'Toon Reviews 1: Hey Arnold Season 1 Episode 14

Spelling Bee

We’ve already seen several times before that even though Helga may act like a bully, she does have a sweet good side within her as evidenced by her secret crush on Arnold.  As the show goes on, Helga gets more and more fleshed out as we see more reasons for her mean demeanor, making her the show’s most complex character, in my eyes at least.  This leads us to this cartoon where she and Arnold set out to compete against each other in the national citywide spelling bee.  While everyone around her sees her as a major spelling threat who no one, not even Arnold, has a chance against, Helga is shown to actually be dreading the spelling bee no matter what happens.  It all relates to the standards set by her own father, Big Bob.  One of the major aspects of this show set to be fleshed out more as time passes is Helga’s family life, which involves both her parents not giving her a lot of love or attention.  Not only is this a pretty sad part of her character, but it also gives Helga’s mean side a strong reason to exist.  A family that barely notices her and clearly shows more favor to her older sister, Olga, is bound to negatively affect Helga in some way.  This idea is shown in this cartoon with Big Bob overworking Helga by having her overkill with the studying for the spelling bee with the intent of building her to a mega-champ like Olga was, which poor Helga can’t take.  It doesn’t help that Big Bob set up a deal that customers at his emporium get free beepers if she doesn’t win the spelling bee, he’s that determined to make her win as if she wasn’t pressured enough.  Then, at the spelling bee, following a set of contestants competing and getting buzzed out that are both fun and add to the atmosphere, we get a meaningful climax for this cartoon.  When Big Bob starts to lose faith in Helga, he bribes Arnold to take a fall for Helga.  When Helga finds out about this, she does the healthy thing by purposefully flubbing her next word, giving victory to Arnold.  I must admit, since Big Bob stooped as low as he did to boost his winning ego, Helga’s actions are completely justified.  This moment of her taking the fall for Arnold really shows that she’s smart enough to realize that those who pressure people to suit their needs are just not worth serving family or not.  It’s a great way to demonstrate that there really is good in her, and you’re left satisfied that she’s in a good place, at least for now.  With that, I say that everything Helga goes through here makes this a great memorable entry for the show. 9.5/10

Pigeon Man

This is an urban legend focused story that introduces a character who goes through life differently from most people, yet is so relatable and endearing.  For that reason, it’s easy to see why this cartoon is so beloved, and why this show as a whole is said to be as great as it is.  The story has one of Arnold’s carrier pigeons get very sick.  He hears of someone called the Pigeon Man who could just be the very person to nurse the pigeon back to health.  The catch is that all the kids say that Pigeon Man is a very strange person that Arnold shouldn’t be around, but Arnold’s willing to do what it takes to save his pigeon.  At first, while Arnold’s a bit frightened by the strange surrounding of Pigeon Man’s place, as well as his pigeon-related mannerisms, he sees something appealing about him since he’s really just a sad, lonely, homeless man.  This is just what’s needed to make Arnold’s next visit to Pigeon Man even more meaningful.  This time, he’s more open to talk to Arnold and share personal information including why he lives the way he does.  When he first got interested in pigeons, everyone considered him weird and avoided him.  He grew to understand the ways of pigeons so much, he shut himself out from the outside world full of people to be with the pigeons.  These qualities are a great way to show that even though people think differently, they’re as human and multilayered as anyone else.  Plus, despite not trusting humans, it’s great that Pigeon Man sees some good in Arnold who considers him a friend, and even takes him for a day out.  As nice as this friendship is, the cartoon does not shy away from the hard truths that people who act differently are open to mistreatment, as shown when some kids break into Pigeon Man’s place while he’s gone and wreck everything.  They get what they deserve in the form of pigeon attacks, but the damage is pretty devastating, yet it leads to what makes this cartoon amazing.  After seeing what people did to his home, Pigeon Man decides to go somewhere new where he can be alone with his pigeons and help any birds in need.  He also says that he has hope that wherever he goes, he’ll find someone like Arnold.  This is a more powerful message than one may realize.  Life can be tough on you, especially if you’re different from others, but we must always remember that there will always be people who will support you as long as you’re open to accept them.  It’s a message people of all kinds need to hear so that even in their darkest times, they’ll be encouraged to keep going, and not make drastic decisions.  This message also makes the ending scene of Arnold watching Pigeon Man having his pigeon fly him into the evening sky to a new place just so impactful and beautiful.  With a well-told story, honest themes, Pigeon Man written as a really endearing character, and a universal message, this is not just one of this show’s best works, but a work that does serious justice to the animation medium. 10/10

The Rankings

1.      Pigeon Man

2.      Haunted Train

3.      Stoop Kid

4.      Arnold’s Hat

5.      Wheezin’ Ed

6.      Spelling Bee

7.      Helga’s Makeover

8.      Mugged

9.      Tutoring Torvald

10.  The Baseball

11.  The List

12.  Das Subway

13.  The Vacant Lot

14.  Downtown as Fruits

15.  The Old Building

16.  Field Trip

17.  Roughin’ It

18.  Gerald Comes Over

19.  6^th Grade Girls

20.  The Little Pink Book

21.  Arnold as Cupid

22.  Snow

23.  Eugene’s Bike

24.  Door #16

25.  Heat

26.  Benchwarmer

27.  Operation Ruthless

28.  Cool Jerk

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 15th episode of this season: "Olga Comes Home/Sally's Comet."