Characters / Hey Arnold! - Students of P.S. 118: Mr. Simmons' Class

Hey Arnold! character index
Arnold Shortman | Helga G. Pataki | Students of P.S. 118: Mr. Simmons' Class, Other Students | The Adults: Part One, Part Two | Other Kids

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WARNING: There are plenty of unmarked spoilers throughout (spoilers from Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie WILL be marked as necessary), so read at your own risk.

Gerald

Gerald Martin Johanssen

"Ain't nothing to it but to do it"

^{Gerald as he appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by:
Jamil Walker Smith (most appearances)
Benjamin “L’il P-Nut” Flores, Jr. (The Jungle Movie)

"You're a bold kid, Arnold. A bold kid."

Best friend to Arnold and often serves as the storyteller of the group. He was the Deuteragonist of the series and the Tritagonist of the last series of "The Jungle Movie"

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• '90s Hair: His Beehive Hairdo is an exaggerated hi-top fade. In The Jungle Movie, it's become a flat-top.
• Ambiguously Bi: He has shown interest in quite a few girls (most notably Phoebe), but in The Movie, he seems to be infatuated with how good Scheck looks in the suit, since he mentions it at least thrice.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Like Helga, he often clashes with his older sibling, Jamie O., but in "Jamie O. in Love", Jamie O. gets a girlfriend, causing Jamie O. to act like a happy Extreme Doormat, which Gerald takes advantage of, but when it turns out she is just using him, Gerald begrudgingly tells him the truth.
• Beehive Hairdo: It's apparently an exaggerated hi-top fade, a style that was popular in The '90s.
• Berserk Button: He gets really angry with Jamie O when he thinks he's trying to "steal" Chloe, and attempts to fight him.
• Beta Couple: Is often paired with Helga's best friend, Phoebe. According to Word of God, he and Phoebe would have been a full example of this (being the more well-adjusted couple compared to Helga and Arnold's more complicated relationship) had "The Patakis" gotten off the ground. They become official in "The Jungle Movie".
• Brutal Honesty: He doesn't bat an eye to tell Arnold what he thinks of his opinions, especially when it comes to Helga. He's all but admitted that he can't stand her.
• Character Catchphrase: When Arnold tries to set something/someone straight, he'll give a half-awed, half-concerned remark of "You're a bold kid, Arnold. A bold kid."
• Childhood Friends: He and Arnold have been friends ever since preschool.
• Deadpan Snarker: The snarkiest character, next to Helga.
• Foil: Arnold is much more serious than Gerald is. Arnold is also very optimistic, while Gerald is more cynical. Furthermore, he dresses in blue and is a blonde while Gerald dresses in red and is a brunette.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Sanguine. Gerald is outgoing, likes to tell tales, and is street smart.
• Handshake Substitute: He has a secret handshake with Arnold - both would either link their hands and wiggle their thumbs or hold their hands next to each other and wiggle their thumbs.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Arnold, they have been best friends since preschool and have a secret handshake.
• Iconic Outfit: He wears his sports outfit even outside of school.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: In the first movie, he manages to successfully drive a bus when Arnold insists that he's the best at the arcade game.
• Improbable Hairstyle: How Gerald maintains that stack of hair is unknown. Especially during instances where it gets wet, such as The Jungle Movie, when all he has to do is wring the water out and it snaps back into place.
• Informed Judaism: Parodied. In The Movie, he suddenly starts reciting a Hebrew prayer in a moment of peril despite thinking Hebrew was Chinese in "Harold's Bar Mitzvah" and never being stated or implied Jewish in the series. Arnold lampshades this by telling Gerald he didn't know he was religious, and Gerald replies, "neither did I."
• Inopportune Voice Cracking: He has a tonsillectomy right before he's supposed to sing a solo at a spring choir concert, and the operation caused his voice to become raspy and crackly especially when he sings. After help from Harvey, he eventually figures out how to sing well with his new voice.
• Jerkass Ball: In "Jamie O In Love," he and Arnold have no problem using a lovestruck Jamie O to get stuff, though they do relent after seeing what an emotional wreck Jamie O's toxic relationship is turning him into.
• KidAnova: Of all the boys in the main cast, Gerald has the most interest in and success with girls. He's very smooth toward Phoebe, whom he has a pretty solid, couple-like relationship with.
  • In "Arnold's Valentine", while he and Arnold are walking, after mentioning that he knows a lot about women, he flirtatiously greets an older girl named Carla who tells him, "Stuff it, squirt!". Not that that discourages him.
  • He routinely acts as a sort of mentor to Arnold when it comes to females; "Arnold's Valentine" and "Crush on Teacher" being two examples. In "6th Grade Girls", he's more enthusiastic and confident than Arnold about their double date with two older girls.
  • In "Door Number 16", he (unsuccessfully) flirts with an older woman while he and Arnold are trying to locate Mr. Smith.
  • In "Gerald vs. Jamie O", he quickly develops a (short-lived) crush on an older girl named Chloe.
• The Lancer: The more fun-loving best friend to the much more serious Arnold.
• Large Ham: Any time he's in front of a crowd. Does everything from reciting cheesy Urban Legends to reading a list of fun things to do on Saturday with all the passion and soul of a gospel preacher.
• Lovable Jock: He's into sports but he's still likable and not a jerk.
• Man Bites Man: During the final confrontation with Lasombra in The Jungle Movie, Gerald actually sinks his teeth into the man's leg.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Of the main trio, he's the In-Between to Arnold's Nice and Helga's Mean. He is nicer than Helga, but he does have a snarky side and isn’t as selfless as Arnold.
  • One of the more illustrative examples occurs in "The Haunted Train" after Brainy unintentionally frightens the trio. Helga throws Brainy out of the carriage, Gerald holds the door open for her and Arnold doesn't get involved.
  • Of his siblings, he's the In-Between to Timberly's Nice and Jamie O's Mean. He's not a bully like Jamie O, but he's more crafty than Timberly.
• Nobody Touches the Hair: Gerald takes his hair very seriously and warns people several times to "watch the hair!"
• Official Couple: After many subtle implications throughout the series, Gerald and Phoebe finally seem to be starting a relationship by the end of The Jungle Movie.
• Only Sane Man: Along with Arnold, he's more down to earth than the rest of the fourth grade class and some of the adults as well.
• Out of Focus: Particularly towards the end of the series. His primary purpose was to be Arnold's best friend, but once Arnold became the Supporting Protagonist in the later seasons, Gerald lost his importance in the series as well. Averted in both movies, however.
• Red Is Heroic: Wears a red jersey and is a morally good kid.
• Saw It in a Movie Once: A Running Gag in the series. Usually it's whenever he states a weird koan or proverb. Arnold will ask what it means and Gerald will respond with "I don't know, I heard it in a hippie movie/record." Another instance had him giving romantic advice to Arnold and he asks Gerald how he knows this stuff and he says he sometimes reads his mother's magazines.
  Gerald: When the bus gets to the end of the line, we'll just ride it back again. The journey is the destination, man!
  Arnold: What does that mean?
  Gerald: I don't know, I heard it in a hippie movie.
  [The bus stops at the depot and the driver leaves, leaving Arnold and Gerald stranded downtown]
  Arnold: You and your hippie movies.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: By The Jungle Movie, Gerald has obviously figured out that Helga's into Arnold, as he joins Phoebe in some good-natured teasing about it. His reaction to Arnold and Helga's first real kiss isn't so much "Whoa, you two like each other now?" and more like "It's about time".
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The cool-headed manly man to Sid's paranoid sensitive guy.
• Shipper on Deck: When Arnold and Helga share a Big Damn Kiss in The Jungle Movie, Gerald gives an approving smile.
• Ship Tease: Occasionally with Phoebe, both of them being rather intelligent.
• The Smart Guy: Generally is one of the most informed and competent of the kids.
• The Social Expert: He is an extremely convincing businessman, gives Arnold dating advice and is a talented performer when necessary.
• Soul Brotha: Black? Check. Cool hair? Check. Even cooler personality? Check.
• Spell My Name With An S: Gerald's last name is spelled "Johanson" in the first season and "Johanssen" from the second season onward. Although it's spelled "Johannsen" in the credits for "The High Life" and "Johansson" in the credits of the "Urban Adventures" tape.
• The Storyteller: Whenever an urban legend or old story needs to be told, Gerald fulfills this role. He is "the keeper of the tale" for many tales. Though he probably should have allowed Curly to tell the Ghost Bride story.
• Token Minority Couple: Downplayed with him and Phoebe. Gerald is African-American, while Phoebe is part Japanese and half white.
• Vocal Evolution: Jamil's voice broke in season 3 and the crew couldn't find a suitable replacement, so from that point on his voice had to be digitally pitched. Even then, Gerald still sounded like at least a fifteen-year-old and he's only nine! The voice change was explained in-universe as the result of a tonsillectomy. His second actor, Benjamin "Li'l-P-Nut" Flores sounds just like Jamil's pre-pubescent voice, which creates a bit of a Continuity Snarl.

Phoebe

Phoebe Heyerdahl

"Forgetting!"

^{Phoebe as she appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by: Anndi McAfee

Best friend of Helga. Half-Japanese girl who was born in Kentucky but moved to the city at a very young age. She strives to be the top of her class.

