'Toon Reviews 7: Hey Arnold Season 2 Episode 11

Steely Phil

Arnold’s Grandpa has always been one of the most entertaining parts of this show from the beginning.  Not only is it unique for the main protagonist of a show to be brought up by grandparents, but Grandpa has quickly proven to be one of the greatest grandparent characters in animation.  He has his own style of giving his grandson advice, can easily relate to him when it comes to his pastimes despite his old age, and is skilled in a lot more things than one might expect.  With all these entertaining layers to Grandpa, it’s great that we start getting cartoons focused on him with this one.  Arnold learns that his Grandpa used to be a master of Chinese checkers under the nickname of Steely Phil.  However, despite all his skills, he let the pressures of winning get to him while playing against another Chinese checker master called Robbie Fisher and blew a perfect chance to tie the game.  Now that he’s come across Robbie Fisher again, Grandpa gets the opportunity to try and beat him in an upcoming Chinese checkers championship.  During the time preparing for the championship, we’re introduced to a relatable insecure side to Grandpa.  We’re so used to seeing him be so confident and laid-back when looking after and spending time with Arnold that it turns out to be such a big deal to hear how unconfident he is to try Chinese checkers again.  However, with a good, determined grandson like Arnold, he slowly fights through his anxieties.  It’s especially felt through an exciting training montage where he falters a lot at first through basic exercises, but as the montage continues, he starts making some significant improvements just as the scene’s music ends with a triumphant note.  It may not be much different from other training montages TV shows and movies tend to use, but it’s a favorite common convention that’s always welcomed in telling a story.  Even with the progress, Grandpa still doesn’t have enough confidence to compete going on to talk to Arnold in the middle of the night.  This scene also shows that his lack of confidence doesn’t just apply to Chinese checkers when he tells Arnold that his confidence that he could do certain things given to his grandson was on the off chance everyone else would lose.  Even with this reveal, Arnold still is all for encouraging his Grandpa to compete and conquer his fears.  All this training proves to pay off when the Chinese checker tournament comes, Grandpa makes it to Robbie Fisher, and just when it looks like he’s about to lose the same way he did all those years ago, he remembers to have the game end in a tie.  It’s a well-deserved victory that pays off Grandpa’s relatable conflict making this cartoon a solid start to his many starring roles.  It’s an instance where a character’s old age makes him all the more engaging. 9.5/10

Quantity Time

This cartoon is a prime example of how bad Helga has it at home.  Being raised by a fortune-obsessed dad and a drug addict mom both of whom clearly show more favor to her perfect older sister, it’s no surprise that this lifestyle is the source of her meanness.  Unfortunately for her in this cartoon, everything bad about her family infringes on her spring break from school.  It all happens when her break as well as her dad, Big Bob’s, break from running his beeper emporium become known to her mom, Miriam.  Miriam takes the initiative to get out of the house infringing on her alone time for a whole week under the guise of taking care of her sick mother, suggesting that Helga and Big Bob bond while she’s gone.  Not only are her actions a clear sign of neglect, albeit one she tries to keep subtle, but Big Bob is a major detracting factor to his time with his daughter turning out good.  He expresses clear disdain towards spending quality time with her and treats it like a chore instead of something genuine.  In fact, in all his actions, there’s nothing genuine at all in his attempts to bond with Helga.  He purchases foods she either hates or can’t eat when grocery shopping, drags Helga along for his monotonous errands against her will, and when she complains that they’re just doing things he wants to do, he ropes her into activities she’s long grown out of.  Big Bob just goes through the motions of his life, thinking that he and Helga can bond just because she’s with him when he’s doing his things, showing no believable love for her in the slightest.  It’s mean and uncaring of him, but it makes the life Helga lives somewhat fascinating as it’s a fine example of how dysfunctional some families can be.  True, it’s common to see some dysfunction in most TV shows, but what Helga has to put up with goes beyond the usual standards given what we see of Big Bob here.  Also, we also see that while Big Bob truly is a bad parent, he’s not one-dimensional.  When Helga’s complaints of him failing at bonding don’t get to him, her lamenting to Phoebe of how she can’t see the one thing she wanted to see the most during her break does.  Big Bob actually shows regret for his daughter’s misery and takes it upon himself to get her tickets for the event.  In an interesting turn of events, the tickets he gets are for a stage musical advertised on the back of the ad of what Helga really wanted to see, a wrestling match.  Despite the mess-up, it finally gets Helga and Big Bob to bond while riffing on how stupid the musical is.  It’s both a hilarious and heartwarming way of showing that even the worst events in life have something good to them.  While Big Bob may turn some people off, the look at Helga’s less-than-ideal life and the charm of the ending bond are considerably worth watching. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Harold’s Kitty
2. Helga’s Love Potion
3. Monkey Business
4. Eugene’s Pet
5. Freeze Frame
6. Steely Phil
7. Gerald’s Secret
8. Save the Tree
9. Phoebe Cheats
10. Gerald Moves Out
11. New Teacher
12. Mudbowl
13. Quantity Time
14. Ms. Perfect
15. Big Caesar
16. Ransom
17. The Big Scoop
18. Best Friends
19. The High Life
20. Hooky
21. Arnold Saves Sid
22. Longest Monday

