Hey Arnold!: 24 Hours to Live

I remember seeing this when I went to see Harriet the Spy with one of my friends when I was in first/second grade; we laughed so hard, we almost spilled our popcorn. We both thought all the characters were very strange: Arnold had a giant football-shaped head with one tiny blue hat, Helga's eyebrows & her gravity-defying hair, etc.

The plot was simple enough- Arnold hit Harold with a baseball accidentally, and Harold said he would beat Arnold up. Helga terrorized Arnold about it, yelling "ONE DAY, THREE HOURS, TWELVE MINUTES, AND FIFTEEN SECONDS TILL YOU DIE!!" and so on. Gerold was there to console Arnold as his best friend. Later, Arnold comes up with the idea of acting like he's crazy so Harold wouldn't beat him up. It worked, and so it began... Heyarnolditis (~Obsession over people with football-shaped heads)

This little short established the Hey Arnold show (which was one of my favorites while growing up) To this day, this is my absolute favorite Hey Arnold episode.

I remember seeing this short along with the "Hariet the Spy" Movie. Back 10 years ago. This was the pilot to the successful Hey Arnold cartoon series that ran for a few years on Nickeleon.

The whole thing starts with a neighborhood ball game. A foot ball head shape kid named Arnold was up to bat. While the pitcher is Harold, who's all making Arnold miss by calling out names to loose his focus. Arnold hit the ball with his bat, but the ball hit Harold in the nose. He woke up from his unconsciousness, and was about to beat up Arnold.

But Helega(a smart mouth tom boy) prevented the violence, and said it be better to settle this tomorrow, same time same place. Giving Arnold time to live his moments as a preteen. What can Arnold do to prevent getting beating up just for an accident? The animation and characters look 100% different from their appearances in the TV series. But like all pilots, this one gives you the idea that it's all about a football head shape kid, who lives in an urban neighborhood. I haven't seen this short for more than a decade. But I remembered it had more slapstick than the TV series did. I recalled a scene which Arnold jump from car to car like a maniac during the fight.

The story of this pilot was reused for an episode in the TV series. Same thing, only the animation is more comparable to the series itself. I'm hoping this earlier glimpse of Arnold will be included in a Hey Arnold Box set(if there are any plans for any). Highyl recommended to those who like the series so much.