Favourite Animated Christmas Special

Hey Arnold - Arnold's Christmas (1996)

This episode has only very recently made it on to my list of animated favourites. I'd watched this Christmas Special several times before, but it was only during a recent rewatch (2021) that I truly appreciated how great the episode actually is. "Arnold's Christmas" has leapfrogged all The Simpsons Christmas specials that at one point would have topped my list, purely for nostalgic reasons.

In the episode, the tenants of Arnold’s home, an inner-city boarding house (Sunset Arms) are running a secret santa in the lead up to Christmas and Arnold draws the quiet Mr Hyunh, who always seems sad around the holidays.

Arnold soon pays him a visit to find out a little more about him and it becomes clear that the man has a very touching back story. Mr Hyunh, originally from South Vietnarn, explains how he was separated from his baby daughter Mai during the Fall of Saigon in the Vietnam war, holding her above his head as a U.S. Army helicopter was evacuating the Vietnamese. She was taken by the soldiers back to America, guaranteeing her safety.

When he was finally able to leave Vietnam himself, Mr Hyunh had been unable to find Mai, knowing only that she had been taken to Hillwood. I won't go into more detail on the plot here as this episode is better to be watched for yourself and I recommend you do! I watch it several times over the Christening period and its fast becoming a tradition.

This episode actually premiered on December 11,1996 - 28 years ago yesterday. I'm a little gutted that I didn't realise this fact sooner as I'd have loved to coincide this post with the anniversary of its release.

Overall, it is a wonderful, heartfelt episode and I wasn't surprised to find it is often included on "TV's best holiday episodes" lists including Variety's, Screen Rant's, Indie Wire's and Den of Geek's and is the top rated Hey Arnold episode on IMDB. I watch this special several times over the Christmas period and I recommend you give it a watch on Paramount+.

The episode's opening is my favourite part, a catchy tune and a very atmospheric scene - several shots of a snowy Hillwood and a few of the shows best known characters, and a certain football headed snowman. It always gives me strong, nostalgic 90's vibes.

Go watch it now.