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Arnold enters an "Eating Contest," and we see an interesting take on one of the most famous civil rights acts in history in "Rhonda's Glasses."

If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 7: Hey Arnold Season 2 Episode 3

Save the Tree

From the title, it’s easy to get the impression that this is nothing more than a preachy environmental story existing solely to explain why trees are important and shouldn’t be cut down.  However, the actual cartoon works because of what the environmental issue means for the characters involved, which makes it easy to care for the tree needing saving.  Right at the beginning, we get a feel of what the tree, called Mighty Pete, means to Arnold and his friends mostly for how it holds their very own treehouse and its historic significance as the oldest tree in the neighborhood.  Though why they claim it to be the only one when there’s clearly other trees, I really don’t know.  Anyway, because of the kids’ attachment to the tree and their apparent care for it, their concerns of it doomed to be knocked down by Helga’s dad, Big Bob, and his assistant Nick, to make room for a new beeper store are easy to get behind.  What follows mostly consists of the kids trying to do what they can to save Mighty Pete, despite most of them feeling powerless against a rich and powerful store owner like Big Bob.  The most entertaining bits come from Arnold’s Grandma who really demonstrates her appeal as a character by showing the most passion for the cause.  She even has the gang take matters into their own hands when they can’t get help from city hall, and even when Big Bob retaliates as they all protest in front of his house in ridiculous costumes, she makes it clear that their cause isn’t over.  However, even with Grandma’s great charismatic and determined demeanor, the kids grow depressed that they can’t save their famed tree, and its especially felt when they all wake up in the middle of the night to spend time in their treehouse one last time.  However, that’s when we get an exciting climax when the bulldozer set to knock down Mighty Pete approaches.  All the kids can do is throw everything, INCLUDING the kitchen sink, to stop the bulldozer but to no avail.  At the same time, we get a great moment from Big Bob, who’s known to be very neglectful of Helga.  When he sees that she’s up in the tree, he protests Nick to stop the bulldozer, giving the impression that while he’s not a good parent, his flaws aren’t intentional.  What does succeed to stop the bulldozer is easily the high point of the climax.  Grandma, in all her versatility, shows up in a Tarzan suit, swings from the tree, and takes control of the bulldozer, driving it out of the way at the last minute.  In the end, it’s the lack of a bulldozer as well as the fact the kids risked their lives to protect the tree that gets Big Bob to decide against knocking it down.  That’s the appeal of this whole plot; the characters’ devotion to a piece of nature leading to solid comedy, tensions, and heart. 9.5/10

