‘Hey Arnold!’ TV movie in development as Nickelodeon joins Netflix, Disney Channel in nostalgia game
Earlier this year, chatter first began that Nickelodeon was interested in bringing on board new versions of many of their old franchises in an attempt to capture some of the nostalgia that such networks like the Disney Channel is doing in “Girl Meets World” and Netflix is with “Fuller House.”
So what is their first move? Bringing classic cartoon “Hey Arnold!” back to life for the first time in over a decade. Per Variety, the Craig Bartlett series about a young boy, his friends, and the residents of his grandparents’ boarding house is being developed for a potential TV movie, one that would pick up where the events of the show left off many years ago. For years around the end of the series there hopes from both fans and Bartlett alike to make “The Jungle Movie,” a project that would be about Arnold searching for his parents, who according to “The Journal” could be off in a remote part of the world. There’s no word yet on if this particular project is that concept, but the Variety report mentions that Arnold’s parents could be involved in the story.
As for choosing “Hey Arnold!” as the first revival over other properties like “Rugrats” or “Hey Dude,” we understand it. It’s a fairly timeless cartoon with mostly character-based humor, and there are many episodes that show off a sentimental side. These are qualities shared somewhat by the original “Boy Meets World.” It’s also a show that young parents who grew up on the original may want to watch alongside their kids, which creates the sort of family-viewing experience that Nickelodeon would probably relish. It also helps that many fans who watched “Arnold” as children are now very active on social media, which brings a whole new audience to what the network is doing.
We see a TV movie as a potential testing ground for Nick to see if there is further interest, whether it be for this particular series or for other in their robust library. We’ll bring you more as it is known!
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