"We call him "Arnold", friend to all. Force for decency. Doer of good. He's the most dependable, trusty, true blue friend I can ever imagine. Help you in a second, no questions asked."
—Gerald
While the adventure through the jungle makes for a more cinematic storyline than the series does, its true attraction is in the sheer wholesomeness courtesy of Arnold's friends and family.
Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.
- Arnold's friends put together a video showcasing why Arnold deserves to win a contest sponsored by a humanitarian organization. Framed as one of Gerald's urban legend tellings, the video showcases everyone he's ever helped over the show from Stoop Kid, Dino Spumoni, and Pigeon Man (yes Arnold's classmates even tracked him down) to explain how Arnold helped them and how much they appreciate him for it. And they win!Stoop Kid: Because of Arnold, now I can harass people from my stoop and from off my stoop. (laughs maniacally) But seriously, that guy has a great heart.
Dino Spimoni: I get applause from fans, but Arnold's the real star.
Patty: Arnold listened to me and treated me like another friend. He's, you know, pure of heart.
Gerald: (closing the video) "Pure of heart." That's Arnold and that's why he deserves to win the trip to San Lorenzo. Cause he's done so much for others. He's a humanitarian just like his parents and the Helpers for Humanity. Hey Arnold, you're a bold kid and a true hero.- The sheer amount of The Bus Came Back. Apart from Pigeon Man, we also see Curly (who evidently wasn't hacked to pieces by the Ghost Bride), Monkey Man, Lockjaw the turtle, Tucker Wittenburg, Mai Hyuhn and Iggy.
- At the forefront of the party is Helga, who spends the viewing party sitting close to Arnold and shows absolutely zero hostility. Likely because she's seen how depressed Arnold is about having to give up on finding his parents and realized that now's not the time for her to be sending mixed signals.
- Wolfgang is among the crowd giving Arnold their support. Evidently, he does care for our beloved football-head. That, or he possibly made-up with Arnold and friends sometime before this. Either way, it's nice to see him supporting Arnold.
- You can see Harold talking to the lady who owned the kitten from "Harold's Kitty" at the party, showing that they are still good friends after all this time.
- Ruth is among the cast and smiling fondly at Arnold's list of good deeds. If she'd stuck around long enough, maybe they could have worked out after all.
- A small one, but the fact that Sid doesn't take part in Harold and Stinky's mischief in the final shot and actually tries to salvage it.
- Once the video ends, Mr. Simmons reveals that once the Helpers for Humanity saw the video, they immediately named Arnold the contest winner. Subverted when it's later revealed the whole contest was a scam by Lasombra in order to lure Arnold to San Lorenzo.
- The fact that it was Helga who made the video, and she is completely civil and nice in her conversation with Arnold. She may not admit her crush, but she has no issue showing how much she appreciates him and doesn't berate him with her usual insults. So far a great display of Character Development for her!
- Another small one: Gerald and Helga are on noticeably friendlier terms than they were in the show itself, with Gerald shrugging off most of her faux-nastiness and Helga showing concern for his well-being while accidentally setting off the Green Eyes' traps. It's strongly implied that he now knows Helga's secret and this is why he does. Even if they are dangling from a rope bridge that's hanging off a cliff, that's bound to snap at any second it's kind of sweet to see Helga clinging onto Gerald for dear life.
- Brainy rescuing Helga's Arnold locket. It's clear that, though he loves Helga himself, he knows how much Arnold means to her. And how does Helga thank him? By giving him a kiss.
- Just before everyone departs for San Lorenzo, Mr. Simmons can be seen with Peter (his not-so-implied boyfriend) from "Arnold's Thanksgiving". They smile fondly at each other and then hug. It's finally confirmed ladies and gents! It's especially lovely considering how prickly and inconsiderate of Mr. Simmons Peter was being when we first saw him; it seems that while he may not care for his boyfriend's mother all that much, he adores Robert.
- As the group orchestrates an escape from Lasombra's forces, Phoebe tells Gerald "See you on the other side..." before kissing him on the cheek and calling him "handsome". Cue Gerald's near giddy expression.
- When Arnold looks back at his friends, clearly still feeling bad about the ordeal, Phoebe gives him a thumbs up to assure him that everything is okay.
- Helga revealing her Arnold locket to the others, so that they can use it as a replacement for the lost Corazon. Considering how she would crawl through hell and back to ensure Arnold and no one would ever find it, it speaks volumes of her Character Development.
- Helga admits the locket is gold-plated and as such might not be pure enough for Arnold. He reassures her that her heart is plenty pure.
- Once Arnold activates the machine that spreads the sleeping sickness cure, all the Green Eye children's parents begin to wake up and they're happily reunited with their kids. Arnold then runs to his parent's room and sees that they're waking up as well. They look over towards him and instantly recognize him even though he was a baby the last time they saw him. Arnold begins to tear up and he runs over and hugs his parents for the first time in nearly a decade.
- The Big Damn Kiss and everything leading up to it, it was fifteen years in the making and well worth waiting for. Helga is trying to get her locket out of the compartment it was put in when Arnold comes up to talk to her, telling her there were times over the years that he did wonder whether the real reason she was mean to him was because she was in love with him. He admits that, while she tried telling him her feelings before, he wasn’t ready to hear it then. However, considering all she has done for him, especially in helping him find his parents... then he steps forward, holds her hands in his, and kisses her.
- The ending. We get a Bait-and-Switch that at first seems to be implying that the whole movie was just a dream...but then Arnold's parents arrive through the kitchen door with breakfast and after some heartfelt family bonding, Arnold heads to school. He and Gerald bump into (for once, not literally) Phoebe and Helga, prompting Gerald and Phoebe to immediately walk to school together while holding hands and Arnold offering to do the same with Helga (which she swoons over and then refuses, in true Helga fashion). Then Arnold's parents show up telling him that they want to walk him to school—as he heads in, they assure him that they'll be right outside waiting for him, to which he smiles. It's even amazing how the ending averts Stranger in a Familiar Land for Miles and Stella. Instead of being unfamiliar with their home or their fellow neighbors or their typical everyday lives, they take it like fish to water. Despite being asleep for a decade in San Lorenzo, Hillwood is their true home.
- A special tribute is given to the fandom during the credits:Thank you to all the fans who wrote letters and signed petitions encouraging the making of this movie.