New Teacher

At the start of these reviews, I mentioned that there’s a game-changing element included here which causes continuity errors if you follow the airing order.  That element is introduced in this cartoon.  As the title shows, Arnold’s class gets a new teacher called Mr. Simmons.  Compared to their previous teacher, Ms. Slovak, he’s way more fleshed out.  He always has a positive demeanor and shows genuine care for who he’s teaching unlike the other who just did her job and not much else.  As a result, he’s a much more pleasing teacher to have around for the rest of the series.  In his debut, things with him start off on the wrong foot as his teaching methods such as putting the desks in a circle, getting the kids to share personal feelings on other students, which almost gets Helga to reveal her love for Arnold, and pushing sappy subjects like poetry don’t get the kids to think well of him.  They devise a plan to overwhelm him to quit.  As they drop pencils, swap names, and protest the teachings, topped with Harold eating his lunch I might add, it’s easy to feel for Mr. Simmons.  He’s easily the nicest, most caring teacher anyone could ask for, and it never feels like he deserves this treatment.  It makes it all the more concerning that all the students, including the nice, smart, and considerate ones like Arnold himself, go along with the mistreatment for no real reason.  However, the consequences to their mistreatment are both grueling and fun to watch.  They get a drill sergeant of a teacher, Lt. Major Goose, and his military mannerisms make for an interesting approach in teaching the class especially with something as simple as multiplication tables, though they clearly don’t belong in a classroom setting.  It’s too much for the kids to take, and who can blame them?  Having a literal drill sergeant for a teacher makes school worse than it is.  They may have brought Lt. Major Goose in, but it’s great that they take it upon themselves to get Mr. Simmons back.  They actually go to his house and prove that they’re open to his teachings in several nice moments where they not only prove to be teachable for him, but also befriend him which is something we hardly see in shows.  I can really relate to this based on the friendly terms I’ve been on with many of my teachers.  So, after a hilarious scene of the kids overwhelming Lt. Major Goose to quit with everything Mr. Simmons taught, classes resume with Mr. Simmons at the lead, and everyone advancing in knowledge greatly, and this is only the beginning.  Overall, even if it has to disregard the good nature of some characters to make the plot work, this is a great start to a great change to the show’s dynamic. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Harold’s Kitty
2. Save the Tree
3. New Teacher
4. The Big Scoop
5. Hooky
6. Arnold Saves Sid

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Gerald's little sister finds a way to spend time with him through a "Ransom," and we're introduced to another prominent character named Lila, a.k.a. "Ms. Perfect."

If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 1: Hey Arnold Season 1 Episode 26 + Final Thoughts

Runaway Float

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the most part, this cartoon is another one of those typical plots where Arnold and his friends take part in a certain activity, in this case building a float for an upcoming parade.  To its credit, it shows off the imagination of the kids, particularly when it comes to Arnold’s idea for a float.  It’s a big representation of their home city as a big amusement park, and it’s worth admiring for how different attractions stand for different parts of the city.  What’s just as nice is that it’s Helga who does something nice for Arnold by getting her dad, Big Bob, to give the money needed to fund the float.  It’s interesting that she can do something nice for Arnold and still keep her love for him a secret.  Then we get a sequence dealing with the process of putting the float together including running out of supplies, finishing it off by getting more, then having it jerkily rejected by Big Bob who, along with his business partner Nick, turns it into a giant beeper.  The big catch is that all the kids, except for Arnold and Gerald, are OK with this unfair change all because Big Bob offers them a chance to ride on the float.  This just makes the kids feel shallow for just ignoring the fact that their hard work is being wasted because of petty matters.  At least Helga has some regret for the decision as it really ties into her conflict of trying to show her love for Arnold and being devoted to her overbearing father, not unlike what she went through in “Spelling Bee.”  Anyway, the cartoon really starts getting interesting when the float is put into action at the parade and it goes out of control due to it being too top-heavy.  This leads to an exciting chase sequence where Big Bob, Nick, and the kids hang on for their lives as the float travels at dangerous speeds running into the rest of the parade with Arnold trying to catch up to everyone on a bike to try and reach the float’s emergency brake.  There’s some appropriate suspense that keeps building throughout the chase, fun sight gags from the parade, and a great moment of heroism on Arnold’s part for relying on a common bike to catch the big float.  I will say that you have to wonder why Nick, who’s said to be an expert on floats, didn’t think to take any precautions to prevent this runaway from helping.  Shouldn't he have known that the giant beeper was too top-heavy?  Despite that, I always appreciate a nice runaway to make a climax, and the whole scene does have Big Bob realize that taking the float from the kids was a bad idea and everyone in the crowd praises the original design shown off due to what happened.  In the end, we have a fine and basic story made exciting by an awesome climax. 9/10

