{"id":27006,"date":"2017-11-27T00:12:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T05:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=27006"},"modified":"2017-11-26T16:41:53","modified_gmt":"2017-11-26T21:41:53","slug":"hey-arnold-the-jungle-movie-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/27\/hey-arnold-the-jungle-movie-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie (2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nickelodeon\u2019s \u201cHey Arnold!\u201d was one of the banner animated series from the heyday of the 1990’s. It was a subtle, sweet, and often funny coming of age show with a lot of heart and some brilliantly memorable moments that evoked pure emotion from its audience. Despite ending in 2004, Nickelodeon gave the series a final send off in 2002 with a flimsy and absolutely wretched big screen film<\/a><\/strong> that did nothing to close the world we\u2019d come to love. Most of all, it did nothing for the story arc of main character Arnold, who spent a majority of the series under the care of his elderly eccentric grandparents.<\/p>\n

Mid-way through the series, we learned that Arnold\u2019s parents were explorers who spent their days traveling, and the last they ever saw of him was before they left for one last adventure to help a village suffering from a mysterious illness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The show left off on a question mark, with Arnold\u2019s grandmother and grandfather basically accepting that their children had died and Arnold was theirs. Arnold however felt a sense of incompletion, especially after discovering a map to their last trek to the mythical San Lorenso. After thirteen years of begging Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett to give Arnold the send off he deserved, the network finally grants fans \u201cThe Jungle Movie,\u201d a feature length re-visiting of \u201cHey Arnold!\u201d It not only brings us back to the basics of why we love the series, but once and for all informs us as to the circumstances of Arnold\u2019s parents, and whether they\u2019re alive or not. Set in an undetermined period of time after the series\u2019 end, Arnold\u2019s class is told that they have a chance to take part in a contest, and the most charitable student gets to visit San Lorenso.<\/p>\n

One of the big reasons why \u201cHey Arnold!\u201d built such a devoted fan base is because while Arnold was an underdog, deep down the characters he surrounded himself with loved one another. The circumstances surrounding Arnold being able to go to San Lorenso are just touching, and the writers don\u2019t hold back in forward character progression. Here, Helga makes a big move to show Arnold how much she loves him, and as Arnold and his class from PS 118 venture in to the rain forest. There are a lot of smaller more interesting elements added as well, including a funny but sweet glimpse in to grandpa\u2019s over protective tendencies toward Arnold, a hilarious aside about Helga\u2019s dad still running \u201cBob\u2019s Beepers,\u201d and Arnold\u2019s definitive last name.<\/p>\n

If I must complain about \u201cThe Jungle Movie,\u201d is that it does get a bit violent toward the finale, especially as Arnold, Helga, and Gerald do battle with the film\u2019s villain. I also found the scenario involving getting Arnold to San Lorenso painfully far fetched. That said, \u201cThe Jungle Movie\u201d is a resolution<\/em><\/strong>, which is what fans wanted. It\u2019s also pure fun fan service that gets back in touch with what made the show funny, weird, and heartbreaking. I was engrossed in Arnold\u2019s journey to find his parents, and I appreciated that the writers used as many characters as possible without ever allowing the film to feel cluttered and unfocused. Allegedly Nickelodeon is planning a reboot should \u201cThe Jungle Movie\u201d be a success.<\/p>\n

With or without the reboot, \u201cThe Jungle Movie\u201d is a wonderful book end to one of the best animated series Nickelodeon\u2019s ever produced and the finale we deserved.<\/p>\n