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• Academic Alpha Bitch: Only in "Ms. Perfect", when she's jealous of Lila outperforming her academically and starts bullying her along with the other girls. However she ends up feeling bad for that, and is nice enough to avert the trope.
• Asian and Nerdy: She's half Japanese, and a bookworm with the highest grades in the class.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Brains to Lila's Beauty and Helga's Brawn.
• Berserk Button: She seems to have a mild one connected to when someone outperforms her academically or socially. In "Phoebe Cheats," she plagiarizes a poem for a contest presumably because Sheena got a higher grade than she did, and because she wasn't chosen as a Student of the Month. And in "Ms. Perfect", she joined Helga and the other girls in bullying Lila just because Lila answered a question in class before she could.
• Bespectacled Cutie: She's a meek and nerdy girl with glasses.
• Beta Couple: According to Word of God, she and Gerald would have been this to Helga and Arnold had The Patakis become a reality. They become official in The Jungle Movie and at the end, their contrast with Arnold and Helga is almost completely perfect.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Pushing her around too much is not a good idea, as seen in "Hall Monitor", to the point where Helga looked like a saint in comparison. Later, in "Phoebe Breaks A Leg," she pulls an elaborate and mean-spirited con on Helga as payback for the latter treating her like a servant.
• Blind Without Them: Has her glasses knocked off once when she's the hall monitor and ends up desperately searching the floor for them — only for them to be trampled on by passing students.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The Brunette to Helga's Blonde and Lila's Redhead.
• Blue Means Smart One: Among the girls in Arnold's class, Phoebe is the smartest. She also happens to be the only girl who is always clad in a blue dress.
• Book Smart: She has been getting straight A's in all subjects in school at age 9. She was even given the chance to skip ahead two grades.
• Brainy Brunette: The smartest girl her class and gets straight A's.
• Broken Pedestal: She was crushed when she realized Ronnie Matthews was a shallow jerk who doesn't write, perform or even sing his own music.
• But Not Too Foreign: Shown to have an Asian father and white mother. Heyerdahl isn't even a Japanese surname, it's Norwegian, so her father likely isn't fully Japanese either.
• Character Catchphrase: In response to Helga asking her to do something: "[verb]-ing!"
• Characterization Marches On: In the first season she was a lot more of a Satellite Character to Helga, to the point of more or less being her shadow and not having much character herself. Later seasons fleshed out her personality more and made her less of a "minion" type.
• Child Prodigy: She was even skipped ahead two grades in "Phoebe Skips", only for her to return to the fourth grade after she realizes that the older kids are only using her.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Blue to Helga's Pink and Lila's Green.
• The Conscience: She rarely succeeds, but Phoebe frequently tries to talk Helga out of her more questionable actions.
• Cute Bookworm: Cute and gets straight A's.
• The Dog Bites Back: After being promoted to hall monitor and discovering that nobody takes her seriously, Phoebe hardens up and becomes a full-blown authoritarian. Even Helga gets reprimanded for breaking the rules.
• Dropped Glasses: Got knocked off of her once when she was trying to be hall monitor. Unfortunately they got stepped on before she could find them.
• Everyone Has Standards: Phoebe normally doesn't object to most of Helga's erratic behavior, but even she was disgusted when Helga framed her nanny for theft in "Helga and the Nanny" walking away from her like the other kids did.
• Extreme Doormat: To Helga. She also has one of these moments in "Ms. Perfect," when she participates in the initial tormenting of Lila. When she gets skipped ahead to the Sixth Grade, she is "befriended" by a group of girls who just want Phoebe to do their homework for them. Helga even points out they're just using her.
• Foil: To Helga, being rather calm while she's rather aggressive. In addition, Phoebe is short while Helga is fairly tall. Also, she dresses in blue while Helga dresses in pink.
• Fatal Flaw: Phoebe doesn't look it due to being kindly most of the time, but she's extremely competitive and often feels like she must excel academically. This led her to once cheat at a poetry contest so she could be the best, and to join the rest of the girls in bullying Lila when she first appeared.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Melancholic. She's intelligent, organized, shy, and loyal to Helga.
• Gasshole: Downplayed. According to Helga, she farts a great deal in her sleep; but this is never shown on screen. She farts once in "Phoebe's Little Problem", as a result of eating too many prune cookies.
• Grade Skipper: She performs so well academically that she ends up being promoted to the sixth grade. However, a group of Alpha Bitches decide to show her false kindness in order to manipulate her into doing their homework. They also invoke a Toxic Friend Influence that makes Phoebe look down on the other fourth graders. Once she realizes this, she returns to the fourth grade. Ironically, when another student entered sixth grade after skipping three grades ahead (a third grader), Phoebe had been replaced.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Helga. They're best friends and she's one of the few people who is patient enough to tolerate Helga's aggressive personality.
• Hidden Depths: She's great with a fencing sword and speaks fluent Japanese. Both traits are nurtured by her Japanese-American dad. Also, in "Phoebe Skips" Helga realizes that Phoebe is simultaneously the only girl in school patient enough to really understand her, while also being the only one devious enough to willingly go along with all her pranks.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The tiny girl to Gerald's huge guy.
• Jerkass Ball:
  • In the episode, "Hall Monitor", she's assigned to be the hall monitor for the week. She takes a page from Helga and becomes more belligerent after being pushed around too much, until she realizes how harsh she's been.
  • In the episode "Miss Perfect" when she teams up with Helga, Rhonda, Nadine, and Sheena to humiliate Lila in the cafeteria. Then again, she ends up feeling bad for what she did.
• Knight Templar: As a hall monitor. Snaps out of it at the end of the episode.
• The Lancer: To Helga, especially when her secret is in danger of getting out.
• Lovable Nerd: She's a Child Prodigy whose sweet personality makes her endearing.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Being so put-upon by Helga occasionally causes Phoebe to turn against her. They always come out of it with an even stronger friendship in the end, however.
• Morality Pet: She is only one that Helga considers her closest friend.
• Nerd Glasses: She's a nerdy girl wearing large cat-eye glasses with blue monochromatic lenses.
• Nice Girl: In contrast to Helga, Phoebe is nice and patient.
• Not So Above It All: Would you expect someone like Phoebe to be infatuated with Teen Idol Ronnie Matthews?
• Official Couple: In The Jungle Movie, Phoebe gives Gerald a kiss, and by the end of it, the two are dating.
• Only Friend: Phoebe is the only person who considers Helga a friend.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Hall Monitor", when she gained said job, she took Helga's training too seriously to the point Helga had to realize this and take action.
• Out of Focus: Phoebe's very small role in The Movie (she has one line) despite her prominence in the show was widely commented upon, especially as she is a fan favorite. Craig Bartlett rectified this for The Jungle Movie, giving Phoebe a much more substantial role in the plot (though still clearly subservient to the three main kid characters - Arnold, Helga, and Gerald).
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The calm and sensible (Blue Oni) to Helga's tomboyish and aggressive (Red Oni). It's even present in their clothing—Phoebe wears a blue outfit and Helga wears a pink (which is a shade of red) dress with a red stripe.
• Secret-Keeper: One of the few characters who knows about Helga's crush on Arnold.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Often speaks with an extensive vocabulary.
• Shipper on Deck: At the end of "Married", she seems to be a supporter of Arnold/Helga.
• Ship Tease: She's implied to have a crush on Gerald, and he seems to reciprocate.
• Shorter Means Smarter: The shortest girl in Mr. Simmons's fourth grade class (only being taller than Arnold), as well as the smartest.
• Sidekick: Though she hates being treated like one, she often fills this role. As her character is fleshed out more it's shown more clearly that it is due to her being an extremely loyal - and patient - friend.
• The Smart Girl: She's the smartest kid and best student of her class.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: She's a Child Prodigy who wears glasses.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: She gives one in "Phoebe Breaks A Leg" when Arnold discovers she was faking a broken leg that pretty quickly turns into a Motive Rant partway through.
  Arnold: Phoebe, this doesn't by any chance have anything to do with Helga, does it?
  Phoebe: Helga?
  Arnold: Yeah, you know? Because of the way she treats you?
  Phoebe: [increasingly frazzled] Well of course not, Arnold. That's completely ridiculous! I mean, just because Helga's been waiting on me hand and foot ever since the bus accident - that was essentially her fault - doesn't mean that I'd falsely prolong my injury in some kind of passive aggressive attempt to reap the benefits of her guilty conscience and simultaneously give her a taste of her own bossy medicine!
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The sensitive and kind-hearted Girly Girl to Helga's aggressive and dominant Tomboy (one of two).
• Town Girls: The Neither to Helga's Butch and Lila's Femme.
• True Blue Femininity: Her casual clothing is blue, in contrast to Helga, who wears pink.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 1 with Helga (receiving end).
• Vocal Evolution: Phoebe's voice is noticeably lower in Season 1, especially in "Operation Ruthless". Considering that Anndi McAfee was 17 when she started recording her lines for the show, she probably switched to a higher voice to convincingly sound like a nine-year-old.

Rhonda

Rhonda Wellington Lloyd

"It's better to look good than to feel good"

^{Rhonda as she appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by: Olivia Hack

One of the most popular kids in school and self-proclaimed "fashion queen", Rhonda is spoiled, rich, obsessed with fashion, and a bit of a snob, but she does have a friendly side that comes out quite often. Her best friend is Nadine, but she's often seen hanging out with Arnold and the gang. It's implied that she and Harold like each other, and Curly likes her too... much to her chagrin. She's also a surprisingly good football player.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Harold apparently, if his reaction to being paired with her in the tunnel of love is any indication.
  • On the other hand she has one in Curly.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: On her more alpha-bitchy days, she acts very stuck up, distant, uppity and looks down at most of the students who she doesn’t see as "cool" or "popular".
• Alpha Bitch: Very often thinks she's better than everyone because her family's rich.
• Ascended Extra: Just like the other kids her personality was undefined and she was more of a background character; however by season 2 she's portrayed as a rich, stuck-up Alpha Bitch.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: It is implied by several episodes that pair them up that she and Harold express animosity toward one another because they don't want to admit their real feelings.
• Blatant Lies: Her scene in Arnold's video from The Jungle Movie has her claiming to be tolerant, gracious, self-effacing and humble...all while taking dozens of selfies and asking for a copy of the video, presumably so she can admire herself even further.
• Boyish Short Hair: An interesting variant. She's a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak, and her hair is fashioned in a very short, chin length bob. Notably, she is the only girl in the main cast to have such short hair.
• Break the Haughty: All the freaking time, but most notably "Rhonda's Glasses" and "Rhonda Goes Broke".
• Butt-Monkey: Very much so in The Jungle Movie. She loses her sunbonnet hat, has her hair ruined and later slashed down to the point she's half-bald, has a designer shoe washed away, and her stylish new smartphone smashed by Phoebe so she can cannibalize it for spare parts.
• Character Development: Despite the above-mentioned gag that she is very much still conceited and vain, she is consistently kinder to others in The Jungle Movie. Her usual snark and dismissal of people "beneath" her is virtually gone.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: A rare platonic example. She was quite livid when Helga tried to make Nadine her replacement Phoebe, and aggressively told her that Nadine was already her sidekick.
• Close-Call Haircut: Not only does she spend The Jungle Movie being a Butt-Monkey like most of the class, her hair is instantly ruined the second she steps off the plane. Then, the top of her hair gets shaved off by a man with a machete as she ducks out of the way.
• Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: The Cool Kid to Nadine's Loser.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Rhonda played this straight in "Rhonda's Glasses". Gerald and Arnold give her an offer to sit at their table due to her situation, but Rhonda refuses, saying that they don't need to feel sorry for her.
• Drama Queen: Even worse than Olga. That's what happens when you're a spoiled rich kid.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Her head became rounder and her eyes larger as the animation improved.
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • In "Helga's Makeover", Rhonda wasn't even rich. She lived in what appeared to be a normal apartment building.
  • Rhonda has a lighter skin tone in the theme song, though this particular example does not pertain to the actual show.
• Fallen Princess: This is the subject of a couple episodes (most notably "Rhonda's Glasses" and "Rhonda Goes Broke"), but she's always back on top by the end.
• The Fashionista: She aspires to be an authority on fashion.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: The green and yellow dress she wears throughout most of The Jungle Movie shows us that Rhonda's starting to develop a womanly figure.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Rhonda is a spoiled, rich Alpha Bitch, but the so-called fashionista isn't above playing sports with her friends, including extremely rough and dirty ones like football. She's also a pretty good bowler, as seen in "Coach Wittenberg", once she gets past the issue of breaking a nail. Her haircut is also the least stereotypically feminine of all the female characters on the show.
• Heroic BSoD: When her family becomes poor in "Rhonda Goes Broke" - specifically, when everybody finds out that she's poor - Rhonda has a major one, spending all her time in her room miserably crying. Luckily, Arnold reboots her when he talks some sense into her and asks if being rich is all she's about.
• Huge Schoolgirl: Not to Sheena's extent, but she's the second tallest girl in the class and is taller than everyone except Sheena, Stinky, and Harold.
• Hypocritical Humour: In one episode, she tells Nadine she has to have a "three day rotation" for her footwear in order to continue hanging out with her, even though all the characters in the show, including Rhonda, have a Limited Wardrobe.
• Innocently Insensitive: She tries to console Arnold over Dino's alleged death in "Dino Checks Out", she simply tells Arnold that Dino was an "old man" and "that's what old people do, they die" despite the fact that Dino was believed to have died in a boating accident as opposed to old age. She makes it worse by then saying "He wasn't that good of a singer anyway." which is negative continuity from a previous episode "School Dance" where she actually enjoyed Dino's music.
• Jerkass Ball: In the episode "Miss Perfect" when she teams up with Helga, Phoebe, Nadine, and Sheena to humiliate Lila in the cafeteria. While Rhonda's not the nicest of characters, she generally doesn't go out of her way to be cruel. Then again, she ends up feeling bad for what she did.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She does have a good heart under her vain, self-centered exterior, but it often takes great peril (at least from her perspective) to bring it out of her.
• Lady in Red: She appears to be very fond of the color red; she wears red clothes, accessories, and shoes quite often (some episodes which show her doing so are "School Dance" and "A Day in the Life of a Classroom"). A downplayed example as she's on the younger side, but she certainly has the bold and sassy personality that this trope brings to mind. She auditions for a Yahoo Soda commercial in "Stinky Goes Hollywood" as a Femme Fatale-esque character.
• Large Ham: She's pretty prone to this when she breaks into histrionics, especially in the episode "Rhonda Goes Broke".
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Despite often being a typical spoiled rich girl, she does have a kind side. Not only does she always do the right thing in the end, but her best friend - Nadine - is middle-class. She's also strongly implied to have a crush on Harold, who is, for better or worse, a fat slob.
• Master of the Mixed Message: One episode will imply that she likes Harold and the next will have her insult him.
• Noodle Incident: According to "Egg Story", something happened between her and Harold at the Cheese Festival (as shown in "Operation Ruthless"), but we never find out what.
• Odd Friendship: With Nadine who is far less interested in fashion and is more interested in nature. She also ends up developing one with Big Patty when the two of them attend charm school together, or at least they become close enough for Rhonda to (eventually) accept Big Patty's invitation to spend the night.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Although Arnold is one of the people that she treats kindly, she has moments where she can be a jerk towards him. In "School Dance," when Arnold is tasked with music, she acts cold and demanding at his task, and in "Deconstructing Arnold," she insulted Arnold's helping persona along with the other kids.
• Pet the Dog: Very frequently in her focus episodes, and in other episodes like "Dino Checks Out", where she tries, in her own...unique way, to express her condolences to Arnold for Dino's "death". She also chides the other kids for making fun of Harold's weight gain in "Weighing Harold". There was also the time where she stood up for Big Patty when a group of older girls were antagonizing her (even threatening to punch one of them).
• Rich Bitch: On her worst days, she can be pretty rude to the other kids.
• Ship Tease: With Harold primarily, though some episodes, such as "Wheezin' Ed", do this with her and Sid, too. She even arguably has this with Curly, considering how the two were shown walking arm-in-arm and dancing together at the April Fools' Dance (implying she agreed to go the dance together with him) in the final season episode April Fools (which happens after the first movie says Word of God).
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Nadine's Tomboy.
• Tsundere: Seems to be this for Harold. She can change between caring about him to hating his guts at the drop of a hat.
• Two First Names: Either "Rhonda" or "Lloyd" can be used as a first name.
• The Unreveal: So...what happened between Rhonda and Harold at the Cheese Festival? Whatever it is, Rhonda didn't seem keen on talking about it in public.
• Unwanted Glasses Plot: Gets glasses against her wishes in "Rhonda's Glasses", but later replaces them with cooler glasses, and eventually contacts.
• Vocal Evolution: Her voice became more mature in later seasons, this is because her voice actress Olivia Hack was going through puberty. Unlike others on this list, it's barely noticeable unless you watch several episodes in a row. It has noticeably changed again in The Jungle Movie, taking on a more Valley Girl-esque sound.