Partners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the first season of Hey Arnold has had a lot of cartoons to cover, but now we’ve come to the final one to talk about, and it’s quite a way to close off the season.  The story revolving around Arnold and Gerald struggling to come up with an act for an upcoming talent show causing a strain in their friendship in the process seems a bit too basic to gush over, but what makes it extra special is the subplot that emulates the main plot, mainly through how it’s constructed.  Now, remember Dino Spumoni, the lounge singer who made his first appearance in “The Old Building”?  Well, this cartoon features him in a much larger, and more interesting role.  Plus, it adds on a really welcome respect for music into the plot, especially since it gives us his most well-known song to fans of this show, “You Better Not Touch My Gal” during a look back at his career.  Dino’s story is that he’s renting a room at the boarding house to focus on forming a new album away from his songwriting partner he’s fallen out with, Don Reynolds.  However, Don rents a room too with the same intentions and when he finds Dino there, their tensions just escalate.  The clever thing about this part of the story is how it shows that great partnerships should not be messed with as shown through how both songwriters can’t get by without each other.  Dino’s songs are shown to have catchy melodies but poor lyrics while Don’s songs have well-written lyrics but bad melodies.  These moments effectively get across the benefits of partnership even if it takes a while for the men to realize them, and at the same time teach what makes a good song, that’s already a lot to take from this cartoon.  Anyway, regarding Arnold and Gerald, while they do get into an argument that forms a rift, I appreciate that unlike in “Part Time Friends” where their flaws that tear them apart appeared at just the right time, Arnold coming up with random talent show ideas and Gerald not coming up with anything were slowly built up to their rift here.  That way, I can accept their argument.  Plus, it nicely ties into Dino and Don’s part of the story whose argument is in a similar vein and observing it gets them to make up in the end.  Likewise, the talent show act Arnold and Gerald come up with does a lot of good too.  It has Arnold sing Don’s lyrics and Gerald play Dino’s tune on piano, making for the great song “Nothing Without You.”  It’s a great showstopper for the audience as it ends the cartoon, gets Dino and Don to make up, and it nicely reflects the partnership theme.  While we end the season with a basic plot, its execution with the character relationships and tribute to music, to me, make it a great cartoon to go out on. 9.5/10

The Rankings

1.      Pigeon Man

2.      Arnold’s Christmas

3.      Harold’s Bar Mitzvah

4.      Haunted Train

5.      Stoop Kid

6.      Arnold’s Valentine

7.      Arnold’s Hat

8.      Wheezin’ Ed

9.      Spelling Bee

10.  Helga’s Makeover

11.  Mugged

12.  Partners

13.  False Alarm

14.  Magic Show

15.  Tutoring Torvald

16.  The Baseball

17.  Olga Comes Home

18.  Teachers’ Strike

19.  Four-Eyed Jack

20.  The List

21.  Das Subway

22.  The Vacant Lot

23.  Downtown as Fruits

24.  The Old Building

25.  Field Trip

26.  The Sewer King

27.  Runaway Float

28.  Tour De Pond

29.  Coach Wittenberg

30.  Hall Monitor

31.  Sally’s Comet

32.  Roughin’ It

33.  Gerald Comes Over

34.  Crush on Teacher

35.  6^th Grade Girls

36.  The Little Pink Book

37.  24 Hours to Live

38.  Abner Come Home

39.  Arnold as Cupid

40.  Snow

41.  Eugene’s Bike

42.  Biosquare

43.  Door #16

44.  Heat

45.  Helga’s Boyfriend

46.  Part Time Friends

47.  Benchwarmer

48.  Operation Ruthless

49.  World Records

50. Cool Jerk

 

