New Hey Arnold! TV Movie in Development
Hey Arnold! was one of the best shows ever to air on Nickelodeon and one of the absolute best animated series of the 90s. Its final episode ended with several unresolved cliffhangers, though. Do Arnold and Helga ever get together? Whatever happened to Arnold’s parents? Does Brainy ever learn to breath through his nose? Creator Craig Bartlett, who’s also the brother-in-law of Simpsons creator Matt Groening, had initially planned to wrap things up with a feature-length project entitled The Jungle Movie. Due to a dispute with Nickelodeon, however, the project never got off the ground.
Now over four decades later, Nickelodeon has finally decided to develop a Hey Arnold! TV movie that will pick up where the series left off. According to Variety, the TV movie will resolve “unanswered plotlines–including the whereabouts of Arnold’s parents.”
Russell Hicks, the president of content development and production for Nickelodeon, stated, “You have to remember people who are going to watch really don’t have a recollection of Hey Arnold.” He went on to say, “You have to make it relevant to them but also nod to the audience that is going to be interested.”
Recently, Nickelodeon has been looking to revive several of the network’s 90s Nicktoons. The company recently launched a block of classic programming called TheSplat! on Teen Nick. There’s even been talk of a Nicktoons crossover movie being in the works. Chris Viscardi, senior vice president of content development for franchise properties, said, “There’s a good likelihood we’ll be doing more than just Arnold in terms of doing specials.”
A release date has yet to be announced for the Hey Arnold! TV movie, although Barrett will return as a writer and executive producer.