Move it, Football Head! Hey Arnold! is Coming Back

[Steven Bogos]

Move it, Football Head! Hey Arnold! is Coming Back

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A new TV movie based on the hit 90s TV show is currently in development.

This may just be the nostalgia talking, but the 90s and 2000s were turely the golden era of Nickelodeon programming. CatDog, Rugrats, The Angry Beavers, Invader Zim... the list goes on. Right near the top of those awesome 90s Nicktoons is slice-of-life cartoon Hey Arnold!, which followed the antics of our grade school-aged football-headed protagonist and his friends, growing up in the inner-city. The good news for you 90s kids is that Arnold is coming back, with Variety [http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hey-arnold-tv-movie-nickelodeon-reviving-shows-1201646666/] reporting that a brand-new TV movie based on the series is currently in development.

The movie will pick up where the show left off when it ended back in 2004. Its plot will aim to tie up many of the loose ends left over from the show - including the whereabouts of Arnold's parents, who are noticeably absent. Unfortunately, executives at the network declined to state exactly when this movie would be airing.

What's even better news is that this may just be the first step of many more classic revivals. "Kids who grew up on these characters are now of the age that they are having kids and families themselves," said Russell Hicks, president, content development and production, for Nickelodeon Group, in an interview. "Our library has come to fruition and it's time for it to start coming back to life."

Let's just hope this one is a little better than the last Hey Arnold! movie [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hey_arnold_the_movie/].

Source: Variety [http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hey-arnold-tv-movie-nickelodeon-reviving-shows-1201646666/]

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[CrazyGirl17]

Well it's about damn time! I still wish they wouldn't stick all their good stuff late at night just to pander to the nostalgic crowd though. Yes, I am bitter.

And I'm not saying the 90's shows were the best, hell, Avatar: The Last Airbender came out in the early 2000s and that was a great show, I just want some quality cartoons, damnit! And none of this tween-pandering live-action crap or lousy cartoons!

...Again, I'm very bitter.

 

[C.TYR]

BOO!
BOO THIS NEWS DEVELOPMENT! BOOOOOOOO!
Don't dig up old nostalgic shows for the sake of a quick buck, hoping to bring on old and new without doing something, make something new that's a cartoon! This is what you get for constantly trying to remake Drake and Josh! Everyone is tired! Don't make something even older tired, now, too!
MAKE SOMETHING NEW!

 

[balladbird]

BOO!
BOO THIS NEWS DEVELOPMENT! BOOOOOOOO!
Don't dig up old nostalgic shows for the sake of a quick buck, hoping to bring on old and new without doing something, make something new that's a cartoon! This is what you get for constantly trying to remake Drake and Josh! Everyone is tired! Don't make something even older tired, now, too!
MAKE SOMETHING NEW!

If it were any other show, I'd share your consternation, but "Hey Arnold" never got a chance to properly conclude. Craig Bartlett got the go ahead to finish the series, but due to a contract dispute it never reached development, and as a result fans were left with a terrible cliffhanger to end the series on.

I'm cautiously optimistic here, since it's likely this will be the conclusion of the creator's intended story, in addition to being a cynical attempt to milk nostalgia for profit

 

[kajinking]

BOO!
BOO THIS NEWS DEVELOPMENT! BOOOOOOOO!
Don't dig up old nostalgic shows for the sake of a quick buck, hoping to bring on old and new without doing something, make something new that's a cartoon! This is what you get for constantly trying to remake Drake and Josh! Everyone is tired! Don't make something even older tired, now, too!
MAKE SOMETHING NEW!

If it were any other show, I'd share your consternation, but "Hey Arnold" never got a chance to properly conclude. Craig Bartlett got the go ahead to finish the series, but due to a contract dispute it never reached development, and as a result fans were left with a terrible cliffhanger to end the series on.

I'm cautiously optimistic here, since it's likely this will be the conclusion of the creator's intended story, in addition to being a cynical attempt to milk nostalgia for profit

Never seen the "last" episode. What was the cliffhanger?

Also this makes me sad that there's no chance Rocket Power could ever come back since that show was a bit too heavy on the 90's culture.

 

[Fox12]

BOO!
BOO THIS NEWS DEVELOPMENT! BOOOOOOOO!
Don't dig up old nostalgic shows for the sake of a quick buck, hoping to bring on old and new without doing something, make something new that's a cartoon! This is what you get for constantly trying to remake Drake and Josh! Everyone is tired! Don't make something even older tired, now, too!
MAKE SOMETHING NEW!

Actually, the creator wrote the script about fifteen years ago, but they wouldn't let him make the movie. You can even look it up right now, I've already seen the major plot details. It's not that they're digging up old franchises, it's that they're finally allowing the creator to finish an unfinished project. Sure, they're pandering to the nostalgia crowd, but seeing as this was the original canon ending, and the creators been fighting to get it made for over ten years, I'm fine with it. I even read an interview where he basically said he'd given up, and that he'd never be allowed to finish the series. I think it's kind of nice that the children he entertained fifteen years ago have grown up, and are making it possible for him to finish his story now. It's really hard for me to be cynical on this one. I think this project needed to be made.

My only question is what are they going to do about voice acting...

Never seen the "last" episode. What was the cliffhanger?

Arnold found a hidden map with details about his parents. As I've said, you can find the whole plot online, but I would recommend waiting for the movie. It's rather sweet.

 

[EndlessSporadic]

I was a little too young to appreciate the slife-of-life nature of Hey Arnold, so I never followed the show. One of these days I will need to go and check it out. Being from the anime crowd I know exactly how it feels for a show to have an abrupt and unresolved ending. I am glad to see that Hey Arnold fans will be getting a conclusion to the series.

 

[flying_whimsy]

In other words, nick has realized there's money to be had from all of our nostalgia and it's easier to repeat things than make something new. Grr.

No, I'm not saying this because I love Hey Arnold more than most things and can directly attribute many of the good things I learned as a kid to that show. Nope, not saying that at all. Not saying they shouldn't do this, or that it's going to suck because there's no way they can live up to the rose-tinted view i have of that awkwardly animated show.

And I'm definitely not going to say that any revival will have no chance of success without Helga. That girl was boss.

 

[balladbird]

Never seen the "last" episode. What was the cliffhanger?

Basically what was said above. there was a set up for what was supposed to be a theatrical release to tie up the plot, but the Hey Arnold movie wound up being something else entirely. Nickelodeon agreed to give the staff more episodes to properly conclude, but their contracts specified that during production the animation team couldn't accept work from other networks. Since Craig Bartlett had a pilot under consideration for CN at the time, he didn't accept this, and thus the hasty end of the show.

Also this makes me sad that there's no chance Rocket Power could ever come back since that show was a bit too heavy on the 90's culture.

Yeah, I have fond memories of Rocket Power, but even I can't deny that show was definitely born in a focus testing meeting about being "hip and edgy" to appeal to kids. If Poochie the Dog were transformed into a tv series, he'd probably be rocket power.

 

[Bat Vader]

Weren't thekid characters actually voiced by kids? Seems hard to finish it when all the main cast have grown up and gone through puberty.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

This is a studio pandering to the lowest common denominator. Their target market is obviously people who grew up with the show and speaking honestly, the shows back then weren't all that special. People let their vision be clouded by nostalgia all too often, and studio's and businesses use that to sell a product they put little to no effort into making cause it already exists. I swear, these old nick-toons probably made more money selling t-shirts at Hot Topic then from the actual show itself.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

 

[Kajin]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

Most reasonable people can agree that Invader Zim was NOT a show for kids. Excellent piece of television but how it ever slipped under the radar is beyond me. I can't see Nickelodeon ever bringing it back despite how much we might all want it back. Probably be more likely to see the rights get picked up by Adult Swim if it ever happens at all.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

Most reasonable people can agree that Invader Zim was NOT a show for kids. Excellent piece of television but how it ever slipped under the radar is beyond me. I can't see Nickelodeon ever bringing it back despite how much we might all want it back. Probably be more likely to see the rights get picked up by Adult Swim if it ever happens at all.

Ergh the idea of Invader Zim going the way of Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon is just.....wrong.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

Hey we still have not found out if Arnold finds his parents

We all Invader Zim could never conquer Earth because of how inept he is.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

As good as IZ was, I'd still prefer the SWAT Kats to be brought back. The SWAT Kats only had a season and a half.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Ehh, Hey! Arnold was a decent show, but I, too, see this as an attempt to reel people back in with nostalgia. That PR speak just reeks of desperation to get new young viewers through their parents' old interests, with minimal effort.

Maybe they should do just this movie to wrap up the loose ends and then give new cartoons a chance while doing a rerun block to introduce kids to the old shows. Of course, this is Nickelodeon we are talking about. I gave up on them at the turn of the century and the only regret I have is missing Avatar when it was new.

 

[kajinking]

Ehh, Hey! Arnold was a decent show, but I, too, see this as an attempt to reel people back in with nostalgia. That PR speak just reeks of desperation to get new young viewers through their parents' old interests, with minimal effort.

Maybe they should do just this movie to wrap up the loose ends and then give new cartoons a chance while doing a rerun block to introduce kids to the old shows. Of course, this is Nickelodeon we are talking about. I gave up on them at the turn of the century and the only regret I have is missing Avatar when it was new.

Ah...Old Nickelodeon...

I know nostagia is a factor here but damn did those shows rock when you got home from school. My usual routine was to catch Pokemon on another channel as soon as I got home and spend the rest of the day watching Nick. Angry Bevers, Wild Thornberries, Rugrats, All Grown Up (I liked it), Rocket Power, Hey Arnold, Cat Dog, Sponge Bob, and even as told by Ginger.

I tried to watch modern Nick a few months back and felt sickened and enraged by what it had become...Is this what being a Republican feels like??

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Hey Arnold! got too preachy and predictable with the final season, and the cast sounded weird to me (Probably because they got older and/or replaced). I honestly prefer that Arnold never finds his parents or saves them, because by finding them for the very last special, they will basically leave no impact. Sure, we had a special that detailed how cool and awesome Arnold's parents were, but in all honesty? They weren't their for Arnold at all; they weren't vital to any episode before that special; and Arnold is actually a better person for not having a Standard Family anyways.

Also, I second bringing back Invader Zim instead of Hey Arnold!, even though it is not a Kid-Appropriate Show.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Really? This is the show they bring back? The premature demise of IZ was the greatest travesty that channel committed against its viewers, but Hey, Arnold! is the show they decide to bring back.

As good as IZ was, I'd still prefer the SWAT Kats to be brought back. The SWAT Kats only had a season and a half.

That's because it was in the same time slot as Captain Planet and it was more popular. Ted Turner is a really petty man.