Final Thoughts

Even after all these years, the cartoons that make up season 1 are a good indication that Hey Arnold really holds up in this modern day and age.  Just about everything about it from the storytelling and characters make it feel timeless and memorable to viewers of all ages.  Each cartoon offers something different to experience which entice you to keep on watching the show to see what you’ll get out of it.  I always believe that a good animated product is one that can leave a wide variety of impacts.  In the case of season 1, while a good number of the cartoons are basic ones that follow the kids taking part in simple childhood activities such as going on field trips, going on camping trips, playing sports, doing school projects, finding lost pets, or having friends over, they mostly work due to how likable the characters are.  There are a lot of characters in the cast such as the main characters, the kids at school, the shopkeepers of the city, the residents of Arnold’s boarding house, and the strange inhabitants of the city.  Usually with a cast of many major characters, it would be hard to flesh strong personalities out of them, but practically all the characters present have their own appeal, and every different character present in each cartoon brings out a unique feel every time. 

What’s more, a good number of the stories in this season offer a lot of interesting subject matters that make the show as appealing as it is.  Sometimes, they take simple moments of life like ducking out of a play or investigating who pulled the fire alarm and execute them with a lot of creative scenarios that happen in the process or a lot of passion to make you take what’s going on seriously.  Other stories take advantage of the city setting by giving a believable look at life in such a place.  Those kinds of stories also go out of their way to show the negative aspects most people should be aware of such as some forms of transportation having poor condition that seat you with random people, people who could jump out and mug you at any time, and even some people who are poor or even homeless.  With this in mind, it’s also great to note the major themes that the cartoons of this season tackle which is perhaps best reason why this series is loved as much as it is.  In this season alone, we’ve seen stories revolving around ill views of society towards people who think differently, people affected by war, loss of identity, living with parents who aren’t good for the role, following religions, and what it really means to find true love.  These themes really help this show stand out from most slice-of-life series.  There may not be an over-arching plot between all the stories present, but they effectively represent life.  It’s full of moments that leave a meaningful impact by giving us a true view of the world. 

What really makes the themes work is that when they’re presented, they’re never watered down for the audience and make their point through simplicity of what the characters involved get up to.  It’s also worth noting that one of the reasons the themes presented stand out so much is that most of the time, they add layers to the characters’ personalities, which in turn makes them an endearing part of the show.  Basically, the most impressive qualities of Hey Arnold season are the cartoons that have interesting themes and ones that develop the setting and characters.  Those cartoons are so strong that they make the more basic cartoons feel inferior.  However, this is forgivable since this is only the first season and it’s clear that this was just the crew testing to see what really worked.  Plus, the good news of all this is that the more interesting types of cartoons would become more prominent in future seasons, but those are all topics for future posts.

For this season though, while it’s a bit less interesting than what’s to come, it has enough qualities to make Hey Arnold a major crown jewel of Nickelodeon and a must-watch animated series.  So, check local listings for reruns, and find it on DVD separately or as part of the Complete Series box set sold all over Walmart or purchase the highest rated cartoons in this post on digital.  It’ll be a worthwhile watch, not to mention that it, along with the whole series for that matter, is sure to drum up excitement for The Jungle Movie, coming later this year. You really won’t regret it, Football Heads.

Highly Recommended

This concludes this series of reviews for Season 1 of Hey Arnold.  Now we'll move onto a different animated TV series and return to this one at a later date.  So join me again tomorrow as we begin a series of reviews of the Cartoon Network mini-series Over the Garden Wall.  Until then:

Stay Animated Folks!