20 YEARS LATER: HEY ARNOLD

The cartoons I grew up watching is ancient art. If there were a museum on cartoons the 90's portion of the gallery would surely raise a lot of eyebrows. Just to pick the brains of these creators who created such timeless art is a goal of mine. The stories. The animations. What inspired these shows? Every cartoon had it's own identity and space. I was too young to admire something like that but today I see how amazing it was looking back at that time. 

Nickelodeon was the channel I watched the most. Nicktoons were just another level of creativity. I sit back as a writer and say to myself "I wish I wrote something as good as this." From talking babies going on adventures to a talking Wallaby from Australia to a kid who kept a journal who was probably a psychopath because he saved an open ketchup packet because it signifies the day he met his crush.

Yeah, Doug was a disturbing kid.

All great shows and they stayed in rotation in the home I grew up in but my life changed for the better October 1996 when I met a kid with a football head, a small blue baseball hat and a quilt.

Found out later it was a flannel shirt and not a quilt but it still looked fly.

When I first watched "Downtown As Fruits" I had no clue what I was watching. I didn't laugh too much. I didn't quite get it but for some reason I couldn't turn away. It was just so interesting. I never seen cartoon characters drawn this way.

Seeing 9 year olds take the bus by themselves downtown. Come up on thousands of dollars. A black child saying in a cartoon "The journey is the destination." Shooting pool in Ernie's. The overall message being about karma and paying it forward. Everything was so foreign to me. I couldn't stop watching.  

Every time "Hey Arnold" would air I'd just get more interested each viewing. It was like nothing I've ever seen. A cartoon with a sitcom and slight comic book feel. It was the first cartoon that while watching it I felt like an adult. It's so eccentric. 

Seeing a kid who was somewhat poor but made the best of everyday is something I needed to see and kids today need to see. Arnold was insightful, thoughtful, optimistic, intelligent, and always curious. If you really think about it, Arnold's Room isn't difficult to build. It shows me that him and his grandpa just rolled up their sleeves and created the greatest room we've ever seen. I believe that room existed because of the curiosity and optimism that's in the environment he's raised in. 

The character development. The problem solving. The different cultures and ethnicities. The stories. The maturity. Hey Arnold really is the G.O.A.T. 

This was very difficult to do but here are my 5 personal favorite segments and why. 

CURLY SNAPS

Hands down the funniest shit from this series. What I like about Curly is that he isn't afraid to be himself and if he feels bothered by something he acts immediately to change it. He may not make the most sane decisions but he acts on it. 

All he wanted to be was ball monitor and had no shame about it either. Once he was screwed and felt there was an injustice he locked and barricaded himself in Principal Wartz office with 400 kickballs, threw them at anyone who came close to him and stayed there until the issue was resolved. He even borrowed a quote from the 1976 film "Network" "I'm mad as heck and I'm not gonna take this anymore!" Curly was a true psychopath and I loved it. 

Most definitely my favorite episode. 

PRE-TEEN SCREAM

This segment was on the same episode of "Curly Snaps." This is one of my favorite episodes because it shows you how fraudulent people can be. Phoebe wins a contest to meet her favorite music artist Ronnie Matthews. A guy with a mullet in a white Scarface suit. She brings Helga along (Helga really hates the guy) and Ronnie tells them that he doesn't sing, writes, or play the guitar. It's all fake. He's a clear Milli Vanilli knockoff. 

It's funny because Ronnie has no shame and is completely honest about it and Helga loves him as soon as she finds out that he's finessing the whole world out of money being a sham artist. He gave no fucks about it. Phoebe rarely shows emotion and she's really chill so to see her excited about meeting her favorite artist then later seeing her heart broken from being emotionally attached to lyrics that didn't even come from the man she was praising was really interesting to see. 

The lesson? Never meet your heroes. Ask Eugene about The Abdicator. 

6TH GRADE GIRLS

Bruh! Arnold and Gerald took 2 dudes girls away from them. Dressed like they were in the film "Boogie Nights." Learned how to be playa's from a book. Taught themselves how to dance and destroyed the dance floor at a 6th grade dance as 9 year olds. They were basically Kid N Play, and in the end the hating ass boyfriends gotta ruin shit. 

Didn't matter. The goal was to get a kiss from a 6th grade girl and they got it. 

ARNOLD & LILA

After we find out Ruth McDougal is a bitch. Arnold never really had a girl he was interested in. Until Lila. 

This the episode where Arnold was friendzoned and spent the remainder of the series trying to escape. It's fucked up because they got together due to a mistake and Arnold knew that so he couldn't really enjoy the relationship so he dumped Lila. Once he did he realized he gained feelings for her. He made a mistake. 

Lila in true hurt woman form refuses to give Arnold another chance because he hurt her. Not because she didn't "like him like him" but because he dumped her. It was some petty shit. 

It's one of my favorite episodes because it shows how quickly feelings can change and how women can drive a nice guy insane. Poor Arnold. 

LONGEST MONDAY 

The first Monday in June. Trash can day. Where the 5th graders dump 4th graders into trash cans full of garbage. This episode has a funny "The Warriors" vibe to it. 4th Graders just trying to make it to their Coney Island which is their homes. Just trying to get there garbage free and away from the 5th grade bully Wolfgang. 

When they catch Harold fat ass on that bus I swear I fallout laughing every time. Harold just got a funny ass voice so when he screamed as he was trapped on the bus I scream in laughter. 

Park's duckoff spot was lit as fuck too. Arnold Room Level. This episode was just pure fun and makes me laugh. 

20 years later and this show still has my heart. The G.O.A.T 

Oh yeah I created something new to celebrate 20 years of Hey Arnold. Enjoy that shit below.