Hey Arnold!

Craig Bartlett, the show's creator, was born in Seattle, Washington, which he used as inspiration for the backdrop of Hey Arnold!.

Originally, Bartlett intended to become a painter "in the 19th-century sense", but he became interested in animation during a trip to Italy.

His first post-graduation job was at Will Vinton Productions, a claymation studio in Portland.

In 1987, Bartlett relocated to Los Angeles, where he joined a team developing claymation cutaways for the television program Pee-wee's Playhouse.

The short segments centered on a character named Penny.

Bartlett later made three Arnold shorts: Arnold Escapes from Church (1988), The Arnold Waltz (1990), and Arnold Rides a Chair (1991), the latter aired as a filler short on Sesame Street in 1991.