The adventures of a daydreaming, jazz-loving, football-headed 9-year-old, who lives in a boarding house with his grandparents and some eccentric boarders; encounters life in the city with his best friend Gerald, a loofah-haired kid who is the keeper of the urban tales and coolest kid in class; and is tormented by the irascible Helga, who is secretly in love with him.
Where to Watch Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! Ratings & Reviews
- Kyle BianchiNovember 28, 2025"I adore him! Look at him, all ticked off... he doesn't get it. He doesn't know my secret. What a sap!" Hey Arnold! is probably one of /the/ Nickelodeon staples of the 90s, alongside Rocko's Modern Life and Aaah!!! Real Monsters. If you know, you know.
- ProfSolonAugust 17, 2025Literally the best nineties cartoon, dare I say by far?
- RichardOctober 18, 2025This wasn’t just a cartoon, it was a quiet revolution in storytelling. Hey Arnold! took slice of life animation and infused it with jazz, melancholy and emotional intelligence. Arnold, the football headed philosopher in a city of eccentrics, wasn’t solving mysteries or fighting monsters, he was navigating childhood with empathy, curiosity and a killer bedroom setup. Watching it as a young adult meant catching the layers: Helga’s rage masking love, Grandpa Phil’s war stories, Mr. Hyunh’s lost daughter and the way the city itself felt alive, gritty, diverse and oddly comforting. The show didn’t shout, it listened. It gave space to sadness, awkwardness and small victories. The animation was warm, the music timeless and the writing? Way ahead of its time. It taught you that being kind was cool, that everyone had a story and that growing up didn’t mean losing your heart.
