there were some obstacles along the way, the power of friendship prevails. And from there, we’re off to see Arnold’s most important adventure yet. And how fitting is it that he gets to embark on this journey to find the family that he lost with the family that he's created.
The film does an amazing job at maintaining the unique personality of all the characters, while still adding depth to them. For example, Helga is still the love struck bully that we still remember, but we see another side to her: A girl who feels frustrated and scorned to the point, where she feels the need to turn her back on who she loves the most. These kind of changes made the movie refreshing to watch, without dampening our nostalgia.
Along with that, the film also does well with delivering the mystery of Arnold’s missing parents. From Arnold’s journal all the way to Helga’s famous locket, everything is just another piece of the puzzle to unlocking the mystery. And it's through this mystery that we see how powerful themes like love, friendship and determination truly are.
Overall, Nickelodeon delivered a heartwarming ending to an amazing series. I recommend any fan to watch it, and relive their childhood in the best way possible.
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