Christmas is one of those times of
the year that puts people in good spirit. The media gives us a lot of
timeless Christmas TV specials and movies that remind us that nothing can ever destroy that spirit. This special here
is one of many that do it best.
It features Arnold being assigned as a Secret Santa to the boarder, Mr. Hyunh. What makes the premise so interesting is the emotional weight of Arnold’s task relating to Mr. Hyunh’s dark past. In his home country, Mr. Hyunh once lived a happy life with his daughter, Mai. Then, a war broke out leading to him being forced to give up Mai to a soldier so she could get out of the country safely. The only information regarding Mai Mr. Hyunh had was that she was taken to the city this show is set in, so he moved there long after the war, but he never found her. It’s powerful to get this much character development for Mr. Hyunh. This backstory shows he’s more than just an immigrant boarder. He's also a tragic figure who lost every part of his good life, including his daughter, and now is struggling as a man alone in a new country. It really makes you want Arnold to find Mai and give Mr. Hyunh not just what he wants, but really what he needs.
So we follow Arnold and Gerald as they spend Christmas Eve doing last minute shopping for a government worker to get him to find Mai. They somehow manage to find everything, except the must-have item of this Christmas season, Nancy Spumoni snow boots. This scenario kind of serves as a nice reflection of what Christmas shopping is like for most people when they’re after such a popular item.
We also have a nice subplot where Helga, with a materialistic mindset, tries to find a nice flashy gift for Arnold so to subtly hint to him that she likes him. As the special goes on, she slowly gets the idea that the best gifts are those that show you understand who you’re giving the gift to. She finally grows to understand this idea when she learns what Arnold really wants through eavesdropping on him. She hears all about his failure to get the government worker to find Mai because he couldn’t get the snow boots.
Then when Helga gets those very snow boots as a gift for her, the gift she like many other girls wanted the most, we get one of her most noble deeds. She willingly gives them up to get the government worker to spend the night finding that missing person just to protect Arnold’s optimistic worldview. Thanks to Helga, come Christmas morning, we get a heartwarming ending where Mai shows up at the boarding house and is reunited with Mr. Hyunh after all these years.
For someone like Helga to do something this caring speaks volumes of how dynamic of a character she is, and the genuineness of her love for Arnold. It just goes to show that Christmas can bring out the best in anyone. Her noble deed along with the emotional tone of the story in general make this one of the show’s most powerful works and an absolute must-watch at Christmastime. 10/10
It features Arnold being assigned as a Secret Santa to the boarder, Mr. Hyunh. What makes the premise so interesting is the emotional weight of Arnold’s task relating to Mr. Hyunh’s dark past. In his home country, Mr. Hyunh once lived a happy life with his daughter, Mai. Then, a war broke out leading to him being forced to give up Mai to a soldier so she could get out of the country safely. The only information regarding Mai Mr. Hyunh had was that she was taken to the city this show is set in, so he moved there long after the war, but he never found her. It’s powerful to get this much character development for Mr. Hyunh. This backstory shows he’s more than just an immigrant boarder. He's also a tragic figure who lost every part of his good life, including his daughter, and now is struggling as a man alone in a new country. It really makes you want Arnold to find Mai and give Mr. Hyunh not just what he wants, but really what he needs.
So we follow Arnold and Gerald as they spend Christmas Eve doing last minute shopping for a government worker to get him to find Mai. They somehow manage to find everything, except the must-have item of this Christmas season, Nancy Spumoni snow boots. This scenario kind of serves as a nice reflection of what Christmas shopping is like for most people when they’re after such a popular item.
We also have a nice subplot where Helga, with a materialistic mindset, tries to find a nice flashy gift for Arnold so to subtly hint to him that she likes him. As the special goes on, she slowly gets the idea that the best gifts are those that show you understand who you’re giving the gift to. She finally grows to understand this idea when she learns what Arnold really wants through eavesdropping on him. She hears all about his failure to get the government worker to find Mai because he couldn’t get the snow boots.
Then when Helga gets those very snow boots as a gift for her, the gift she like many other girls wanted the most, we get one of her most noble deeds. She willingly gives them up to get the government worker to spend the night finding that missing person just to protect Arnold’s optimistic worldview. Thanks to Helga, come Christmas morning, we get a heartwarming ending where Mai shows up at the boarding house and is reunited with Mr. Hyunh after all these years.
For someone like Helga to do something this caring speaks volumes of how dynamic of a character she is, and the genuineness of her love for Arnold. It just goes to show that Christmas can bring out the best in anyone. Her noble deed along with the emotional tone of the story in general make this one of the show’s most powerful works and an absolute must-watch at Christmastime. 10/10
The Rankings
1. Pigeon Man
2. Arnold’s Christmas
3. Haunted Train
4. Stoop Kid
5. Arnold’s Hat
6. Wheezin’ Ed
7. Spelling Bee
8. Helga’s Makeover
9. Mugged
10. False Alarm
11. Magic Show
12. Tutoring Torvald
13. The Baseball
14. Olga Comes Home
15. The List
16. Das Subway
17. The Vacant Lot
18. Downtown as Fruits
19. The Old Building
20. Field Trip
21. The Sewer King
22. Sally’s Comet
23. Roughin’ It
24. Gerald Comes Over
25. 6th Grade Girls
26. The Little Pink Book
27. 24 Hours to Live
28. Abner Come Home
29. Arnold as Cupid
30. Snow
31. Eugene’s Bike
32. Biosquare
33. Door #16
34. Heat
35. Part Time Friends
36. Benchwarmer
37. Operation Ruthless
38. World Records
39. Cool Jerk
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 21st episode of the season: "Helga's Boyfriend/Crush on Teacher."
There's not really much more that can be said about Arnold's Christmas that hasn't been said by everyone else at this point...
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Except this...
In retrospect, and I very much doubt this was a conscious choice by the writers, but Arnold's Christmas almost serves as a perfect subtle foreshadow for what would eventually happen in The Jungle Movie. Thematically anyway. The bare bones of both stories are eerily similar. Arnold wants to reunite a parent with their child and does his best to make it happen, but ultimately fails in his endeavor. Helga meanwhile is acting on selfish urges and trying to get what she wants, but is inspired by Arnold to be her best self and ends up playing the hero by sacrificing some cherished belonging of hers to reunite parent with child. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into things again... but I can't deny how noticeable it is now.
I do see the connections, and I'm glad the movie went that route. It's perhaps the best way to show how genuine Helga's love for Arnold is for how she's moved to pull out all stops to help him, even if she doesn't flat out reveal it was all her on her own accord.
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