Nadine

Nadine

"[Insects] are practically our landlords!"

^{Nadine as she appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by:
Lauren Robinson (most appearances)
Laya DeLeon Hayes (The Jungle Movie)

Nadine is Rhonda's best friend, even though they couldn't be more different. She is fascinated by bugs and arachnids.

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• Advertised Extra: She's featured quite prominently in the show's opening sequence (moreso than Rhonda), implying that she'd be a major player. In the actual series she doesn't do too much, acting as either a Living Prop or a Satellite Character to Rhonda.
• Ascended Extra: In The Jungle Movie, Nadine is actually very important to the progression of the story because her love for bugs and spiders is used to incapacitate two guards at Lasombra's compound.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: She has a love for bugs and arachnids and her hairstyle vaguely resembles a spider itself.
• Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: The dork to Rhonda's cool.
• Flat Character: Her character can be summed up as "Rhonda's best friend who likes bugs."
• Foil: To Phoebe, being a sidekick to one of the more obnoxious girls in Arnold's class. The difference being that Phoebe is more distinct from Helga while Nadine is just an extension of Rhonda. Additionally, Phoebe has Raven Hair, Ivory Skin while Nadine is a dark-skinned blonde.
• Freaky Is Cool: She really likes bugs. The more disgusting, the better.
• Friend to Bugs: She's fascinated with insects and studies a lot about them.
• Girlish Pigtails: Though they're meant to resemble spider legs.
• Iconic Item: Wears two pink hair clips that make them look like spider eyes.
• Improbable Hairstyle: She has six pigtails that are meant to resemble insect legs.
• Innocent Beta Bitch: For Rhonda. She never acts stuck up compare to her and has eccentricities of her own.
• Jerkass Ball: In the episode "Miss Perfect" when she teams up with Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda, and Sheena to humiliate Lila in the cafeteria. Then again, she ends up feeling bad for what she did.
• No Full Name Given: Like many others, Nadine's last name is never mentioned.
• Odd Friendship: Despite having an interest in insects, her best friend is the snobby Rhonda.
• Riddle for the Ages: We never find out why she and Rhonda are best friends despite all their differences.
• Satellite Character: To Rhonda. She's one of the few characters to never get an episode that fully focused on her. This was intended to change with The Jungle Movie, which would have seen her in her element (surrounded by loads and loads of exotic insects). In the revived Jungle Movie, this wasn't the case, as she only had a couple lines, though her bugs are instrumental in helping the entirety of Mr. Simmons' class escape from Lasombra's captivity.
• The Quiet One: Not talking much is one of her characteristics.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The insect-loving tomboy to Rhonda's Alpha Bitch Girly Girl.
• Token Black Friend: Half-black best friend to Rhonda, and she's a Flat Character whose only notable trait is that she likes bugs.

Harold

Harold (aka. Chaim) Berman

"Madame Fortress Mommy!"

Voiced by: Justin Shenkarow

Harold is an overweight and immature 13-year old 4th grader who was a one-dimensional bully until Arnold showed him his sensitive side. He is known for slacking off and an incredible appetite, but he is very much a softie and a Mama's Boy. Harold is also Jewish and eventually finds himself trying to embrace his heritage.

