Nickelodeon has a main line to the heart of virtually any kids who grew up in the 90s. They had countless shows fromAngry BeaverstoRocko’s Modern Lifethat we still think of fondly, butHey Arnold!holds a very special place for many of us. Fortunately we are getting a new 2 hour made for TV movie next year in the form ofHey Arnold: The Jungle Movie, and Nickelodeon just confirmed the voice cast.
In addition to confirming the title for the newHey Arnold movie, a report fromTVLinealso confirms that a large portion of the original voice cast will be returning for the new movie. Some of the returning voices includeFrancesca Marie Smithas Helga,Anndi McAfeeas Phoebe,Justin Shenkarowas Harold,Olivia Hackas Rhonda,Nika Futtermanas Olga. Plus,SimpsonsalumsDan CastellanetaandTress MacNeilleare returning as Arnold’s Grandpa and Grandma.Lane ToranandJamil Smiththe original voices of Arnold and Gerald respectively, will be returning, but not to their original characters. They will be providing voices for different characters, but they are still on board.
Mason Vale CottonfromMad Menwill be taking over Arnold duties forThe Jungle MovieandBenjamin Flores, Jr.will be taking up the mangle of Gerald. The originalHey Arnoldseries ended in 2004 and left a lot of unanswered questions for those who loved the series. Nickelodeon and the creative team behind the new film have promised that this new installment will indeed be answering some of those questions. Most notably, we will finally get to learn where Arnold’s parents are and what happened to them.
The film was first confirmed in November of last year, but it was conceived quite a bit earlier as series creatorCraig Bartletthad intended to makeThe Jungle Moviequite some time ago and have it serve as a proper finale for the series. Though the title for the film was just officially confirmed,Bartlettpretty much let the cat out of the bag a few months ago via an Instagram post that featured the title. This was Nick’s official statement about the movie.
“Nickelodeonhas officially given the green light to a two-part animated Hey Arnold! TV movie, written and executive produced by the TV series' original creator Craig Bartlett. First announced in development late last year, the now-greenlit TV movie will pick up where theoriginal seriesended, resolving unanswered questions and plotlines, including Arnold finally getting answers about the whereabouts of his missing parents. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, the two hour-long TV movies will debut in 2017.”
Hey Arnoldhas long been regarded as one of the bestNickToonsthat the network ever produced, garnering critical praise as well as being adored by fans. The series even spawned a movie,Hey Arnold! The Movieback in 2002, but it only managed to take in $15 million at the box office.Bartletthad originally wanted to doThe Jungle Movieas a sequel to that film, but the lackluster box office performance kept that from happening.Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movieis set for release in 2017, but no official date has been set yet.
