Hey Arnold! Season One lived amongst gods of the Nick cartoon world. Hey Arnold!, Rugrats and Doug basically were the highest point in Nickelodeon cartoon history (ya know, before Spongebob Squarepants took all the Monday – Sunday spots). Like Doug and Rugrats, the creators seemed to have a perfect mix of morals and educational programming shrouded within a bunch of wacky fun.
For whatever reason Hey Arnold! led the pack in terms of creativity and entertainment. It might have been the unique backdrop the cartoon was set in, which was an inner city. What I think really separated this show from the others is the variety of characters the show gave life to. Kids watching could attach themselves to at least one character.
If you need an example then look no further than our main character, Arnold. He lived with his grandparents and not his actual parents. There weren’t a lot of shows out there that would develop such a situation for a kid to be in like this. Kids are a fragile bunch and to even suggest that one of the cartoon characters didn’t have parents present in their raising was a bold move; it was one that paid off, though.
The characters weren’t the only unique parts of the show. The first season alone tackled tough moral dilemmas and the cruelty that kids encounter in their youth. You would have episodes like Field Trip where you have kids deciding whether to join the mob and abuse an old turtle named “Lock Jaw” or go rogue and release him back into the wild. Or episodes like Helga’s Makeover, which involve the meanest character in the series (Helga) and her struggle with being accepted at a slumber party and participating in ‘girl things’ (if you haven’t seen the show then you should know that she isn’t exactly the perfect picture of feminism — which is fine). If you need another example of the show then look no further to every kid’s nightmare of getting beat up, which was the premise behind the episode 24 Hours to Live. This show was a kid’s childhood wrapped in a single season. It took moments that kids might encounter when they are growing up and wrapped them together with some innocent fun and presentation. The subjects were serious in nature, but the show literally shrouded these bad things in some fun both visually and in script. Again, this is why the show worked so well right out of the gates. The first season seemed very well planned, though there were some hiccups here and there.
Much like the kids in the show, season one isn’t perfect. Some of the writing is a bit stale in areas, but it picks up as the season progresses. You can really tell that the writers and actors were getting comfortable with the material. By the end of season one the last episode really has everything kicking on all cylinders.
Everyone that grew up in the mid to late 80s knows this show well (it came out in 1996 if you didn’t know) and is attached to it because they could relate to the characters and the stories so well. These are the two reasons why Hey Arnold! Season One works so darn well. It took all the typical childhood experiences and fears and presented them in an innocent light. Maybe this review of the first season might be slightly deeper than necessary, but in my opinion this is the driving force behind the show’s success. It did things right in the first season and kids simply loved it. It still holds the attentions of kids today, even my kids (who range from 3 – 9 years old), which should tell you a lot about the longevity of it.
If you haven’t seen the show before, or you’re looking for something for your kids to watch on DVD that doesn’t involve a sponge and a starfish then introduce them to cartoon goodness through Hey Arnold! Season One.
Now, let’s talk about the DVD set on a technical level.
The DVD set is pretty nice. While I usually don’t say many kind things about cartoon transfers from original source to DVD, Hey Arnold! Season One looks pretty darn clean for a cartoon that is around 15 years old. Usually I reserve this sort of commentary for Blu-ray upgrades, but whatever process that Shout! Factory put this release through on the way out to print it worked out quite well. There are little to no hits or artifacts on the DVD transfer, and there is little loss in color (in some areas the color looks a bit brighter). Regardless, I’m impressed the type of quality that Shout! Factory put out for Hey Arnold! Season One. Again, generally cartoons going to DVD don’t get any love when it comes to transfer.
Regretfully, there are no special features on this disc set. I’m not shocked because it was a cartoon in a sea of cartoons in the 90s, and they didn’t exactly think about featurettes for television at the time. Still, I would have given anything to see featurettes or a reunion of the cast and creators.