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| “ | You know, Helga, I don't know why you always have to act so mean. You think you're so bad, but deep down, I don't think you are. In fact, I have a feeling you're probably a nice, normal, sensitive person. And maybe one day, you won't be so afraid to show it. | „ |
| ~ Arnold to Helga. |
Arnold Phillip Shortman is the titular main protagonist of the Nickelodeon animated television series Hey Arnold!.
He is a good-hearted and idealistic football-headed fourth grader known for his imaginative mind and compassionate nature in seeing the good in people, and constantly strives to follow his moral code and help others in need, even when at the expense of his own well-being. Arnold is best friends with Gerald, who is usually seen accompanying him in his adventures. He is also Helga's arch-rival and love interest, whom he has a notable and rather complicated relationship with.
He was voiced by J.D. Daniels (pilot), Lane Toran (S1), Phillip Van Dyke (S2–3), Spencer Klein (S4; movie; most of S5), Alex D. Linz ("April Fools Day" & "The Journal" of S5), Rusty Flood (as an infant in "Parents Day" & "Helga on the Couch"), Mason Vale Cotton (Jungle Movie), and Zane VanWicklyn (Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis & Slime Speedway).
Appearance[]
Arnold is an preadolescent boy with spiked blonde hair and a distinctive oval-shaped head that closely resembles an American football, thus earning him the nickname "Football Head". He is almost always seen sporting his favorite little blue baseball cap, a keepsake given to him by his parents when he was an infant. He also usually wears black-colored shoes, blue jeans, teal sweater and a long, plaid red shirt underneath (which, because of its untucked appearance, is commonly mistaken for a skirt or kilt). His design in The Jungle Movie remained largely the same with only slight changes; he now has a dark blue jacket worn over his usual attire, and also sports red and white sneakers as opposed to black shoes. In the pilot, his sweater is orange and his undershirt is blue.
Personality[]
Arnold is kind, caring, brave, calm, peaceful, self-less, smart, and wise. Arnold often daydreams and has a wild imagination. This has been a trait since the character's conception. He is very forgiving and sympathetic towards Helga, despite her constant harassment of him to hide her true feelings. Throughout the series, he is completely unaware of Helga's feelings for him, other than the occasional hint from Helga and other classmates. Arnold also likes listening to jazz music.
Biography[]
Background[]
Arnold Shortman was born in San Lorenzo, a fictional Central American country where his parents, Miles and Stella, first met on their separate trips. During their expedition to find a cure for the "sleeping sickness" infecting a local tribe, Stella became pregnant. Later, while seeking refuge from a volcanic eruption, she gave birth to Arnold inside a temple belonging to the indigenous Green-Eyes. Miles and Stella eventually left San Lorenzo, taking their newborn Arnold to have him visit his grandparents at Hillwood. Arnold's parents decided to settle in at the Sunset Arms boarding house, where the family lived for an entire year. On the day of his first birthday, his parents bought him a tiny blue baseball cap as a gift.
One day, when Arnold was still a year old, his parents were paid an unexpected visit by Eduardo, who they first met at San Lorenzo. Eduardo broke the news that the "sleeping sickness" somehow returned and had ravaged the Green-Eyed population, and pleaded for both Miles and Stella to return to San Lorenzo one last time to put an end to the outbreak. Although hesitant to leave behind Arnold and their newfound family life, the two reluctantly agreed to go, owing their lives to the Green-Eyes. They left Arnold to the care of his grandparents and bid him farewell, promising to return from their emergency trip very soon. However, in the years since their departure, they never returned; Miles and Stella all but disappeared.
From there, Arnold was raised and nurtured by his grandparents in the northwestern city of Hillwood. Despite the untimely loss of his parents, Arnold endured and grew to become a strong-willed child, one who was always willing to help others in need. He continued to live at the Sunset Arms boarding house with his Grandpa Phil and Grandma Gertie, as well as four other boarders who pay rent there. Arnold's room was located in the attic, which had been converted into a bedroom. Arnold also shared responsibility for the care of his pet pig named Abner, who was originally given to his parents as a wedding gift from the Green-Eyes.
