Hey Arnold!

[Goldstar!]

I never related it to "the Simpsons", though it always reminded me of a human version of "Arthur", but maybe the humor in "Hey Arnold" can relate to the humor in "the Simpsons", but the connection is very vague. I consider, however, that "Hey Arnold" is a possible inspiration for "South Park", the two shows are similar in their humor, though not much, but mostly "Arthur" mixed with cynical pre-teen humor.

There is one connection between Hey, Arnold! and The Simpsons: Craig Bartlett (Arnold's creator) is the husband of Lisa Groening, the sister of Matt Groening, The Simpsons' creator.

The Arthur comparison I can (kind of) see (Arnold = Arthur, Helga = Francine, Gerald = Buster, Harold = Binky, Rhonda = Muffy). It's vague, but it's sort of there, but I really don't see how Hey, Arnold! was in any way like South Park, and Arnold was definitely not the inspiration for South Park. I don't think that I've ever heard Matt Stone or Trey Parker ever once even acknowledge Arnold's existence.

In all honesty, however, there are a few traces of Our Gang in Hey, Arnold! as well, as many of the neighborhood kids are based on classic kid character archetypes who have been around long before Arthur. It's not like Arthur was the 1st series ever to have a stuck-up rich girl character, for example.

 

[Plague Rat]

but I really don't see how Hey, Arnold! was in any way like South Park, and Arnold was definitely not the inspiration for South Park. I don't think that I've ever heard Matt Stone or Trey Parker ever once even acknowledge Arnold's existence.

Matt and Trey's influence if anything was Monty Python, or at least I know that they're big fans. But yeah, I don't see the resemblance between the two shows either.

 

[J. B. Warner]

There is one connection between Hey, Arnold! and The Simpsons: Craig Bartlett (Arnold's creator) is the husband of Lisa Groening, the sister of Matt Groening, The Simpsons' creator.

Well, that and the sharing of voice actors Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille. I began watching "Hey Arnold" right from the start in 1996, but I wasn't allowed to watch "The Simpsons" until 1999, so this was actually my first exposure to Castellaneta's brilliant voice acting skills.

 

[PC!]

Hey Arnold was a fun show throughout it's run. It's interesting how the series evolved throughout the years, as many Nicktoons did around that time. Arnold in particular changed a lot as a character, from a flawed dreamer to a near-flawless island in a vast sea of wackiness.

 

[Looneytunes]

There is one connection between Hey, Arnold! and The Simpsons: Craig Bartlett (Arnold's creator) is the husband of Lisa Groening, the sister of Matt Groening, The Simpsons' creator.

The Arthur comparison I can (kind of) see (Arnold = Arthur, Helga = Francine, Gerald = Buster, Harold = Binky, Rhonda = Muffy). It's vague, but it's sort of there, but I really don't see how Hey, Arnold! was in any way like South Park, and Arnold was definitely not the inspiration for South Park. I don't think that I've ever heard Matt Stone or Trey Parker ever once even acknowledge Arnold's existence.

In all honesty, however, there are a few traces of Our Gang in Hey, Arnold! as well, as many of the neighborhood kids are based on classic kid character archetypes who have been around long before Arthur. It's not like Arthur was the 1st series ever to have a stuck-up rich girl character, for example.

I am sorry, my mistake, I meant that "the Simpsons" influenced "South Park" not "Hey Arnold." I read someplace that "Hey Arnold" had one of the same animators of one of those two shows, but I could not remember which one. Anyway, I cannot see any similarities between "Hey Arnold" or any of the two shows, but it is sort of a human teenage roughed up version of "Arthur", as I earlier described, but you are right, you can still compare those two shows, but they just come from the same element is all. It is sort of similar to comparing "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" with "Bewitched" or "American Dad" with "ALF", same kind of thing, but different approach entirely.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons

 

[All Star Blitz]

I rather liked this show. It was more mellow and serious but it had an interesting story, well developed characters, and it played the archetypes well without making them feel like Mary Sues.

 

[strawberryjuice]

stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!

