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Nickelodeon announced earlier this week that a two-part, made-for-TV movie based on Hey Arnold! will debut in 2017. Series creator Craig Bartlett teased the project on social media, sharing a piece of art and confirming that the two-hour movie would be called The Jungle Movie.
This is big news for Hey Arnold! fans who have longed for a more conclusive finale to the fan-favorite cartoon series. Hey Arnold! ended in 2004 after five seasons, 100 episodes and a feature-length film, Hey Arnold!: The Movie.
The series ended on a cliffhanger, one which Bartlett told fans in interviews would be wrapped up in a second movie, referred to as The Jungle Movie. The poor reception and box office returns for The Movie and the series' cancellation meant that Hey Arnold! ended unresolved, however.
That changes next year with the release of Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie. Although little is known about its exact plot yet, Nickelodeon said in a press release that the film will pick up where the cartoon left off, "resolving unanswered questions and plotlines, including Arnold finally getting answers about the whereabouts of his missing parents."
The original plans for The Jungle Movie involved Arnold journeying to South America to find out what happened to his parents, who were absent for the TV show's duration. Storyboards from 2001 have also made their way online via the project's original animation director, offering insight on the movie's planned setting.
A release date for the Hey Arnold! film — the first new installment in the series since 2004 — is not confirmed, but the movie is expected to premiere early next year. Nickelodeon will also bring back other '90s cartoon hits with a theatrical crossover film, which is in development at Paramount Pictures.