Growing up, it was during his preschool years when he first met and befriended the other kids in Hillwood, including Gerald and Helga; Gerald ended up becoming Arnold's closest friend, and is nearly always seen accompanying Arnold in his adventures. In Helga's case, when they arrived at preschool during a dark and rainy day, she instantly became infatuated with Arnold after he shared his umbrella and complimented her bow and choice of colors for her clothes. Unknowingly to Arnold, due to her poor upbringing and negligence by her parents, this was the first time anyone had “noticed” Helga and shown kindness to her. Because of this, she in return fell in love with Arnold. However, due to her own insecurity and fear of being judged by her peers, Helga put up a “tough girl” persona and regularly antagonized Arnold as means of hiding her true feelings for him.
Hey Arnold!: The Movie[]
In his first feature film, Arnold and Gerald arrived home from a basketball game where they noticed unusual activities occurring throughout the neighborhood. They learned from a news broadcast that the CEO of Future Tech Industries, Mr. Scheck, won approval from Mayor Dixie to subject Arnold's neighborhood to a “renewal plan”, in which the entire community would be gentrified and accommodated for a luxurious “Mall-plex” shopping mall. As such, this would have profound consequences for the Hillwood residents and their livelihoods, as it would mean the closure of numerous local businesses and occupants being forced to move and relocate elsewhere.
Knowing what's at steak, and with the neighborhood given a 30 days notice until FTI construction begins, Arnold began his mission to oppose Scheck's goal and began attempts to organize protests against FTI's urban development plan. Arnold, with the help of friends, attempted to galvanize the neighborhood by distributing anti-FTI leaflets and holding registration drives for upcoming protests. After weeks passed without any real movement and with only six days remaining, Arnold took Rhonda's suggestion to hold a block party, dubbed “Blockapalooza”, in a final effort to disrupt FTI's activities in their neighborhood. At first appearing to be a success, it was soon interrupted and broken up by riot police after the assembly was declared illegal (due to a FTI agent helping in intercepting the permit from the protest organizers).
Following the incident, the demoralized adults began preparations to sell their business and move out of their neighborhood. With only two days remaining, Arnold himself appeared to have given up the fight. He returned to Sunset Arms to visit Grandpa, who was packing his belongings along with the renters. Grandpa began reminiscing and told Arnold of the “Tomato Incident”, a battle that unfolded in Hillwood during the Revolutionary War. This newfound information made Arnold realize that their neighborhood can be designated as a national landmark due to its role in the war, thus saving it from being decommissioned. Grandpa remarked that a legal document exists which declared their neighborhood a historic district, but was unsure of its location. With renewed determination, Arnold promised to track down the document and present it to the mayor to save the neighborhood.
Accompanied by Gerald, Arnold visited several places that might provide information regarding the document's whereabouts. Eventually, their lead took them to the FTI's headquarters located at the peninsula. Arnold and Gerald attempted to bypass security to confront Scheck, but were caught and taken to the CEO himself at his request. Arnold inquired Scheck about the document, saying it contains record of his neighborhood's national landmark status. Scheck responded confidently that the document doesn't exist and that his plan to tear the neighborhood down will continue. After being pressed further, Scheck had the two kicked out by security.
Back at Sunset Arms, Arnold pondered on his next course of action when he received a phone call from a mysterious individual. The caller, going by the name Deep Voice, informed Arnold that the document he was searching for does indeed exist, and that Scheck himself is in possession of it. Deep Voice elaborated that the document is stored in a safe within the FTI building, and that Nick Vermicelli has the key needed to open it. The next day, after obtaining equipment from Agent Bridget, Arnold, alongside Gerald, tracked down Vermicelli and followed him to his apartment. They waited until nightfall for Vermicelli to fall asleep, then successfully made their move to take the key from him.
Only several hours remaining until the deadline, Arnold and Gerald infiltrated the FTI headquarters. After distracting and evading security, they made their way into Scheck's office. After a long and grueling search, they found the safe and unlocked it, only to find it empty. Scheck himself then appeared, document in hand. He mocked them of their “hopeless” endeavor and revealed his real motives to destroy Arnold's neighborhood. He disclosed to them his ancestry with the British colonial governor, Archibald von Scheck, who was alluded to earlier by Grandpa Phil. He further explained that his family's name have been disgraced ever since the Tomato Incident, when the governor and his forces were routed by revolting American colonists, Arnold's ancestors among them. Scheck intended to avenge his family's honor by demolishing Arnold's neighborhood and, in its place, erect a building with his name on it. He then burned the document in front of them before having security arrest them, but the two were able to escape.
