Arnold Saves the Neighborhood

source: Arnold Saves the Neighborhood

Alright, yes, this is a movie for children. But if you're smart, by the cover poster alone you can tell it's biased, portraying the "corrupt, polluting, sleazy businessman" as he reaches town to grab the head of the funny-looking kid on the front. Basically a man is planning on bulldozing down the town (that's right, the whole town, what is this, the Love Canal? That explains the kid's funny-shaped mutated head). Environmentalist hippie propaganda showing up in kid's films was popular at the time (I.E. Toxic Crusaders, The Secret World of Alex Mack, etc.) It makes me very depressed to see all the beautiful industrialism and pollution being given a bad rep, and having these annoying environmental ideologies shoved at children without letting them decide for themselves whether or not to care about the earth. Now, for me to say I hated the film based on that alone would be a pointless reason, but the soundtrack was annoying, as was the voice acting, it was incredibly dorky even for a children's film, overall just annoying and weird. If you want a movie to show your kids, try The Brave Little Toaster (1987) or Coraline (2009). It's honestly your decision, I'm just providing my own opinion.

I used to like the TV series when I was younger, so I thought if I watched The Rugrats Movie (also from Nikelodeon), then I might as well try this movie. Basically Arnold (Spencer Klein), the football headed fourth grade kid and his many neighbourhood friends and family find out that their town is going to be flattened to make way for a new mega-mall to be run by Mr. Scheck (Goodfellas' Paul Sorvino). The only way they can save the town is to prove from a story that Arnold's Grandpa (The Simpsons' Dan Castellaneta) told that there was a historic event that makes the town a landmark. With all the TV show characters, including Helga, who pretty much tells her secret love to Arnold, best friend Gerald, Grandma, Stinky, Eugene and Mayor Dixie. With guest voices including Jennifer Jason Leigh as Bridget, Christopher Lloyd as Coroner and Tomorrow Never Dies' Vincent Schiavelli as Mr. Bailey. Worth watching!

Hey Arnold is another slab of filmmaking from the Nickelodeon channel bringing forth a patented Nick Toon to amuse the masses of kids. After watching this, I kept wondering what was so wrong with Ren and Stimpy to leave that in the dust while this, Doug, Rugrats (2 movies), Wild Thornberries, get attention to the box office? But then that's irrelevant to the review. I mention it if only because a movie like this comes so standard, so puffed with a plotline kids in the second grade have heard since they were three, and with sterility (in particular in the Shawshank parody), it is a wonder why something as original as Ren and Stimpy doesn't make its way to the theater. Oh well, next week I get an answer- Powerpuff Girls. PS, there are two funny jokes in this movie for all and then the rest will vary on how much the parents and kids will tolerate- a parody of the Hulk and a cameo from Christopher Lloyd as a mortician. Grade: between C and C-

What were the creators thinking? They must have forgot their target audience. What kids will learn from this movie: it is OKAY to beat up someone that ripped you off; it is OKAY to blow up a road in order to "save the neigborhood"; it is OKAY to escape from jail so you can see your grandchildren; it is OKAY to break into someone else's home because they run a big-baddy corporation. Even if you're not some Jesus freak moralist, you've gotta hate their lame attempts at street cred.

The movie was amazing! Is. More than an hour of moral relativism. Violence, stockpiling explosives, invasion of privacy, breaking an entrance, stealing, and everything for "the good purpose". It's crime. It's organized. It's premeditated. But, it's for the people! And we, the authors, state who is the people and who is the baddie. And all of that from the first scene, where the home maker smiles friendly to the camera when the dirty ball is weezing past her laundry. Now that is friendly neighborhood. And don't forget the Christian morals: poor and honest. Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

I like animated shows. I enjoy the Nick fare pretty much, including Hey, Arnold. But moving a TV show to the Big Screen isn't easy and this just didn't feel big enough. It was more like a long episode of the show, and it just didn't move along that well. Judging by the behavior of the kids we had with us, it didn't score that well with them either.

I am a fourteen-year-old girl and while I'm certainly not the show's core demographic, I enjoyed the movie as much as I enjoy any episode of the TV series. Hey Arnold was one of the things I had lived with since about the second grade and then one day it just turned into a full-blown obsession. But first off, let's get one thing straight, people: This was NOT intended to be a big-screen movie. It was intended to be a Nick Flick, one of Nickelodeon's made-for-TV movies. The powers that be decided that the storyline of the series held a much more interesting premise: searching for Arnold's parents. That premise became the movie. But then, for reasons I am not aware of, this switched back to being a theatrical movie. Then there was some kind of disagreement, and now it's unlikely we'll ever see the second movie. ::sniffle:: That information aside, this is still a very enjoyable movie. The particular theater my brother and I saw it in was filled with many parents, most of which probably had no idea of the story behind the movie (both legal and TV-show-story wise) and they still enjoyed it as much as I did. Helga is as laughably enjoyable as ever, and the movie still contains subtle humor situations that adults will enjoy. This is a decent enough movie. And if you still think you won't like it, go see it for us fans, who desperately want a second movie and are hoping against hope that it will be made. Thank you.

Hey Arnold! The Movie is one of those movies where there is a easy to get into plot but there are too many things in the plot that can never be done in real life. Kids can't be spies, kids can't drive a bus,and such. Now this film spoofs too many things as well. The whole idea with the pickle juice on Big Bob, ripping his shirt, and he is all green except for his brown slacks, horrible rip off of the hulk! They spoof Scooby-Doo's best line " I would of gotten away with it if it wasn't for that football headed kid, his friend with the long hair, and the girl with the one eyebrow!" But hey, this is a Nickelodean movie so it's supposed to be for kids. If you like Hey Arnold the t.v show you'll like this. This t.v itself movie gets the big 6, good for kids and some adults but could never happen. Fun for the whole family!

No bells or whistles, no shiny moviemagic, no nothing. In the way Xfiles movie was perceived as an elongated episode of the show, so is this. Problem is, it looks grotty. The actual look is so identical to the show it does not translate well to being introduced to 'blown-up-o'vision'. The animation is utterly identical to the show, everything is. Fact is this: if you like Hey Arnold!, then you'll probably enjoy this as a decent episode. But no way does this deserve to be a movie. It looks not even as good as a rushed job, and the plot is as shabby as anything *I* could come up with in 2 minutes. It's a kid's movie, with some half-decent gags to be fair, but it's a rip off.