---

• Ate It All: He did this to the buffet in The Jungle Movie... and was then stricken with a marathon Potty Emergency.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: In "Suspended": After receiving a D on his test, Harold decides that he hates school so much that he wishes that he'd never had to go again. Harold calls Principal Wartz a "stupid dork", and Principal Wartz suspends him for a week. Overjoyed that his wish came true, Harold goes home and tries to watch some TV, but the only thing on all channels is news coverage of an economic summit in Japan, which Harold finds very boring. He then decides to go shoot baskets out in the basketball court, but when he can't score a hit in the basket (ending with him accidentally tossing the ball out of the court and it bounces off and damages several cars offscreen), Harold finally understands the true misery of his punishment, and is desperate to return to school.
  Harold: I hate being suspended, and it's only Monday! I can't take it! I WANNA GO BACK TO SCHOOL!
• Berserk Button: Yeah, keep making fun of Patty. That's a good way to induce Harold's biggest screaming meltdown of the series.
• Big Eater: One of his main traits, as Helga once claimed he ate half his weight in chocolate. He even gets into trouble in one episode because he steals a ham from Mr. Green. When confronted by his parents, he replies, "I was hungry!"
• The Big Guy: Being the oldest of the kids, he takes the role as the strongest of the gang.
• Big Ol' Unibrow: Like Helga, he also has one of these, which leads to some Hypocritical Humor in "Helga's Masquerade".
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Among his friends Sid and Stinky, he's the big one.
• Book Dumb: He was Held Back in School, implying his academic incompetence.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He generally doesn't do well in school and is kinda ditzy but as Mr. Simmons points out at the end of "The Aptitude Test", he can actually be pretty smart if he applies himself. Harold states that he only got held back in school because according to the adults he's unmotivated, not stupid.
• The Bully: In the first season, he was this to Arnold, although Wolfgang eventually took the role of the bully instead. He still has shades of it later on, though as shown in episodes like "Full Moon", the other kids don't take his physical threats that seriously.
• Bullying a Dragon: Really Harold? You have the balls to make fun of Helga? Twice in the same episode? The first time he got a tray full of food shoved in his face. Fortunately for him, Helga let him off the second time since she was trying to act more Lila-like for Arnold.
• Butt-Monkey: Has his moments ranging from getting suspended from school by its aggressively unforgiving principal to gaining weight from a cruise trip ironically intended to slim him down.
• Character Catchphrase: "Aah! Mommy!" when he gets humiliated or overwhelmed.
• Characterization Marches On: Much like Helga, Harold went from a mere jerk to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Additionally, in the first season he was a real physical threat but after that becomes a Paper Tiger. In "24 Hours", Arnold is terrified of getting killed by him while in "Full Moon" he reacts to Harold's threats to pound him with boredom. In "Harold's Kitty", Sid refers to Harold as "the biggest, meanest, nastiest bully around"; Sid would later become one of Harold's best friends. Harold's character development is even Lampshaded in The Jungle Movie:
  Harold: I was a one-dimensional bully 'til Arnold showed me my sensitive side.
• Charlie Brown Baldness: The few times he's seen without his hat, he's shown to have a few strands of buzzed short hair on his head.
• The Ditz: He's obnoxiously naïve and childish.
• Dumb Muscle: The strongest of the kids, but is 13 years old because he was Held Back in School.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: In early episodes, he had a red "H" in the left breast area of his blue shirt.
• Epic Fail:
  • In "Weighing Harold" he becomes self-conscious about his weight after several people make fun of him for it and goes on a fitness cruise for obese kids who want to lose weight. Somehow he comes back even fatter than before! As a bonus, the commercial for the fitness cruise implied that only salads and other healthy foods were served, meaning that he somehow gained all of that weight from overeating salads.
  • He stole a whole ham from the butcher shop. No bag or anything, just the ham. To top it off, he's Jewish.
• Extreme Omnivore: Some episodes will have him eat something that isn't food, such as "Fishing Trip" where he eats worms that were meant to be used as bait for fishing.
• Everyone Has Standards: He was quite vocal against Helga using lies in her paper.
• Fat Bastard: He's obese and on his worst days can be pretty mean.
• Fat Idiot: Harold has the IQ of a lemon. But "The Aptitude Test" shows us that he could do much better if he wanted to.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: He was this before his character development. In "Harold's Kitty", even Sid and Stinky didn't really like hanging out with him because of his bullying ways. This status is lessened in later episodes (maybe even as early as the end of "Harold's Kitty"), but it never really goes away entirely.
• Held Back in School: Is about 13 years old (old enough to have a bar mitzvah) but still in 4th grade.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Usually with Harold what you see is what you get. But after a mix up in "The Aptitude Test" results in him believing he's a genius, he starts listening to classical music, correctly solves a math problem in his head, and designs a gazebo/bonsai garden for his family's rooftop.
  • When his Rabbi makes him work for Mr. Green for a weak as punishment for stealing a ham, he latches onto meat as sort of a special interest; instead of just mindlessly eating, he appreciates the different cuts and methods of preparation, and even memories inventory.
• Hypocritical Humor: In "Helga's Masquerade", he makes fun of Helga for having a Big Ol' Unibrow, despite the fact that he has one himself.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Is extremely prone to this, often in the midst of one of his meltdowns that begin with, "AHHHH! MOMMY!" In "Weighing Harold," he became so upset at being called fat that he wept onto the blacktop. In "What's Opera, Arnold?" he also sang a parody of "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci, bawling just as much as any hammy tenor, and in other episodes the music of that aria tends to underscore his blubbering fits.
• Informed Judaism: His Jewish background wasn't mentioned until the episode in which he tries to run away from his own bar mitzvah, though prior to that, it was established he had a mom who acted like a Jewish Mother. In fact, in one of the old claymation shorts, he attends church with Arnold.
• I Want My Mommy!: He often cries for his mommy whenever he gets scared.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He evolved from a full-on jerk of a bully in the first season to a more compassionate kid in the second season.
• Jewish Mother: His mom Marilyn fits some of the stereotypes, most notably being a My Beloved Smother.
• Kiddie Kid: The most immature character in Mr. Simmons' 4th grade class as he often cries for his mommy and has been shown playing with a Barney-Expy doll on multiple occasions. Yet he's four years older than the rest of his class.
• Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Surprisingly, "Harold's Kitty" has him adopting a seemingly stray cat and fawning over it.
• Large Ham: "AAH MOMMY!!!"
• Leitmotif: In the later episodes, it became common for "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci to play whenever he apologized for his actions or broke down crying.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Mean to Sid's in-between and Stinky's nice.
• No Indoor Voice: A lot of his dialogue is yelled. Less so whenever he's bummed about something.
• Older Than They Look: Harold is 13 (although some episodes have disputed this) but is only slightly taller than Arnold and much smaller than Wolfgang, who is three years younger than him.
• Out-of-Character Moment: In Stinky's Pumpkin when Mr. Simmons asks the class what the hullabaloo about spring is, Harold of all people answers by saying "Love is in the air." Although it was said with a tone of sarcasm in it.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: When he discovers that being suspended isn't all it's cracked up to be, he repeatedly attempts to sneak back into P.S. 118. At one point, he hits upon the idea of pretending to be a pizza delivery man, and so dons what he dubs a "foolproof disguise": a fake black mustache, chef's hat, apron, and a striped shirt with his name on it. Unsurprisingly, Principal Wartz isn't fooled by the trick, even when Harold attempts a horrible Italian accent to convince him.
• Paper Tiger: He always threatens to pound people, but rarely delivers on the threat and runs like a coward when his targets retaliate.
• Potty Failure: In "Phoebe's Little Problem", Harold gets up to make fun of Phoebe for a previous incident in which she accidentally farted into a microphone in front of the whole school. Ironically, Harold ends up wetting his pants in front of the whole school. Which was foreshadowed. As everyone is laughing at Phoebe after she farted, Harold can be heard gasping, "I'm gonna pee my pants!" Later on in the episode, his words came true.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The brash manly man to Sid's paranoid and Stinky's simple-minded sensitive guys.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: With Patty. He insists that they are just friends.
• Ship Tease: He is occasionally hinted to be in a relationship with Patty in some episodes, or Rhonda in others.
• Thin-Skinned Bully: Harold is depicted as this, constantly attempting to intimidate other students but left whimpering when anyone so much as did something confusing around him. By later seasons this became so evident the actual bully aspect of his personality faded in favor of Character Development concerning his awkwardness and hidden sensitivity.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He's kind of a dick in the first season, but he eases up in later seasons showing compassion towards others such as his friends Sid and Stinky.
  • This applies to The Jungle Movie as well, as Harold doesn't bully anyone or boast about himself throughout the course of the movie. Harold is even seen beating a junky replica of Arnold when they are first imprisoned by Lasombra, only to be snuggling the same dummy later that night crying about how he misses Arnold.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mr. Fudgey ice cream bars are his favorite thing to eat.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The flashback in "Helga on the Couch" shows that it was Harold's teasing of Helga's crush on Arnold that caused her to develop Hidden Heart of Gold-hiding facade and become a Loving Bully to Arnold.
• Vague Age: The writers seem to flip-flop between having Harold a few years older, or the same age as Arnold and his friends. In one episode he is shown to have gone to preschool with them and looked preschool aged, yet in others he's 13 and was Held Back in School.
• Vocal Evolution: The pitch of his voice remained consistent^note At least in the series proper, as it was higher in the original pilot, but developed a raspier sound post-season 1.

Stinky

Stinky Peterson

"This really bites"

^{Stinky as he appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by:
Christopher P. Walberg (most appearances)
Toran Caudell ("Downtown as Fruits")
Jet Jurgensmeyer (The Jungle Movie)

A kid with a thick Southern accent. He comes from a rural background and his family doesn't have a lot of wealth. Stinky is often seen palling around with Sid.

---

• Acquired Situational Narcissism: Averted in "Stinky Goes Hollywood". While Stinky has to cancel a fair amount of plans and gains a slight uptick in the confidence department after becoming the Yahoo Soda spokeskid, he remains a genuinely pleasant guy and offers to give Arnold a tour of the filming studio. This serves to make The Reveal that his employers only hired him because they wanted to invoke a Springtime for Hitler scenario all the more heartbreaking.
• Aerith and Bob: Most of the other characters have normal names, and this guy's name is "Stinky".
• The Artifact: He continues to wear his spiked bracelets, and use the type of expression appropriate for a lacky, in the opening long after he stops filling that niche.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: When paired up with his friends Sid and Harold, he is the thin one.
• Butt-Monkey: Suffers humiliations and injuries at times.
• Celebrity Is Overrated: "Stinky Goes Hollywood": Stinky has been selected to do a commercial campaign for Yahoo Soda. After filming several ads, Stinky's family and friends want him to sign a $1 million contract, but Stinky overheard an executive mocking his name, and saying that his performances were So Bad, It's Good because of his goofy voice and accent. Fearing that the commercials will be mocking his hayseed image (and other personal inferiorities), he declines the offer to save his pride. He ends up being mocked as an idiot by Helga for not signing.
• Characterization Marches On: In Season 1, he was more of a mindless lackey to Harold and wore spiky arm-bands. Later on, he was revealed to be a lot nicer and no longer wore the arm bands.
• Country Mouse: In fact, he lives in a wood cabin in the middle of the city.
• Deep South: His family is from Arkansas. However, it is revealed in "Stinky's Pumpkin" that he was actually born in Hillwood.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: He wore spiked bracelets in the early seasons.
• Gag Nose: Has a ridiculously big pointy nose.
• Genius Ditz: In "Stinky's Pumpkin", he wants to prove he's good at something, so he enters a competition to grow a prize-winning pumpkin, even though no crops have grown on the Peterson's property for years; he ends up with a gigantic pumpkin.
• Green Thumb: In "Stinky's Pumpkin", he successfully grows an enormous pumpkin that is big enough for him to comfortably sit in.
• Hidden Depths: Stinky occasionally spouts nuggets of wisdom, though usually without realizing it.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Or "Really Is Stinky" in this case, it turns out Stinky is really is name in "Stinky Goes Hollywood".
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The huge guy to Phoebe's tiny girl.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Often wishes he was able to be good at something.
• Innocently Insensitive: Since he's not the brightest bulb in the room, he often says things to his friends that depress them or make them angry.
  Stinky: [after Mr. Simmons announces Parents Weekend] Are you coming too Arnold? I mean, by bringing your grandma and grandpa as parents, since you don't have none- [Gerald hits him] Ow!
  Gerald: [indicating to keep quiet] Stinky!
  • He also kept prattling on about how Lila has a crush on Arnold's oddball cousin Arnie, but only likes Arnold as a friend. Arnold straight up tells Stinky to shut up.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be obnoxious when he's around Sid and Harold, but his spotlight episodes show that he's more civilized.
• Karma Houdini: Being entirely at fault for Arnold's ordeal in "Arnold Betrays Iggy" yet nothing happens to him.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Nice to Harold's mean and Sid's in-between.
• Out of Focus: Out of all of Arnold's friends, he has the smallest role in The Jungle Movie, having few lines and doing nothing of note aside from his role in Phoebe's plan to break the class out of Lasombra's prison. He was originally supposed to have a bigger role with him, Sid, and Harold getting separated from the cast, but it got scrapped.
• Satellite Love Interest: On both ends of this trope in "Helga's Boyfriend". Helga bribes Stinky into publicly doting on her in the hopes it will make Arnold jealous. When that plan fails, Helga dumps Stinky and he starts hanging out with a new girl who looks like a daintier version of Helga.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Country Mouse manly man to Sid's paranoid sensitive guy, and the simple-minded sensitive guy to Harold's brash manly man.
• Simpleton Voice: One episode even had him star in a commercial line-up for Yahoo! Soda because of how dumb his voice sounded.
• Simpleminded Wisdom: He declined the million-dollar contract because he thinks pride is more important than money.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks a lot like his dad.
• Those Two Guys: Can be seen alongside Sid in a good chunk of episodes he's featured in. Could be this with Harold also, on a few occasions such as "Deconstructing Arnold".
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Much like Sid, his behavior started worsening in Season 3.^note "Arnold Betrays Iggy" (where he and Sid make fun of Iggy's bunny pajamas and make the knowledge public in spite of Arnold's wishes), "Hey Harold!" (where he and Sid make fun of Harold and Patty) and "Gerald's Tonsils" (where he gloats about the possibility of taking Gerald's place when he has to get his tonsils removed) are all close together in production order.
• Toxic Friend Influence: He's nicer when he's not with Sid and/or Harold.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He likes lemon pudding, at one point annoying the other kids by incessantly rambling about why he likes it.
• Unfortunate Names: See below. Though the only person in the series who ever seemed to find it to be this was the director from "Stinky Goes Hollywood".
• Verbal Tic: He frequently ends his sentences with "I reckon".
  • Also tends to say "On account of..."
• Vocal Evolution: Christopher Walberg went through puberty, and thus, Stinky's voice deepened over time.
• With Friends Like These...: Shares this status with Sid. Although, his spotlight episodes do show he has some depth to him.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: It has been stated in his spotlight episodes that "Stinky" just happens to be his real name. The director from "Stinky Goes Hollywood" even lampshaded it.

Sid

Sid

"Boy howdy!"