With the document destroyed, Arnold all but lost hope when he received another call from Deep Voice, who encouraged him to keep looking for clues and fight on. Arnold then remembered about the security cameras, disclosed to him by Scheck himself. Since Scheck had security cameras installed everywhere in the FTI building, he incriminated himself when he burned the document in front of the cameras in his office. Arnold then sneaked back into the building and obtained a video copy of Scheck's destruction of the document, now having recorded evidence of the incident. With the building on lockdown and swarmed with security, Arnold was forced to hide on the roof of the building.
After yet another call from Deep Voice, Arnold found and confronted the caller just outside the building, who was revealed to be none other than Helga. After much pressing and questioning, Helga admitted to Arnold that she loved him and was the real reason for her involvement in Arnold's mission. Helga made several other confessions while advancing on Arnold before finally kissing him. Recovering from his shock, Arnold reminded Helga they're running out of time to save the neighborhood, and the two escaped the building with Gerald on a city bus.
With only minutes remaining until demolition work begins, Arnold convinced the bus driver, Murray, to race back home after learning that his girlfriend resided in the same neighborhood subjected to be demolished by FTI. After jumping over an incline from a rising bridge, Murray fell unconscious, forcing the kids to work together and take over driver duty. Despite several close calls and a collision with a bulldozer, Arnold and his friends made it back to the neighborhood unscathed. Meeting up with Mayor Dixie and with help from Bridget, Arnold presented video evidence of Scheck burning the historical document. With this development, the disgusted construction workers immediately ceased operations and the mayor declared the settlement as a national landmark, thus preserving the neighborhood for good.
Realizing the walls are closing in, Scheck made an attempt to escape and run over Arnold and Gerald, only to realize that his car were reft of its tires by Grandma Gertie. Scheck was then placed under arrest, cursing the kids one last time as he was taken into custody. Following this, Arnold gave Helga the chance to clarify her feelings for him once more; the two settled on Helga's earlier confession at the FTI building as made in a “heat of the moment”. With lingering doubts, Arnold nonetheless accepted Helga's explanation and the two parted ways.
The Journal[]
In this episode, Arnold had an nightmare about his parents fighting off pirates who were harassing their boat ride. After waking up, he explained to Gerald why he couldn't go to Dinoland's half price day: because of lingering thoughts about his parents and their unsolved disappearance. Gerald gave his condolences and assured Arnold that none of his friends, who were poking fun at him for not coming to Dinoland, knew what he was going through. Arnold gently declined company from him and Gerald wished him good luck in return.
Later that day, after watching a couple happily playing with their son, Arnold decided to put away his parents' keepsakes, including his hat. Grandpa Phil tried to reason with Arnold, telling him he shouldn't forsake the memories of his parents. Arnold refused to listen, as he wanted to move on without clinging to the hope that his parents might return one day. As he was about to stash everything away, a journal fell down. They both realized that it belonged to Arnold's dad. His hopes suddenly renewed, Arnold reached back for his hat as Grandpa read through the contents of the journal while eating dinner.
The rest of the day was spent by reading the journal about Arnold's parents, their humanitarian adventures to aid the secretive Green Eye people, their wedding, their heroics, and how Arnold was born. The journal ended with Arnold's father writing down how difficult it was to leave Arnold to save the dying Green Eyes. This gave his son the understanding and closure that he needed. While Arnold was reading the journal on the front porch, he discovered a map detailing a route to the jungle. An excited Arnold ran back inside to present the map to Grandpa, believing it to hold clues of his parents' last known whereabouts.
Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie[]
In Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, which followed after the events of "The Journal", Arnold and Gerald planned to make a humanitarian video over the summer after their fifth grade year to win a trip to San Lorenzo. This was where Arnold's parents were last seen, as mentioned in the final episode of the series "The Journal".
They tried to record themselves making a home out of junk for one of their friends, the eccentric Monkeyman, but it ended up backfiring. A heartbroken Arnold then left the scene, thinking that he wasted his last chance in finding his parents. Later, Arnold's teacher, Mr. Simmons, revealed to everyone that Arnold's video won the competition and that he, his classmates of P.S. 118, and Helga's older sister, Olga, would be flying to San Lorenzo.
