Hey Arnold! The Movie

Adapted from the popular Nickelodeon show, this feature continues the adventures of the blithely cheerful, football-headed Arnold (voice by Spencer Klein) on the big screen. When corrupt developer Schek (Paul Sorvino) threatens to buy the run-down urban neighborhood where Arnold lives, he and his best friend Gerald (Jamil Smith) rally the neighbors to keep their homes from being turned into a mega-mall. After their peaceful efforts fail, they turn to espionage in a spoof of Men in Black and other action films. Hey Arnold! suffers from the same difficulty as many theatrical features spawned from TV cartoons: the characters have to solve a problem that's too big. The James Bond-style gadgetry and car chases don't fit into the slightly skewed vision of fourth-grade life that made the series popular. The limited animation and awkward designs will work better in the video release. Rated PG for cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon