hey arnold if you didn't know is my favorite cartoon of all time
it speaks to me on a level that no other show could back when it was on the air and even now
the jazzy undertones character development and the slice of life atmosphere created
made way for the perfect combination it became for me and now while into our fringe miss journey we
take a look at another christmas classic coming once again from nickelodeon and this was an
episode that immediately stuck in my brain when coming up with this series in general so welcome
back or hello for the first time to the 25 days of fringe miss where every day from the 1st to
the 25th of december we take a look at nostalgic shows holiday-themed episodes and more in order to
help me find that holiday spirit i've lost in my adult life over the past decade so if you want to
be a part of this daily journey and help me find that good old jolly joy subscribe and come aboard
arnold's christmas the first half hour storyline told within the show we opened this episode with
everyone enjoying the holiday season around the city as school lets out for the holiday helga and
phoebe are talking about the meaning of christmas and what they love most about it helga only shows
excitement towards the presence and getting better things before other people especially the nancy
spimone snow boots that are all the rage and shown to be impossible to find and they're just
sold out everywhere arnold and gerald however are christmas shopping as gerald is buying everyone in
his family and friends ties not putting a lot of thought into the gifts arnold tells gerald
about the significance of gift giving and making the gift for the person meaningful and unique to
who that person is so now he must go return the tie he clearly bought for arnold as well
back to helga who wants to get something special for arnold the perfect gift to finally let out
her feelings and show arnold 1 how thoughtful she is and two that she is perfect for him now
just before we enter the boarding house we see mr wynn walking up the stairs to the door as a
distant unrecognizable voice echoes while he looks into the distance before fully walking inside
clearly something is on his mind as it is told to us he isn't too much into the holiday spirit of
things this time of year hey i'm right there with you with that now drawing names for secret santa
arnold pulls mr wynn and has no idea what to get for him as there isn't really much to go off of
so in an effort to learn more about him and what the perfect gift would be
arnold heads to his room to casually speak about it here is where we learn about him
having a daughter mai as he recounts the story of his life in vietnam with his family specifically
his daughter all he wanted in life for her was the best life possible with the best
opportunities possible but his country was in the middle of a war that drew too close to him
and everyone in his area was trying to evacuate a helicopter that was about to take off
only had room for one other person as a large crowd of people were trying to board
since this was said to be the final helicopter out of the country mr win's last-ditch effort to
give his daughter a better life was to raise her up above the crowd catching their attention and
taking her with them they utter the name of a city that they are going to for him to find her again
he however would not be able to get out of the country for another 20 years
20 years later he would make his way to the city he was told back then and has lived there now ever
since in an effort to find her this story much like sticking with us the viewers of the episode
sticks with arnold and his big heart it's now christmas eve and arnold is determined to find mai
gerald tells him how crazy he is trying to pull off something like this with no proper leads and
virtually no time i think this is why i really love arnold as a character when he commits to
something he fully commits even at the detriment of himself no time is too much to sacrifice if it
means doing the right thing or helping someone in need sure sometimes he is shown to make mistakes
but he's human and has always been a solid role model cartoon character with good morals he spent
his time calling government information centers in hopes to find the right place leading him to
a government building to find files and records on mai both christmas tomorrow the employees at
the office are having a christmas party and are clocked out for the work day all but one person
spending his christmas eve away from his family stuck over working his name is mr bailey and when
asked to help he quickly dismisses them as he has too much to catch up on before he can leave
telling them that there is no way that he can pull something like that off this fast and find her go
have some eggnog no i don't think i will i've made my stance pretty clear on eggnog in my comment
section wasn't too happy about that anyway the magic of christmas intervenes as mr bailey gets
a phone call from his wife arnold and gerald overhear their conversation before leaving and
find out that he hasn't had time to purchase some gifts for his family most likely cutting it close
to christmas because he is an overworker he does promise his wife that he will get everything done
after work before coming home though so arnold being arnold proposes a deal between them that
arnold and gerald would go and take care of all the shopping so he doesn't have to and in return
he helps them find mai after some convincing he agrees to it and hands them a long list of items
to purchase so arnold and gerald are on the case to find every item before the day's over
arnold and gerald step out of the office and right into a montage of finding every gift hopping from
store to store waiting in long lines and getting everything perfectly gift wrapped helga however
isn't having the best of luck finding the perfect gift for arnold she at one point
runs into arnold while thinking she had found the perfect gift though gerald proceeds to say
that a gift like that is nice and flashy but it lacks that soul and thoughtfulness for the person
i guess arnold's speech at the start really rubbed off on him and honestly gerald is a
really good friend he's giving up his time to help arnold do something nice for someone else
the true form of ride or die as they walk away from the now even more confused on what to get
arnold helga she notices they dropped a list with the remaining item not scratched out on
the list being some nancy spimony snow boots she and i guess everyone else wants arnold and
gerald can't find the boots anywhere and even gets laughed at by store employees for even
asking if they had any in stock which is just so cruel to pretend to walk off and see if they had
any only to bring back more employees to have them laugh at his question don't you just love
the holidays after every last effort was put into finding the boots they returned to mr bailey only
to be let down as the deal is broken based on those boots even if they got every other item on
the list for him this breaks arnold's heart as he feels like he failed not just himself but mr wynn
gerald consoles him about this telling arnold that he is selfless and great for even trying
this in the first place helga who has been tailing them ever since running into them overheard why
arnold had those boots on the list and is sad that arnold couldn't do such an incredibly nice thing
true empathy starts setting in for her after seeing and hearing all of this
but what can she do she can't magically fix this for arnold right football head will be right back
hey arnold he's back on helgenow in a slump arrives home to find a house filled with joy her
mother hands her a present to open as it's really special and inside were the nancy spamoni boots
that her and everyone else were after a moment of joy for herself kicks in immediately running
outside to try them on but something hits her something that she struggles with understanding
at first she deals with a morality choice to enjoy the boots she's totally entitled to enjoy
herself as a gift she's really been wanting or use the boots in a way that can be the perfect
gift for arnold helga heads back to the government building running into mr bailey as he's locking up
the building and leaving she offers up the boots to him so he can make good on the deal for arnold
and find mai but he declines and says it's too late and he's heading home then helga delivers
such a heartwarming and thoughtful speech about what christmas is all about her herself finding
what makes christmas christmas and now matching phoebe's views on christmas at the start of the
episode and mirroring how gerald learned from arnold about the art of giving someone a gift
honestly this scene is really powerful you feel the empathy she feels you hear it in her voice
it makes me all teary-eyed to see the good in helga come out with mr bailey finally pondering
on the idea and everything she just said we now see arnold at the boarding house sitting mopey in
a chair during the gift exchanges for secret santa everyone gets through their gifts but there is no
gift for mr winn everyone tries figuring out why while arnold sits there as hearing this hurts his
soul more and more mr winn says it's okay anyway but isn't being too involved in the gathering to
start with arnold can't take the guilt he feels anymore by at least telling mr wynn that he was
thought of and not forgotten but when trying to tell him the doorbell rings and interrupts
as mr wind ponders into the fireplace we hear someone enter and speak out to him just like
the voice from earlier he looks back and sees the now adult mai standing there right in front
of him they reunite as arnold wishes him a merry christmas all while arnold is none the wiser to
the selfless act helga and to an extent mr bailey had pulled off by sacrificing his time with his
family and helga's most wanted gift for herself with the final shot being helga alone in the snow
outside of the boarding house whispering merry christmas to arnold if her speech from earlier
or the reuniting of mr winn and mai didn't break you this ending will helgo went through with the
act of kindness and did something without seeking credit for it or thanks she just wanted to see
arnold happy and to be able to complete his act of kindness this is why i love the show so much
in general it's inherently good by nature and gives you characters to get behind and feel for
emotionally rich characters and some that even have meaner tendencies like helga for example
are always shown to be complex rather than just being that way for the sake of it we don't just
get one-dimensional characters but a deep look into who they are and maybe why they are liked
the way they are it allows the circumstances they face and their masks they put on to others
around them to drive a deeper connection from show to viewer and hey arnold never
sacrificed what made it special for any other means and to me is what made it my favorite
cartoon of all time we don't always know what another person is going through in their own life
or the thoughts within their head to have empathy is one of the most invaluable traits one can have
and i believe is what makes us the most human seeing this episode while i was growing up
really cemented a lot of beliefs and values i carry with me today and why i selected it as
one of my christmas videos for this month hey arnold always had these themes throughout its
entire run as a show but with this christmas episode they were able to capture it perfectly
in more unique ways than other cartoons christmas specials or not the focus not being on santa or
some mythical whimsical adventure but instead on the human spirit maybe that's what true christmas
spirit is all about find the spirit okay i'm i'm definitely hearing something now hello hello
how did that even get in here i must be going crazy or something working on all these videos
i need to get out more
uh anyway i would love to know your thoughts on this episode even hey arnold in general as it's
my favorite cartoon of all time i want to know if it means something to you like it does to me
thanks so much for hanging out with me today make sure to hit the like button and subscribe for more
content like this follow me on twitter or else i'll see you tomorrow with another video for my
next day of fringe miss check out the playlist to keep up with the month but until then later
you