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Arnold's Thanksgiving
When Arnold and Helga have to suffer through yet another "usual"
Thanksgiving - Arnold's Grandma thinks it's July 4 and Helga is little more than a servant to her parents and sister
- they decide to see how one of Mr. Simmons' "perfect" Thanksgivings goes, only to discover that their
own Thanksgivings aren't that unusual after all
Written by Craig Bartlett, Joseph Purdy, and Steve Viksten
Story by Craig Bartlett, Steve Viksten, Joseph Purdy, and Antionette Stella
Supervising Director: Larry Leichliter
Storyboard Direction by Kelly James and Tuck Tucker
Animation Direction by Christine Kolosov
(only Larry Leichliter received a "Directed By" credit)
Storyboard Artists: Kelly James, Chris Robertson, Caesar Martinez
Cast:
Arnold - Phillip Van Dyke
Helga - Francesca Marie Smith
Mr. Simmons - Dan Butler
Gerald - Jamil Smith
Phoebe, Joy - Anndi L. McAfee
Harold - Justin Shenkarow
Eugene - Ben Diskin
Rhonda - Olivia Hack
Stinky - Christopher Walberg
Brainy (uncredited) - Craig Bartlett
Grandpa, Peter - Dan Castellaneta
Grandma - Tress MacNeille
Ernie - Dom Irrera
Oskar - Stephen Viksten
Suzie - Mary Scheer
Mr. Hyunh - Baoan Coleman
Big Bob Pataki, Chuck - Maurice LaMarche
Miriam Pataki - Kath Soucie
Olga Pataki - Nika (also known as Nika Futterman)
Pearl (Mr. Simmons' mother) - Mitzi McCall
Mayor Dixie - Maria Bamford
uncredited: Coast Guard voice
- This is the second episode without the usual opening (the first being "Arnold's
Christmas")
- What makes the Hey Arnold! Thanksgiving episode different from other Nicktoons? They actually eat turkey!
Here are the alternatives:
- Rugrats - Reptar cereal
- Rocko's Modern Life - a vegetarian
"turkey"
- CatDog - a turkey made out of peanut
butter and jelly
- The Wild Thornberrys - they had planned
to send Eliza, Debbie, and Donnie to Marianne's mother's home for a "traditional" turkey dinner, but
the kids decided to stay with their parents
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(Okay, they eat turkey in
the As Told By Ginger Thanksgiving special, if you are
lucky enough to live somewhere where they actually air
it)
- Was I imagining things, or was the animation "jerkier" than usual?
It looked in quite a few "background scenes" as if the some of the "tweeners" (the people who
draw the frames between the "main" frames) were celebrating rather than working
- One of the characters in the last act of the play was "Robert"; since
it was based on one of Mr. Simmons' Thanksgiving dinners and all of the other characters' names matched real people,
it's fairly safe to assume that Robert is Mr. Simmons' first name
- At the beginning, just before Mayor Dixie christens the boat, you can hear her
speaking but her lips don't move (two explanations: one, she's a ventriloquist; two, she taped her speech - it
makes it much easier to smile that way)
- When Nadine first appears, she's almost as tall as Rhonda
- In the last act of the play, Helga's character's name is Joy, but her top has
an "H" on it
- When Mr. Simmons mentions "being thankful for whatever you have" at
the end of the play, Phoebe and Gerald (who are already holding hands) look at each other
- No, you weren't imagining things; Helga was trying to be nice to everybody on
Thanksgiving morning, at least until everybody started treating her like a servant
- Big Bob is watching football early in the morning; this gives more credibility
to the "the city is in the West somewhere" theory
- Maybe she's farsighted: Miriam read the cookbook without her glasses
- Olga's fliers said "Missing: Award Winning Olga Pataki's Sister"
- The places for Arnold and Helga were set before Mr. Simmons knew they were coming
- If Helga knew Arnold's never had a "real" Thanksgiving, why didn't
she invite him to eat with her?
- When Arnold wished Helga a happy Thanksgiving from outside, if you think you've
seen it before, you have, sort of; it's quite similar to when Helga wishes Arnold a merry Christmas at the end
of "Arnold's Christmas"
- Fun With Voiceover Credits: Mary Scheer was credited as Suzie, despite not having
any "noticeable" lines (she may have said something at the start of the surprise party); Craig Bartlett
wasn't credited as Brainy (who did "speak", when he was dropping the "snow" during the play)
- Arnold, Helga, and Mr. Simmons think they have it tough - I wonder what, say,
Lila's Thanksgiving is like?
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