Hey Arnold (2002)

"Sweet and inoffensive.  Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
"...the kind of entertainment that parents love to have their kids see.  Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
"Thoroughly enjoyable.  Christine Dolen, Miami Herald

Editor's Note 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.

	Craig Bartlett - Based on Characters By
	Tuck Tucker - Director
	Jim Lang - Music By
	Craig Bartlett - Producer
	Albie Hecht - Producer
	Craig Bartlett - Writer
	Steve Viksten - Writer

Los Angeles Times
"...Brimming with wittily sketched characters and refreshing oddball humor, it never loses momentum..." 06/27/2002 p.C14

Box Office
"...The kids manage to be quaint and appealing because there is real definition to their personalities that translates into their appearance and actions....Arnold lives large and cute..." 08/01/2002 p.58

L.A. Times 7 of 10
The movie references here, as in the Rugrats movies, are cunning. The lines are reasonably clever and neatly delivered. The cause is just. But there's something off-kilter about the mix. Maybe it's because the animation retains its TV flatness while the story's texture is gratuitously bulked up. If its makers had somehow expanded the animation while stripping the concept to dry, witty elementals, Hey Arnold! The Movie could have been much more than just another TV knockoff. - Gene Seymour