^{Sid as he appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by:
Sam Gifaldi (most appearances)
Taylor Gifaldi ("April Fool's Day")
Aiden Lewandowski (The Jungle Movie)

A paranoid boy in a hat. He tries to act cool and dress snazzy, and is very much on the up-and-up on the rumor mill, but Sid's habit of freaking out at the slightest provocation and blowing nearly everything out of proportion often leads to a lot of chaos. He and Stinky tend to hang around together.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Ruth. She looks quite annoyed every time he tries to flirt with her.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: He's the short one among his friends Stinky and Harold.
• Boys Like Creepy Critters: He's a preteen boy who loves frogs, catches them with gusto, and has a pet frog named Sidney (presumably after him) who's the first one he ever caught.
• Butt-Monkey: In earlier episodes, he often suffered misfortunes.
• Character Catchphrase: Starts off urban legend exposition with "The story of [blank], has been passed down from kid generation to kid generation, and our own Gerald is the keeper of the tale. Go ahead Gerald."
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Sid constantly betrays his friends, only for them to eventually forgive him and the cycle starting all over again. "Arnold Betrays Iggy" and "Bag of Money" are the most known examples of this. He also treats Harold like utter dog shit in the latter's day in the limelight episodes, such as fat-shaming him in "Weighing Harold" and making fun of him whenever Patty is around.
• The Dandy: He likes wearing good clothes, especially when it comes to his boots.
• Depending on the Artist: Whenever Sid is shown hatless, the artists can't seem to decide if he has a full head of medium length black hair underneath, or just the stringy tufts we see anyway.
• Gag Nose: Has a very big nose.
• Hollywood Voodoo: Thought he once killed Principal Wartz with a voodoo doll made of soap.
• Iconic Item: His white Beatle boots.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His spotlight episodes tend to display him as a paranoid Large Ham who frequently lets his imagination get the best of him or digs himself in too deep and needs Arnold to save him. That said, he does try to make amends for the things he does when he realizes he's gone too far. Additionally, he tends to be a lot nicer when he's not around Harold or Stinky.
• Karma Houdini: He and Stinky receive absolutely no comeuppance after learning Iggy's secret, spreading it throughout the school, and then bragging about taking pictures at Arnold's final ordeal to get Iggy's forgiveness. Arnold, in contrast, ends up the one having to dress up in a bunny costume. This is one of the reasons why the episode is not well-received.
• Large Ham: Episodes centering around him make him overly dramatic and prone to chewing the scenery, especially "Sid the Vampire Slayer" and "Sid's Revenge."
• My God, What Have I Done?: When he thinks he's killed Principal Wartz with a voodoo doll carved from soap, he's quite upset about it.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: In-between to Stinky's nice and Harold's mean.
• No Full Name Given: The second most prominent example on the show of a character with no given surname, behind only Arnold himself.
• Out-of-Character Moment: "The Headless Cabbie" has him act fairly level headed when the group encounters several elements of Arnold's ghost story while Harold is the paranoid one who believes the Headless Cabbie is out to get the gang.
• Pet the Dog: Even after taking a level in jerkass, he had moments that showed his heart was still in the right place.
  • In one episode, he gets into trouble with Big Gino. When Arnold tells Sid he doesn't have to do what Big Gino says, Gino orders him to give Arnold a swirlie. Sid stands up to Gino to take Arnold's place.
  • When Arnold gets detention for refusing to rat on him, Harold, and Stinky for mooning Principal Wartz, Sid feels bad about it and thinks that the three of them should confess to get him off the hook. Harold convinces him they shouldn't, but by the end they all confess to save Arnold's permanent record.
  • In "Timberly Loves Arnold", when Gerald tells his little sister Timberly that she isn't welcome to accompany he and his friends to play baseball, Sid kindly lets her come along and even holds her hand as they walk together.
• Properly Paranoid: Exemplified in his spotlight episodes where he goes on to freak out over something he thinks would happen and do everything he can to prepare, like having a nightmare where Stinky was a vampire after seeing a vampire movie. He then goes on to read about vampires and to learn about how to deal with one.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Especially in his Spotlight episodes.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The paranoid sensitive guy to Gerald's cool-headed, Harold's brash, and Stinky's Country Mouse manly men.
• Ship Tease: Hinted to have a thing going on with Ruth in "Operation Ruthless" and "Hey Harold!". There are also a few hints that he may have a crush on Rhonda.
• Sidekick: Acts as Gerald's lead-in man whenever it's time for him to tell another legend.
• Those Two Guys: Is seen with Stinky a good number of times.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Around Season 3, he became more prone to unfair heckling and taunting.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He's a lot nicer in The Jungle Movie and spends the entire film doing things like helping Eugene cope with an allergic reaction.
• With Friends Like These...: Shares this status with Stinky as two of the worst of the kids besides Helga, Harold and Curly. Whereas Helga and Harold both have considerable amounts of depth, Sid and Stinky frequently display Lack of Empathy and turn on their so-called friends. Whenever an episode focuses on Harold, Sid and Stinky will be there to mock him until he finally gives a Big "SHUT UP!" and threatens to beat the snot out of them. As for Curly, well, he's just a crazy bastard.

Eugene

Eugene Horowitz

"I'm okay!"

^{Eugene as he appears in The Jungle Movie}

Voiced by:
Christopher J. Castile (early season 1)
Jarrett Lennon (later season 1)
Ben Diskin (season 2-early season 5)
Blake McIver Ewing (remainder of season 5 and The Movie)
Gavin Lewis (The Jungle Movie)

An extremely unlucky kid, who gets injured a lot and often shunned by the other children- mostly because they're afraid his bad luck is contagious. Arnold is the only one who treats him as an equal and continually tries to prove he doesn't have bad luck, with very mixed results.

---

• Abandoned Catchphrase: As seen in "False Alarm" , Eugene's catchphrase was "I'm fine" but it was changed to "I'm okay" by the end of Season 1.
• Acquainted with Emergency Services: Due to his luck, the firefighters know him pretty well. In Season 5, "Stuck in a Tree", when he along with Arnold and Harold are stuck in a tree, they see Chocolate Boy and tell him to get help from the fire department. He tells Chocolate Boy to mention him to the firefighters because they know him from previous rescues. Arnold has a "Why am I not surprised?" reaction to what Eugene said.
  Arnold: [to Chocolate Boy] Go to the fire station, tell them we're stuck in a tree, and we need help getting down.
  Eugene: Tell them Eugene sent you. They know me. They rescued me many times before.
• Ambiguously Gay: His bedroom is decorated with rainbows and unicorns and he seems to enjoy dancing and musicals. He also reacts with horror that he has to kiss a girl in "Romeo & Juliet". (The other boys do too, but Eugene specifically states, "I'd rather not kiss a girl," while the others just laugh) and seems to be displeased with the idea of marrying Sheena in "Married" despite the two being close friends. Also, this dialogue from "Ghost Bride":
  Sid: [to Curly] I can't believe you pulled such a dirty trick on us!
  Eugene: [to Curly] I can't believe how nice you look in that dress.
  • That being said, he does kiss Lila during the school play in "Eugene! Eugene!" and even seems to do it with a bit of vigor, though it could have been just for the sake of the play.
• Ambiguously Jewish: His last name is Horowitz, a Jewish surname. "Eugene" was also a popular name for American Jews in the early 20th century, and his father's name "Nate" is a nickname for "Nathan," a name of Hebrew origin.
• Beneath the Mask: "Roller Coaster" shows that despite always trying to look on the bright side, he is depressed because of the other kids considering him a jinx.
• Born Unlucky: He was born on Friday the 13th.
• Butt-Monkey: Almost every episode has him in some form of pain.
• Character Catchphrase: "I'm okay..." said after something bad happens to him.
• Character Development: In "School Play", he rejects the role of Romeo because he's uncomfortable kissing a girl. But in "Eugene, Eugene", he's passionate enough about the story to kiss Lila even if he's "proto-gay".
• Eye Scream: At one point he needed to wear an eyepatch after getting jabbed by a half-chewed piece of hotdog.
• Flanderization: During his early apparitions in the series, he already was shown to be an optimistic kid, but his optimism had limits (He broke down in tears in "Eugene's Bike" and got very depressed in "Eugene's Pet") In later episodes, he tends shown to be freakishly happy, always reacting to all the bad things happening to him with a big smile on his face.
• Hidden Depths: In "Roller Coaster" Eugene revelas that he knows the other kids see him as a jinx, but he doesn't let that get to him. In the same episode it's revealed that Eugene's also learned quite a bit from his various accidents. When a firefighter has a panic attack thanks to a technical error, Eugene is able to calm the guy down using some techniques he practices whenever he gets into these situations.
• Inflating Body Gag: He has an allergic reaction to the buffet food in The Jungle Movie, leaving him spherical for the rest of the movie.
• Ironic Name: His name means "born lucky".
• Jerkass Ball: During "Eugene Goes Bad", when he discovers one of his childhood idols is a slimeball who doesn't do his own stunts, Eugene becomes an edgy greaser. The factors that pull him back to normal by the end are a little kid who looks up to him (and going bad himself out of disappointment towards Eugene going bad) and the actor saving both him and the kid.
• The Jinx: The other kids think he is one of these, and Arnold often gets dragged into trouble when he tries to help Eugene or prove that he isn't a jinx. After a while Eugene realizes that some of his worse bad luck incidents (such as his bike being destroyed and his goldfish getting killed) happened when he was around Arnold, prompting him to believe that Arnold is the jinx even though some of his misfortunes happen when Arnold isn't around.
• The Klutz: Not just extremely clumsy, but is also just a bad luck magnet in general.
• Nice Guy: One of the nicer kids in school.
• Plot Allergy: His food allergies in The Jungle Movie leave him spherical and bouncy, which actually comes in handy for the heroes, using him as a bounce pad or as a bowling ball.
• The Pollyanna: He is almost always freakishly happy and optimistic, despite his luck issues.
• Redheads Are Uncool: Has reddish hair and is one of the more least popular kids at P.S. 118 for being seen as a "jinx".
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Whenever he's about to get seriously hurt, he has a rather high-pitched and feminine scream.
• Stepford Smiler: In the episode, "Married" when he believes that Sheena will be his future wife, he is clearly not being sincere when saying that he's happy about it.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Arnold often tries to invoke Eugene getting a break from his streak of misfortune, but each time life tends to yank the chain.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Strained beets, according to "Coach Wittenberg".
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Surprisingly, he tends to look on the bright side of everything, no matter how dense the situation is.
• Youthful Freckles: He's a kid with freckles to match his red hair.
• Your Size May Vary: Whether he's taller or shorter than Arnold varies.

Lila

Lila Sawyer

"It's not easy being perfect..."

Voiced by: Ashley Buccille

A poor country girl who transfers to the school in season 2. She tries to be a model example of kindness, but sometimes forces herself to act that way to get a pat on the back.