 

[Perry]

Hey Arnold! will easily go down as being my favorite childhood cartoon. Every episode was filled with something special. I still don't know why I haven't purchased a series DVD yet.

 

[Jacob]

The first 13 episodes are available on iTunes.

 

[thefreak985]

Arnold maybe boring to people who watched the show once

But once you got attached to the characters, the show was gold. It was a show you had to understand the characters to get.

The stories were comical and serious combined in such a way no cartoon has matched in my opinion.(id say Fosters, but its sometimes too silly)

 

[Plague Rat]

stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!
stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop!

I THINK I CAN
I THINK I CAN
I THINK I CAN
*shot*

I know that my mom's favorite Nicktoon was Hey Arnold! But I agree, you have to get attached to the characters in order to like it, but it's not very hard.

 

[Rick Jones]

I remember I started watching theshow because I remembered the old stop-motion short from sesame Street. I liked the show but not really because it was funny or anything. It was just a sort of slice of life show and being a city kid myself, I think it always interested me to see how they potrayed someone else's life in the big city. One character that I did think was pretty funny but annoying at the same time was that one tenant with the eastern european accent that was always mooching off everyone. I remember being mad when I'd see him taking advantage of Arnold's good nature though. I liked most of the characters. Helga was pretty grating but I still rooted for her at times. I guess I kind of related to her in a way.

I didn't really care for the movie when I saw it.

 

[Dr. Dave]

Hey Arnold! was an extremely popular Nicktoon back in the day. I enjoyed it a lot. I still have all the episodes on my hard drive. I watch one every once in a while. Too bad it ended the way it did, but hey, that's show business!

 

[SuperDudeX]

Wasn't a very popular series. i watched it every once in a while and nick released season 1 and 2 on dvd. let's talk about it.

They did? When?

 

[Bryan]

They did? When?

Hey Arnold! Season 1 and Season 2 DVDs are out via Amazon.com's Burn-On-Demand program.

 

[Kool345]

Who misses Hey Arnold!

I remember when Hey Anold! was on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Network. Now it is not on anymore. I miss that show.

Edit by Jacques: Merged thread with the Hey Arnold! general discussion thread from a few months ago.

 

[Silverstar]

I personally don't miss Hey, Arnold!. I know I'm in the minority, but I was never into that show. The premise was kind of generic and I found a lot of the characters annoying. But to each his/her own.

I wouldn't count on seeing HA! on Nick proper again anytime soon since the show's been over since 2004, but it could conceivably air on Nicktoons again at some stage, though most likely it would air at some graveyard time slot like 6 AM.

 

[SpongeJosh]

Hey Arnold! was a great show, and one of my favorite Nicktoons. It was laid back in its humor, and was the first Nicktoon with a more serious tone. The movie wasn't amazing but it did deserve one, so I'm glad it got one. Too bad we didn't get that sequel. And I want the Amazon.com DVD-R season sets so bad, but I want the rest of the seasons to be released first. At last they're complete seasons though so maybe its worth it.

 

[ThePRPD]

I was disappointed when episodes stopped being produced. The movie wasn't bad either.

 

[Looneytunes]

I was never a big fan of Hey, Arnold! The premise as a whole was kind of generic; it was just a show about a kid in the city. That's it. There was no twist. Sure, he lived in a boarding house with his grandparents, but there wasn't really anything standout about it.

Many of the characters were either one-note or annoying to me. Arnold himself was kind of interesting at the beginning of the series when he was an iconoclastic dreamer, but in short order he developed into a blandly virtuous 'Mr. Moral' who helps everybody with their personal problems, and he became tedious very quickly for me.

I suppose Hey, Arnold! tried to carve a niche for himself as Nick's first animated comedy/drama, but the comedic moments weren't all that funny, and the dramatic shorts just bored me.

It's just easier to say that I wasn't in this show's power.

I thought it was funny (and) smart, though the seasons did later go downhill (the movie did also by the way), and it was most certainly much better than the Nicktoons nowadays, that is for sure, and sometimes a show does not need to be so complicated to be enjoyed, sometimes it can be short, sweet, and simple.

Looneytunes/Disneytoons