While on the plane, Arnold's pet pig Abner stowed away in his backpack. When everyone arrived in San Lorenzo, they were greeted by Arnold's parents' old friend, Eduardo. Aboard a ship, Eduardo privately warned Arnold of the jungle's dangers and gave him an amulet that was said to lead them to the "Green-Eyed People", the residents of San Lorenzo's lost city. Later that night, Helga tried to confess her feelings to Arnold, but was interrupted when pirates started attacking the ship. After learning the secret that Arnold kept from them, Gerald and the others shun him.
When the group reached a base camp, "Eduardo" revealed himself to be a pirate named Lasombra, who disguised himself as Eduardo to deceive Arnold and the others. He and his men imprisoned everyone, explaining that the contest was a trick to lure Arnold to San Lorenzo so he could use him to find the lost city and its treasures. Helga and Gerald managed to escape and free Arnold, and use Arnold's father's old journal to find the city; unbeknownst to them, Lasombra anticipated this and placed a tracking device on Arnold's green eyed necklace. Arnold and his friends managed to evade the lost city's traps.
Arnold and the others reached the city, finding it populated by children due to a "sleeping sickness" that has left its adult population comatose for nine years. The group found a statue said to contain the Corazón, a treasure that may lead to a cure for the sickness. Lasombra cornered them, taking Arnold hostage and stealing the statue. While Gerald and Helga gave chase, Lasombra forced Arnold to open the statue using the amulet. When Lasombra tried to take the Corazón within, the statue's defense system shot him in the forehead with a poisoned dart, sending Lasombra over a cliff.
A mysterious man arrived to save them and revealed himself to be the real Eduardo, who explained to them that the pirate "attacking" them earlier was him trying to rescue the group from Lasombra. Lasombra climbed back up from the cliff and got into a brief scuffle with Eduardo, knocking the Corazón off the cliff, before succumbing to the poison and plummeting to his death. The group returned to the city, where Arnold finally saw his parents, Miles and Stella, who have also contracted the sleeping sickness. Without the Corazón to release the cure to the infected population, Helga used her locket containing a photo of Arnold as a replacement. The temple released the cure and the infected are revived. Arnold and the city's children reunited with their parents. Arnold thanked Helga for her loyalty and finally realized the depths of her feelings for him, and the two share a kiss.
A few months later, life as normal had resumed at Arnold's grandparents' boarding house, though now with Miles and Stella living there as well. Arnold waved goodbye to his parents as he headed off for his first day of sixth grade with Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga. Gerald and Phoebe were seen holding hands walking to school together, while Arnold and Helga were also implied to be a couple despite Helga pretending to remain hostile towards Arnold in public. Arnold's parents walked with him and his friends to school and Arnold promised his mom and dad that they'll see him at 3:30 as the doors closed behind him.
Trivia[]
- Arnold is left-handed.
- In the episode "Married", it was stated that Arnold was born on the 7th of an unspecified month. Additionally, Craig Bartlett implied in a chat session that Arnold's zodiac sign is Libras, meaning that he was born sometime between September 23 and October 23. Considering the inaugural episode aired on October 7, 1996, many fans interpreted this as an indication that Arnold was born on October 7.
- Voice actors Lane Toran and Phillip Van Dyke, both who voiced Arnold in earlier seasons of the TV series up until after hitting puberty, would later return to new roles in the show, voicing the characters Wolfgang and Ludwig respectively.
- While his surname is never revealed in the show proper, it was established to be Shortman by Craig Bartlett in an interview with BuzzFeed, and was eventually confirmed in a scene in The Jungle Movie.
- In later seasons of Hey Arnold!, the show gradually shifted focus from Arnold to other supporting characters. Arnold himself would largely be demoted to extra, instead making occasional appearances to help out whoever the episode lends its focus on, although some obvious exceptions exist.
External Links[]
- Arnold Shortman at the Pure Good Wiki
- Arnold Shortman at the Hey Arnold! Wiki
- Arnold Shortman at the Nickelodeon Wiki
- Arnold Shortman at the Paramount Wiki
- Arnold Shortman at the Love Interest Wiki
- Arnold Shortman at the Shonen Heroes Wiki
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