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• All-Loving Heroine: Although she came off as an intentional parody.
• Always Someone Better: How she is introduced. Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda and all the other girls were jealous of her beauty, intelligence, sweetness, cute dresses, and popularity with boys, and ostracized her out of jealousy. It turns out Lila envied them because she not only was very shy, she had a sad home life with a Missing Mom and a sweet yet unemployed single dad.
• Art Evolution: Prior to Season 4, Lila's head was oblong-shaped like Ruth's and her hair was more of a fire-engine color than auburn.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Beauty to Phoebe's Brains and Helga's Brawn.
• Beneath the Mask: Not shown too much in the series, but in an interview Craig Bartlett said she had a hidden dark side. Also, the passion in which she sings her audition song about it being hard to be perfect in "Eugene, Eugene" hints at a Stepford Smiler status, which given her home life shown in her debut would make sense.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Betty" (optimistic, proper, All-Loving Hero) to Helga's "Veronica" (rude, violent, Loving Bully) for Arnold's "Archie". In the end, Lila doesn't reciprocate Arnold's feelings for him and Word of God confirms that he would return Helga' feelings, with the two marrying each other as adults.
• Beware the Nice Ones: It's made pretty clear by the creators that she does have a dark side, though it's been hidden during the show's run.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The Redhead to Helga's Blonde and Phoebe's Brunette.
• Broken Ace: She's smart, funny and charming, but has a horrible home life and poor self-esteem.
• Character Catchphrase: Many of her sentences will contain the phrase, "ever so sweet".
• Chromatic Arrangement: Green to Helga's Pink and Phoebe's Blue.
• Class Princess: In her debut episode "Miss Perfect", the girls are envious how she instantly becomes this trope after coming to their school. Lila is as smart as Phoebe, as fashionable as Rhonda, a Dude Magnet, and throughout the rest of the series, she's seen only as kind and sugary sweet, never seen angry at anyone, or given any flaws.
• Country Mouse: Compare her to Rhonda, and you'll know she fits.
• Daddy's Girl: She lives only with her father and they are shown to be quite close in her debut episode. What happened to her mother, it is never mentioned.
• Demoted to Extra: This happens very late in the show's run, so it's difficult to tell at first glance (especially since the episodes originally aired out of order and the last season's episodes aired several months or years apart). After Arnold finally gets over her in "Timberly Loves Arnold"/"Eugene, Eugene!", Lila becomes a background character and she makes no further speaking appearances, including in The Movie. Despite previous reports to the contrary, she did make a cameo appearance in The Jungle Movie, albeit briefly and without any lines.^note She is heard laughing, but this could just be stock audio reused from the series.
• Dude Magnet: Almost every boy in Arnold's class has a crush on her, including Arnold himself.
• Eyelash Fluttering: Did this to Arnold in "Love and Cheese." Strange, considering that she's not into him.
• Flanderization: Lila started as a seemingly perfect yet struggling girl who had Hidden Depths, and finished as a Parody Sue who was ever-so-certain about everything.
• Foil: To Helga, big time. A great deal of Lila's appearances, and the nature of Arnold's relationship with both, play up how Lila is everything Helga isn't. According to the writers, Lila had a repressed dark side. So in addition, while Lila was sweet and innocent on the outside, but hiding emotional issues on the inside, Helga was mean and insecure on the outside, but hiding a kind, sophisticated side.
• Girlish Pigtails: Always sporting these.
• Girly Girl: Easily the most traditionally feminine, demure, and sweet of the girls.
• Iconic Sequel Character: With how much she was featured later on in the series, many might forget that she wasn't introduced until season 2 and didn't become a regular character until mid-season 3.
• Informed Attractiveness: Nearly all of the boys are attracted to her (including and especially Arnold), and she's constantly stated to be the prettiest girl in Arnold's class—yet aside from Helga and perhaps Sheena, she doesn't really stand out from the other girls much.
• Love Revelation Epiphany: In "Arnold & Lila", Lila starts to like Arnold only because Helga wrote "Arnold Loves Lila" on the wall and Lila assumed it had to be true. Arnold tells her he doesn't "like-like her" and Lila becomes very disappointed, but realizes she only came to "like-like" Arnold because she thought he felt that way about her. So when Arnold realizes he does "like-like her", Lila isn't interested in him anymore.
• Loving a Shadow: When she first mistakenly believes that Arnold likes her likes her, she becomes smitten with him unaware that he doesn't feel the same way. After Arnold tells her the truth she realizes that the only reason she liked him was because she thought he liked her first. Ironically, Arnold starts to like her for real after the fact and boy is the shoe on the other foot for the next three seasons.
• Mad Libs Catch Phrase: Describes everything as "ever so/oh so [adjective]."
• Manipulative Bitch: Not to an extreme, but there are times when, looking closely, you see Lila's rather sly. In a subtle way by expressions and choice of words. There's the question of her and Arnold's interactions, plus the fact that she reeled Helga in with no choice but to confess her secret rather impressively in "School Play". With Craig's claims of her having a locked dark side, it makes one wonder. When asked about Helga and Lila becoming friends in the future ^note which he has said is possible but that the only guarantee is that Lila would no longer be "the bane of Helga's existence" in The Arun Mehta Show Special With Craig Bartlett, he had this to say -
  Craig: Helga and Lila have a really complex relationship because Lila has helped her keep her secret and helpe—and Lila's a bit of a player, you know, she kind of manipulates people in her—in her sort of innocent way.
• Master of the Mixed Message: Offers a sort of unintentional hope spot for Arnold sometimes, but ends up emphasizing at the end that she does not "like-like him"
• Mirror Character: She is this to Helga in that she represses any negative side to her in public due to a personal feeling of pressure, just as Helga represses any positive side to her for the same reason. She was also Helga's first choice for a replacement for Phoebe in "Phoebe Skips", indicating that Helga sees her as no different to Phoebe.
• Missing Mom: She's only raised and supported by her father.
• Nice Girl: An ever-so-sweet kind girl.
• Oblivious to Hatred: Lila has no idea that Helga hates her at all, let alone why. She has no idea that Helga considers her a love rival for Arnold, especially since Lila doesn't even want Arnold in the first place.
• Parody Sue: An ever so sickeningly sweet parody of a Mary Sue.
• Perpetual Poverty: When we see her home life in her debut, it's clear that she is extremely poor. Though her father gets a new job at the end of it that is suggested to make things better, two seasons later they are still hard up enough that she qualifies for Olga's "social welfare" program in "Big Sis." That said, it mostly comes off as Informed Poverty due to how rarely it's actually mentioned.
• Perpetual Smiler: It's rare to see her frown, but when it does, you noticed it.
• The Pollyanna: Like Eugene, Lila is very optimistic. In fact, Helga tried to scare her out of the part of Juliet with bad costumes, violence, and stage fright, but she just sees the other side of those things.
• Proper Lady: Her politeness is what keeps her character going.
• Redhead In Green: Usually because of the Limited Wardrobe.
• Replacement Goldfish:
  • Wasn't initially, but she became Arnold's new love interest in the third season, and she does have some physical similarities to Ruth (reddish hair, oblong-shaped head) but far more personality.
  • She seems to be a variation of this to Mr. Leichliter in "Eugene, Eugene!" since he cast her as the female lead in the play due to her resemblance to his ex-girlfriend◊.
• Romantic False Lead: She is Arnold's longest crush. A sugary sweet country girl who Arnold develops feelings for, although she constantly reminds Arnold that she doesn't "like him-like him." Ironically, while Helga is jealous of Lila, her own actions are the only reason for Arnold and Lila ever even considering a relationship. Lila becomes aware of Helga's feelings for Arnold and coerces Helga into coming clean to her about her love for him. Near the end of the series, Arnold finally gets the message and gives up on Lila.
• Satellite Love Interest: Lila isn't really an important character outside of the Love Triangle with Arnold and Helga. The only other meaningful relationships she develops are with Olga (who is an older version of herself) and Arnie (whom she might like because he comes from the country, like herself). Not only is she completely irrelevant^note Only appearing as a silent background prop in "Gerald's Tonsils" in the twenty-five episodes between "Ms. Perfect" (her introduction) and "Arnold & Lila" (when the love plot begins), but she is reduced to a background extra after Arnold gets over his feelings towards her and gets no more speaking roles.
• Secret-Keeper: Due to events in "School Play," Helga is forced to confide in her that she loves Arnold. (Naturally, before telling Lila, Helga threatened to strangle her if she ever told anyone.)
• Shipper on Deck: Ironically, if mildly. She thinks Helga's crush on Arnold is "ever so sweet" and is more than willing to bow out of the way so Helga can orchestrate a kiss with him. She is later moved to tears after watching the two of them in the play.
• Stepford Smiler: Her cheerful nature is implied to be a facade, according to Word of God and her song in "Eugene, Eugene".
• Super Drowning Skills: She can't swim.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Helga's Tomboy.
• Town Girls: The Femme to Helga's Butch and Phoebe's Neither.
• Two First Names: Either "Lila" or "Sawyer" can be used as a first name.
• Unrequited Love Switcheroo: In "Arnold & Lila", when Lila believes Arnold has a crush on her, she starts to like him too, but he "likes her, but doesn't like-like her". Once she gets the message, he really does start to "like-like her". Unfortunately, Lila decides that she now just likes him and insists in being Just Friends for the rest of the series. Although it's to Arnold's dismay, it's very fortunate for Helga, who caused this mess in the first place, and Arnold later chooses her instead.
• Verbal Tic: "Ever so", "oh so", and "I'm certain that..."
• What Does She See in Him?: For some reason, she goes completely head over heels for Arnold's cousin Arnie, who's just a creepy version of Arnold, considered weird by everyone.
• Youthful Freckles: To match her red hair.

Curly

Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe

"HEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRE'S CURLY!!!"

Voiced by:
Adam Wylie (most appearances)
Steven Hartman ("Downtown as Fruits")
Haley Joel Osment ("Deconstructing Arnold")
Michael Welch ("Curly's Girl" and "Ghost Bride")
Nicolas Cantu (The Jungle Movie)

