I didn't cry at the end of Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, just saying that right now. I know it's awkward to bring up, but with that in mind, not everybody;'s going to like this movie like I did. I just thought it be important that I bring that up before I say the rest. With that said, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie was the final chapter in the Hey Arnold series,. Everybody had waited so long for this movie to happen to see if whether or not Arnold can go find his parents. They said it was emotional, they said it was funny, they said it was dark, they said it was creative, some people didn't like it, the list goes on, yadda, yadda, yadda. They went crazy for it. I think it’s good. Yeah, you know. It’s good, uh...Okay, okay, let’s just go into the story.
Arnold Shortman, now in 5th grade and is in the last day of school has to do an important assignment from Mr. Simmons, voiced by Dan Butler, about doing a montage of all the great things they've done over the years, and the winner, will get a trip to San Lorenzo, and sure enough, Helga steps in and helps the football head win the contest by editing the montage together into one giant thing, and oddly enough, they won the contest, that's right, Arnold and his friends achieved a first-class one way ticket to San Lorenzo!
When they arrive in San Lorenzo, they meet up with the bad guy, Lasombra, voiced by Alfred Molina, disguising himself as Eduardo, Miles and Stella's Indiana Jones like friend, to lure them into his trap to find the precious corazon from the Green-Eyed People. Alfred Molina has been in numerous films, including the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford. So, Arnold, Gerald, and Helga have to avoid Lasombra to find the Green-Eyed People and break them out of the sleeping sickness curse.
The funny thing about Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie is that really, this should be my favorite. It goes everywhere that I wanted Arnold to go to get to San Lorenzo, after the TV movie episode, "The Journal," aired on Nickelodeon, I said to myself, "The next part should be about what happens when Arnold finally comes to San Lorenzo to find his long lost parents and what happens when Helga reveals her true love for Arnold." And that’s exactly what happens. Moving on. And once again, we have a legitimate threat that does have a backstory that makes him sort of credible. So why don’t I like this one as much as The Lion King or MLP: The Movie, especially when everyone else in the world seems to regard it as a masterpiece? I don’t know. Maybe there’s too much focus on them trying to get out, maybe it's focused more on Arnold, Gerald, and Helga trying to find the green-eyed people, maybe we didn't get to see what happened to the other kids after the grown-ups stepped in to save them, but I digress. I'll address the Elephant in the Room, Lasombra! I never enjoyed the villain all that much, he just looked like Eduardo's doppelganger, and Alfred Molina? Why?! Why couldn't they cast someone legitimate like Mr. Lawrence or Jeremy Irons. I mean, look at Lasombra, he looks like a character Jeremy Irons would play. I get that Alfred Molina was Craig Bartlett's only choice for the voice of the villain, and I don't blame Alfred for this, it's just, it wasn't the right casting. So, if you had someone who was looking for corazon, you’d probably keep him away from your kids, too.
So, there, I've stated my complaint about the villain which I'm sure will get me a lot of hate for that, so, of course, you must think I don’t like this film. Well, no. I still think it’s a very, very good film. In fact, I actually do think it’s a great way to end the Hey Arnold franchise. It has my favorite characters, including Olga as seen in this picture here, as well as Rhonda, who spends most of the film having quite a bad hair day it still has a lot of good laughs, it has, surprisingly, a lot of suspense, and, hey, it's still Hey Arnold! And for a lot of people, this represents something that they grew up with as children, and maybe that’s why so many people do react the way they do at the very end.
A lot of kids who didn't know who their parents are were Arnold's age when the show first aired on Nickelodeon, so to watch themselves grow up and to watch the show actually grow up with them as well probably mirrors a lot of developments that a lot of people in the audience have gone through. Maybe in the end, this was the film's secret. It knew just when to come out and it knew just when to stop. It reached just the right age bracket and decided to grow up with us. And for those who didn’t grow up around the same age, maybe this film brought it back to them,..Maybe they hit something that not only do we all remember, but we all hold so precious and close to us. Whatever this film did, it did it right, the hopes of seeing Arnold finally finding his parents in San Lorenzo had finally come to pass. I'm afraid I have no other choice but to here by decree that Arnold is henceforth no longer parentless, which I suppose is what henceforth means, but no matter, Arnold, go on! Give all your parents the lost time to make up!
Let the world know, near and far, including but not limited to, my mom and dad, that this is not the end of Arnold's hopes and dreams! No! Quite the contrary, Arnold's life with his family has just begun!
But please don't reboot the series, please?
This review is dedicated with respect and admiration to the memory of Jack Riley.
The star of Rugrats and The Bob Newhart Show. we will miss you all.
Rest in peace: 1935-2016
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