I like gum.
Arnie is a minor character in the Hey Arnold! TV series. He’s Arnold's cousin, likely maternal (see below).
Personality
Arnie is considered weird by nearly everyone. His hobbies include counting things, reading ingredient labels on packaged foods (as well as somehow knowing what the ingredients are), chewing plain-flavored gum and collecting lint. Lila has fallen in love with his "charms" (as well as Hilda, who appears in one of Arnold's dreams).
Appearance
His head is an inversion of Arnold's (flat on top, round on the bottom), his skin looks paler, and his hair is a lighter shade of blond than Arnold's and isn't as spiky. He wears a propeller beanie, a purple and yellow plaid shirt, black suspenders, green pants that rise above his ankles, white socks and brown shoes.
Biography
Arnie is Arnold's cousin, though it's never fully explained how they're related--although Arnie's most likely a relative through Stella's side of the family. To go into greater detail about that:
- 1.) Arnold is explicitly stated as being Phil and Gertie's only grandchild -- this not only confirms that Arnie isn't related to either of Arnold's grandparents, but also the fact that Miles must be an only child like his son is.
- 2.) Arnie has the same type of head shape as Arnold and his mom, Stella.
Taking all of the above into consideration, this would mean that Stella has at least one sibling who's either the mother or father of Arnie.
In his first appearance, he arrives at the Sunset Arms to visit Arnold for four weeks. He goes to P.S. 118 temporarily, where he meets Lila, who instantly falls in love with him. Arnold, feeling jealous that Lila's more interested in Arnie than him, reaches an agreement with Helga to try to make Lila jealous, by pretending to be in a relationship. Their plan apparently succeeded but not on the right person, as Arnie falls in love with Helga and breaks up with Lila to be with her. He departs back to his home eventually, though the exact time is unknown; he may have stayed the full four weeks or left early after the trouble he caused and Helga's (presumed) off-screen rejection.
He later appears in Arnold's dream, wherein Arnold goes to visit Arnie, and encounters bizarre versions of his friends (ex. a flirtatious Lila counterpart, and many swapped friends, such as a dumb Phoebe and brainy Stinky). Arnie eventually catches on to the fact that his girlfriend Lulu is pursuing Arnold and confronts him. Arnie then becomes a more monstrous version of himself, and Arnold wakes up from his dream. It's unlikely that the residents of Arnie's town are as depicted in the dream, though it wouldn't be out of the question.
Appears in
- 73a. Weird Cousin
- 90a. Arnold Visits Arnie
Trivia
- Even though there's already an Arnie, Coach Wittenberg calls Arnold "Arnie." However, he doesn't know Arnold's cousin.
- According to an interview with Craig Bartlett, "Arnie was a joke about when we get really ugly animation back from the studio. We turned that into an episode."
- It's implied that Arnie might have some form of Autism, due to his odd behaviors, hobbies and tone of voice.
- He looks a lot like Arnold.
Gallery