Psychotic kid with black hair and glasses. Absolutely maniacal and liable to go berserk if given the opportunity.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Rhonda. He's completely obsessed with her and can't get it through his head that Rhonda isn't interested.
• Aerith and Bob: Another character with a less-than-usual name (although it's actually his nickname).
• Ax-Crazy: Has shown to be mentally disturbed during the worst of times, laughing maniacally and causing all kinds of mischief.
• Blackmail: Does this to Rhonda in "Curly's Girl", threatening to leak photos of her ruining her mother's mink coat if she doesn't fulfill her part of the agreement of pretending to be his girlfriend in exchange for getting the coat cleaned.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's notably the only boy at the Romeo and Juliet audition who doesn't look at the side provided, and proves to be the best actor out of the kids.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: In The Jungle Movie after the class is captured by Lasombra, Curly starts kissing up to him and offers to be the prison snitch. Lasombra refuses because he considers Curly to be too crazy even for them.
• Cloudcuckoolander: To say he's an odd kid would be a very polite way of describing him.
• Creepy Child: Often exhibits Troubling Unchildlike Behavior.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: In "Curly Snaps", he, well, snaps, locks himself in the principal's office and throws kickballs at all his classmates who he thinks mistreated him for years. The other pupils react very shocked that the antisocial Curly is capable of this.
• Disproportionate Retribution: He's very prone to overreacting when something upsets him.
  • His actions in "Curly Snaps" were because Mr. Simmons accidentally skipped over his turn for Ball Monitor.
  • Also "False Alarm". Eugene once borrowed his favorite pencil and returned it with chew marks all over it and sharpened down to just the eraser. As a result, he formulated a plan that, if it had succeeded, would've gotten Eugene expelled!
  • He impersonates the Ghost Bride and scares everyone shitless just because he wanted to tell the story instead of Gerald. Which even earned him some Laser-Guided Karma when the REAL Ghost Bride showed up to abduct him.
• Easily Forgiven: Even though he tried to get frame Eugene for pulling the fire alarm, later episodes show the two to be part of the same circle of friends (along with Sheena and Brainy).
• Embarrassing First Name: His real name is "Thaddeus", which he seldom brings up.
• Everyone Has Standards: He may be crazy about Rhonda but when he realizes she's suffering through pretending to be his girlfriend in "Curly's Girl", he decides to drop the charade and let her off the hook.
• Evil Is Petty: In one episode he frames Eugene for pulling the fire alarm. Why? Because Eugene used up his favorite pencil. The same goes for "Curly Snaps" when he goes bananas over Mr. Simmons accidentally giving Sid the ball monitor position instead of him.
• Evil Laugh: He tends to laugh fiendishly when he's causing chaos.
• Eyes Out of Sight: The only time his eyes are shown is the episode "Curly's Girl", and even then, it's difficult to tell whether they're really what his eyes look like or if it's just only Puppy-Dog Eyes that characters only display when they're feeling sad.
• Forceful Kiss: Just loves giving these to Rhonda.
• Jerkass: Probably the most obnoxious of all the kids, which is saying something. At worst, he's an obsessive, moody and erratic sociopath.
• Large Ham: Whenever he's acting manic or vindictive, he'll get real passionate and extreme.
• Laughing Mad: Often as part of his Evil Laugh.
• Nightmare Fetishist: In The Jungle Movie while the rest of the class is freaking out over their boat being attacked by pirates and forced to go through dangerous rapids, Curly loves it and maniacally laughs about how fun it is.
• Non-Indicative Name: As pointed out by Lt. Major Goose, he doesn't have curly hair. Given that his haircut strongly resembles Moe Howard's, it might be an oblique reference to The Three Stooges.
• Noodle Incident: The circumstances around Curly biting a chicken's head off, and whether or not the chicken was still alive when he did, are never explained.
• Only Known By His Nickname: His real name is Thaddeus, but everyone calls him Curly.
• Opaque Nerd Glasses: Wears glasses with opaque lenses all the time. He is only shown without them once in "Curly's Girl".
• Pet the Dog: Despite the poor way he treats other people, he has a soft spot for animals; in "Geek Party", his plan is to liberate them from the zoo, and he later does so again in The Jungle Movie.
• Serious Business: As noted under Disproportionate Retribution, he tends to go apeshit over minor things. In "Curly Snaps", Sid flat out says he doesn't care about being ball monitor and Curly can have the job.
• Stalker with a Crush: To Rhonda. He's crazy about her and won't leave her alone.
• Three Stooges Shout-Out: Has Curly's name, but Moe's haircut.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Curly is consistently portrayed as criminally insane.
• Ungrateful Bastard: After everything Arnold did to help him during the series, when he is interviewed for the video to help Arnold win the trip to San Lorenzo, Curly says that he's never heard of him.
• Wild Card: He acts on so many maniacal whims it's impossible to tell whose side he's on. In The Jungle Movie, Curly went from being aligned with the students to willing to be the camp snitch to letting all the exotic animals out and helping to stage the escape.

Brainy

Brainy

"Hi..." *punch*

Voiced by: Craig Bartlett

An otherwise taciturn mouth-breathing nerd who seems to have a thing for Helga. He often creeps up on her during her speeches of praising Arnold, and can be recognized by his telltale mouth-breathing wheezing heavily in the background. Helga almost always resorts to punching him (usually smashing his glasses in the process).

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Helga. He's often trying to admit his feelings for her, but she's so creeped out that she backhands him every time he gets too close.
• All There in the Manual:The sixth book of the series Hey Arnold! Arnold's E-Files reveals that he's as eloquent as Helga, (but he can't talk because of asthma, which causes his Vader Breath). Also, he's pretty good at manipulating Arnold, loves poetry, and is allergic to cats.
• Author Avatar: Word of God has confirmed Brainy is his voice's actor other self.
• Beady-Eyed Loser: Given how small his lenses are, Brainy likely has the smallest eyes of the cast. He's also a raspy nerd that takes a beating in every appearance.
• Beneath the Mask: Brainy knows who Helga truly is.
• Butt-Monkey: He's almost always being punched by Helga.
• Cannot Spit It Out: His Vader Breath asthma never let him say anything more than "Hi" before the Offhand Backhand.
• Charlie Brown Baldness: He has a spiky Bart Simpson-like hairdo that seamlessly blends with his skin color.
• The Chew Toy: He nearly always gets knocked out by Helga in his main Running Gag. The one time Helga neglected to do so, Brainy was so stunned he punched himself.
• Determinator: Nothing can keep him from being near Helga.
• Dumber Than They Look: Despite being a Sickly Neurotic Geek with glasses and the nickname Brainy, he has never shown any kind of intelligence, and doesn't seem to be that bright. He's very scatterbrained as he has no capability whatsoever of delivering coherent speech and is oblivious to Helga's distaste for him, however, if you check All There in the Manual, you will find he has Hidden Depths.
• Forgettable Character: In The Jungle Movie. Although he helps Helga and is on the field trip, no one else notices that he's with them. Exploited by him because he manages to enter the heavily guarded camp of La Sombra men to see Helga.
• Hidden Depths: As confirmed by the sixth book of the series Hey Arnold! Arnold's E-Files Brainy is as eloquent as Helga… but he can't talk because of asthma, which causes his Vader Breath. Also, he's pretty good at manipulating Arnold, loves poetry, and is allergic to cats.
• Informed Ability: In spite of being nicknamed "Brainy", he never once demonstrates being exceptionally intelligent in the series. However, if you check All There in the Manual you will discover Brainy's Hidden Depths.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: It's implied this is what Brainy is trying to say to Helga before the usual Offhand Backhand.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Word of God says this is how Brainy ultimately feels about Helga. Ultimately proven in The Jungle Movie when he returns Helga's discarded locket to her, even mending the torn photo of Arnold with tape.
• Karmic Jackpot: His display of What You Are in the Dark in the Jungle Movie gets rewarded by Helga kissing him.
• Lookalike Lovers: At the parents day episode, both the two adults that are with him look exactly like him. That could be explained by them being a Brother–Sister Team of Brainy's mother / father with Brainy's uncle / aunt, and Brainy being an Identical Grandson.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Evidenced by his uncanny ability to inexplicably appear from nowhere, and even according to the Word of God he's a somewhat supernatural character.
• Nerd Glasses: A Sickly Neurotic Geek who wears glasses.
• No Full Name Given: His surname is never revealed.
• Offhand Backhand: Helga usually recognizes Brainy is lurking by the sound of his heavy breathing, then, without even looking at him, swings her fist back and wallops him in the face. One time, she even threw him off a moving train into a river.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Being offscreen most of the time, it's pretty easy for Brainy to do this. Lampshaded in several episodes where he shows up behind Helga in the most improbable places, such as on Elk Island, the supposedly haunted train, and in an alley that Helga made sure was empty.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him Brainy, but his real name is unknown. What's also unknown is why he is called Brainy, since he does not appear to be very smart.
• The Quiet One: He rarely talks when he's onscreen, and when he does, it's only a few words.
• Perpetual Smiler: His default expression is a corpse-like grin.
• Rejection Affection: While Helga is busy being a Stalker with a Crush to Arnold, Brainy is doing the same to Helga, but a lot more openly. No matter how many times she hits him, he persists. Fridge Brilliance when you realize Brainy knows Helga is the poster girl for Loving Bully: Helga treats Brainy worse than she does Arnold. (She never hits Arnold.)
• Running Gag: Getting hit by Helga while stalking her. In one episode, she doesn't hit him and he's so confused and terrified that he punches himself.
• Satellite Character: To Helga. He doesn't even get his own A Day in the Limelight. Usually, Brainy is just a funny character revealed Behind the Black who is just suddenly there creeping on her and usually appears for less than a minute in all his scenes, sometimes barely even thirty seconds. He did manage to get a little bit of screentime in the episode with the ghost train, though. However, he finally escaped this fate in The Jungle Movie, where he actually does something very important (rescuing Helga's treasured locket), and without him, the resolution would not be possible.
• Scary Flashlight Face: In the opening theme, complete with an offscreen scream as he does it.
• Shadow Archetype: Helga is a Hypocrite with Hidden Depths who denies her feelings. Brainy is a guy with Hidden Depths who always tries to say his feelings (but can't due to having asthma). Brainy is the one thing Helga wants and fears to be. Brainy is Helga's Satellite Character because Brainy is Helga's self, and Helga is Brainy's Shadow Archetype.
• Shipper on Deck: He may love Helga, but his role in The Jungle Movie reveals that he wants her to be with Arnold.
• Sickly Neurotic Geek: He suffers from asthma and has a very nasally voice and frequent propensity to wheeze.
• The Silent Bob: He doesn't talk very much.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Helga is usually talking about how she loves Arnold and then we hear the Vader Breath and surely Brainy appears. He never dissapears because Helga applies an Offhand Backhand on him.
• Stalker with a Crush: He's obsessed with Helga and follows her everywhere she goes.
• Vader Breath: He breathes loudly through his mouth.
• Vocal Dissonance: He has a pretty deep voice for a nine-year-old.
• What You Are in the Dark: He has a crush on Helga, who just had her heart broken, and threw away her locket (as well as destroyed the picture of Arnold inside) in the Jungle Movie. He could've just ignored it, but, because he thought "I Want My Beloved to Be Happy," he dives in to fetch it for her. Luckily, fate decides to Throw the Dog a Bone, and, since he hit the Karmic Jackpot, Helga becomes so happy that she kisses him.

Sheena

Sheena

Voiced by: Francesca Marie Smith

A geeky girl who does not like violence.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: She's good friends with Eugene, but while she's happy about Rhonda's marriage prediction in the episode "Married", Eugene's response is...less than enthusiastic.
• Ambiguously Jewish: While the other kids were confused by Harold's prayer books, Sheena quickly recognizes the writing as Hebrew.
• Bit Character: Sheena has been around since the unaired pilot, yet never got her own episode and is more or less a Living Prop.
• Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: When she was announced as having best report in "Phoebe Cheats".
• Genki Girl: She's always happy and cheerful.
• Granola Girl: As shown in "Phoebe Skips" when she brings Helga a tray full of, in Helga's words "health crap."
• Huge Schoolgirl: Easily the tallest girl in class; towers over many of the adult characters at only nine years old.
• Iconic Item: Has pink hair clips.
• Jerkass Ball: In the episode "Miss Perfect" when she teams up with Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda, and Nadine to humiliate Lila in the cafeteria. Then again, she ends up feeling bad for what she did.
• Nice Girl: One of the more polite girls in the class, she's friendly to nearly everyone.
• No Full Name Given: Her last name is never revealed.
• Out of Focus: One of the few characters to not get A Day in the Limelight.

Iggy

Iggy

Voiced by:
Justin Shenkarow ("Downtown as Fruits")
Marcus Toji ("Stoop Kid")
Sam Gifaldi ("Heat")
Tress MacNeille ("24 Hours to Live")
Joseph Ashton ("Arnold Betrays Iggy" and "Gerald's Game")

One of Arnold's friends and popular classmate. Later revealed to have a skeleton in the closet, leading to infamy. Lots of infamy.

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• The Atoner: If what few appearances he had after Arnold Betrays Iggy are anything to go by, especially his appearance in The Jungle Movie, he seems to want to make it up to Arnold and help him find happiness even if he'll likely never be forgiven for what he did to him.
• Broken Pedestal: Arnold probably now sees him as such after seeing up close what he can really be like.
• Butt-Monkey: He becomes one when the other kids find out about his embarrassing secret thanks to Sid and Stinky.
• Cool Shades: Wears teal shades and is only once seen without them in his bunny pajamas.
• Dark Secret: He wears bunny pajamas.
• Demoted to Extra: He was already an extra at the beginning of the show but he had his own episode with Arnold Betrays Iggy. After that episode's terrible reputation, he never had a major role again and only appeared in the background in a few episodes. He finally had a speaking part again 4 years later in the episode Gerald's Game.
• Flat Character: Iggy's main reputation during the time he was on the show was that he was considered the cool kid, though they never explain why.
• Foil: Seems like he was initially meant to be one to Arnold, considering they've got similar attire (sweaters worn over long plaid shirts, with the latter's shirttails exposed), and Iggy's head's as long as Arnold's is wide.
• Hate Sink: Considering on what he did, by making Arnold suffering through humiliation just to earn his forgiveness. It's easy to see why, for being a grudge-holding jerk. His ruined reputation of the cool kid may have ironically been deserved.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Even though he regretted what he did at the end and tried to stop it, what he did went beyond forgiveness from Arnold and the audience.
• It's All About Me: He doesn't care for the depths that Arnold is going through to earn his forgiveness, and he doesn't even care that he got the wrong guy in the end. In the end, Arnold Betrays Iggy was all about his pain and humiliation.
• Jerkass: He shows no remorse in antagonizing Arnold in order to get back at him for accidentally revealing his embarrassing secret to the other kids.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: From what little we see of him afterward, it's clear he's been knocked down more than a peg or two by not doing anything else mean in particular. Gerald's Game shows him having no trouble being ordered around or showing respect, and tries to warn Arnold about making a move that could cause him to lose his match with Gerald and become his dungeon pawn.
• Kick the Dog: Forcing Arnold to wear bunny pajamas out in public was this considering that he showed no remorse in humiliating him as payback for accidentally revealing his secret.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He gets his comeuppance for antagonizing/mistreating Arnold when the latter rejects his apology and ends his friendship with him at the end.
• My God, What Have I Done?: What he realizes at the end of Arnold Betrays Iggy. However, it was too little, too late, and Arnold doesn't forgive Iggy. A rare example where the trope makes the person worse.
• No Full Name Given: His surname is never revealed.
• Rejected Apology: He refuses to forgive Arnold, leading the latter to suffer just so the former can forgive him. By the end of the episode, Arnold turns this back around on Iggy and refuses to forgive him, and since Iggy hardly ever appears in the series afterwards, it can be assumed that their friendship did not recover.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Despite everything that Arnold did to earn his forgiveness, Iggy still doesn't forgive him.
• With Friends Like These...: More so than Sid and Stinky combined. Thankfully Arnold realizes this and breaks off his friendship with Iggy.

Lorenzo

Lorenzo

Voiced by: Victor Cohn-Lopez

A wealthy student who's a little too mature for his age.

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• Brainy Brunette: Dark-haired and very responsible, precocious and level-headed, especially for a fourth-grader.
• Demoted to Extra: He only had speaking roles in two episodes: "Rich Kid" and "Arnold's Room. After that, he is reduced to silent cameo appearances. ^note Lorenzo's voice actor, Victor Cohn-Lopez, confirmed that his voice changed shortly after recording his dialogue for those episodes, so this may have had something to do with it.
• Early-Bird Cameo: His debut episode was supposed to show him as a new character, but he had already shown up in "Arnold's Room" and "Gerald's Tonsils". Blame Nick's airing order.
• Insult Backfire: Arnold criticizes his lifestyle in "Rich Kid" saying he's a "9-year-old who acts like a 30-year-old". Lorenzo responds with "Oh, thank you."
• My Beloved Smother: His mother is very overprotective.
• Nice Guy: Like Arnold, Lorenzo is polite to his friends.
• No Full Name Given: His surname is never revealed.
• No Social Skills: In "Rich Kid", it's shown that he has no idea how to goof off and be a kid.
• Odd Friendship: The rich, quiet, smart, and polite Lorenzo is best friends with the poor, crazy, dumb, and morally ambiguous Sid. Though he often gets rather stern with Sid when his antics go too far such as lying about his room or when he steals (and later breaks) Lorenzo's cell phone.
• Wise Beyond His Years: He's nine years old, but has the personality of a 30-year-old businessman.

Peapod Kid

Peapod Kid

"Oh this is terribly, terribly distressing."

Voiced by: Jamil Walker Smith

A kid who dressed up as a peapod in Helga's food play.

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• Artifact Title: He's called "Peapod Kid" because he dressed up as a peapod for Helga's play in "Downtown as Fruits" and was listed as "Peapod Kid" in the credits.
• The name sticks even though he never wears the costume again.
• Cool Shades: He is always seen wearing these and Rhonda considers him one of the "cool kids" in the episode, "Cool Party".
• Mad Libs Catch Phrase: "Oh, my, that is terribly, terribly X."
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He's called Peapod Kid because he has no real name given and he dresses as a peapod in the school play.
• Opaque Lenses: His eyes cannot be seen through his glasses.
• Ship Tease: In Married, Rhonda predicts that he'll be married to Nadine someday and he's quite thrilled about it, suggesting he has a crush on her.
• Shouldn't We Be in School Right Now?: He is seen getting ice cream in "Career Day", when the rest of Simmons' class are with their Career Day mentors.
• Those Two Guys: He's friends with another minor character named Park. In "Cool Party" the latter volunteered to walk the former home after suffering a headache. (Which was just a ruse so the both of them could bail Rhonda's party to go to Arnold's.)
• Vocal Evolution: His voice got a lot deeper in the latter half of the series, since he's voiced by the same actor who played Gerald and his evidently wasn't pitch-shifted.

Joey

Joey

Voiced by:
Justin Shenkarow ("Field Trip")
Michael Fishman ("Pigeon Man")
Sam Gifaldi ("Heat")
Tress MacNeille ("24 Hours to Live")

A kid in Arnold's class who sometimes hangs out with Harold and Stinky.

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• Demoted to Extra: In the original pilot and first season, he seemed to be part of the core group, specifically Harold's inner circle. After this he has no lines and is just seen in the background.
• Jerkass Ball: One of his few speaking roles has him joining in Harold's destruction of Pigeon Man's home, though he isn't normally seen being a bully outside of this.
• Living Prop: Just one of the kids who fills out the class.
• Out of Focus: In season one, he has some lines as one of Harold's lackeys. After that he doesn't do much.

Park

Park

Voiced by: Marcus Toji

One of Arnold's friends.

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• A Day in the Limelight: Had some plot relevance by offering a sanctuary to the fourth graders in "The Longest Monday".
• Last-Name Basis: He's implied to be Korean-American, so Park is probably his surname. His given name is unknown.
• Those Two Guys: With Peapod Kid.

Robert

Robert

A boy who often participates in sports and other activities with the boys.

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• Living Prop: Even moreso than Joey. He never has any lines and is there to round out the sports teams.

Torvald

Torvald

Voiced By: Michael Bacall

A 13-year-old bully who has been held back several years.

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• Back for the Finale: Disappeared from the series after "Mudbowl", but returns as a cameo in The Jungle Movie.
• Badasses Wear Bandanas: A blue one.
• Big Ol' Unibrow: Yet another example.
• Book Dumb: He is still in fourth grade despite being 13 years old and he makes Harold look like a genius, being incapable of doing even the simplest math.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: This is shown to be Torvald's ultimate problem (though it's more like "lack of confidence" rather than outright laziness), since he is capable of doing math when it comes to stealing lunch money from the other kids, even being able to calculate interest.
• The Bully: Is shown bullying his classmates in "Tutoring Torvald", likely as a response to the above.
• Bullying a Dragon: On the receiving end. Despite possibly being the largest and toughest student at P.S.118, his classmates for some reason insist on laughing at him when he has trouble in class.
• Bully Turned Buddy: Downplayed. While he doesn't become Arnold's friend, he does act nicer to him and the rest of the fourth graders after the former tutored him in math which resulted in him passing a big test. He later sides with the fourth grade team in "Mudbowl" against the fifth graders.
• The Bus Came Back: For The Jungle Movie.
• Dark and Troubled Past: A lot of his debuting episode hints that his life isn't exactly like the rest of his classmates. His father isn't seen anywhere, he comes from a rather rough part of town, his mother is always away working just to keep them afloat, and in the past four years, he's hinted to have hung around street gang like friends who were a major bad influence on him enough to hold him back for said four years and are out in juvie for something very bad that even he was a part of. Currently, he's gotten off with a slap on the wrist compared to his old friends, but being in the red conduct wise has him at a very tight spot in his life by the time Arnold is in his class.
• Disappeared Dad: He has a mom, but no mention is made of a dad.
• The Dreaded: Everyone in Arnold's class fears him, and for good reason. Even Wolfgang seemed slightly intimidated by him.
• Dumb Muscle: He may not be very smart, but he sure is big and strong.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Outside of Arnold, the only other person he's shown to respect and care about is his mother.
• Everybody Hates Mathematics: "Tutoring Torvald" reveals that it's math that was preventing him from moving on from fourth grade. After being picked to be his tutor, Arnold finally got Torvald to click with math once he demonstrated to him its relation and real-world application to his personal interests (bullying, unfortunately, but it did the trick).
• Glass Cannon: He's very good at dishing out punishment, but an accidental injury during the opening of a football game quickly sidelines him.
• The Golden Rule: As much as Torvald is a bully, it's also hinted that 4th grade at PS 118 gets as good as it gives, as even his current classmates mock him for being held back by getting answers wrong openly during class time, being the only time they can openly make fun of him without fear of his retribution, and out of spite as bad as any definition of bully is.
• Hellbent For Leather: Wears a black leather jacket whenever he's out of school.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath his bully facade, he's not such a bad guy, even agreeing to join his fellow fourth graders in a game of football against the fifth graders and cheering them on when an injury sidelines him.
• Loan Shark: The kind of bully he is, and really good at it too.
• Put on a Bus: After "Mudbowl", Torvald suddenly disappeared from the series. Guess Arnold's tutoring and outreach helped him remediate his studies and finally go on to a higher grade.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: A big, tough kid who wears a sleeveless shirt.
• Summon Bigger Fish: As he's technically a fourth grader, Arnold and his friends ask him to be their muscle in a game of football against the fifth graders. He's much bigger than any of them (even Wolfgang) and plows through them effortlessly until he injures his ankle.
• Token Evil Teammate: Not so much evil as bad, like problem child delinquent bad. Legitimately his bad grades and behavior was so out of control in the past, that when the choice given last time he was apprehended by the law, it was to shape up or join his friends in Juvenile Hall. It's only because of his love for his mother and Arnold being the first classmate of his to not act like a jerk to him that he's aiming to improve himself and not be such a bully anymore.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Played with. His mother is always proud of him and adores him, but a major motivation that he reveals to Arnold is that he hopes to fulfill his end as her son by not letting her down and actually doing the right thing to keep making her proud of him. The last time he got a good grade admittedly was getting a smiley face from kindergarten.
• Younger Than They Look: He's 13, but looks like a high-schooler. He actually dwarfs Wolfgang.

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