Sister Is Doin’ It for Herself
Even though Olga is the oldest and Helga is the youngest of the Pataki daughters, they constantly act the exact opposite in terms of their ages and maturity, especially when it comes to how they handle certain situations presented to them. As a perfect example, one is how they handle the dangers associated with Lasombra and his henchmen in The Jungle Movie.
In the movie, Olga comes off as very childish, melodramatic, pansified (or wussy), ditzy, pathetic, prissy, weak, and even somewhat cowardly following Arnold and the entire class being taken prisoner. When Lasombra reveals who he really is and announces that the entire class are now his prisoners, Olga stands frozen in place, completely terrified. After they are put in the cell and the door is locked, she wails loudly and hysterically like a baby (which probably annoyed the hell out of Lasombra and his men). Olga panics and throws another lame sobbing fit upon seeing the men leaving the camp to go after Arnold, Gerald, and Helga. She resumes her wimpy crying after she says that the beepers are a one-way form of communication “just like me and Che!” And finally, when her parents and Arnold’s grandparents arrive in San Lorenzo and parachute into Lasombra’s camp, just as the guards break out of the cell, the first thing Olga does is run to her father and wail about how Che was mean to her. Enraged, Bob tackles Che to the ground and chases him around the camp, as if he were a lion trying to catch his prey.
On the contrary, Helga comes off as more independent, clever, sharper, bolder, stronger, braver, and even fearless when faced with danger. When Lasombra announces that the group are now his prisoners, Helga talks back to him, calling him “La Bozo” and fearlessly stating who she is and that she will not let him push her around or tell her what to do. Still showing no fear, Helga continues by defiantly telling Lasombra to open the gate so they can leave, and she is the only one of the group who attempts to walk out. Only after two of the henchmen block her way with machetes does she actually stop and look afraid. However, throughout everything she does for the remainder of the film, Helga never lets fear get in her way. When she escapes the camp with Arnold and Gerald, they wander far out into the jungle only using Arnold’s map to guide them. Then they narrowly escape the dangers of the series of booby traps while trying to locate the Green-Eyes’ city. Helga also crosses the rope bridge even as it begins to come apart, and hangs on for dear life over the cliff with Arnold and Gerald when the remains of the bridge are about to completely fall apart. And finally, Helga (along with the boys) helps Eduardo ward off Lasombra by throwing a backpack over the latter’s head, climbing on to his shoulders, and aggressively punching out his lights, all while the man is holding a poisonous dart!
What strikes me most about the two final scenes I described for both the Pataki sister, which are also featured in the gifs above, is how they each handle the situations before them. I personally thought the way Olga told Bob about Che was very childish and immature. She wailed as if she were a young child tattling to her parents about a bully who had hurt her. It shows me that, even though she is 23, a young adult, Olga has little to no ability to be independent, to do things on her own and fight her own battles; rather, she still counts on her DADDY to fight for her! But on the other hand, her MUCH YOUNGER, 11-year-old sister doesn’t hesitate to stand up for herself, to leap into action and fight her own battles against the bad guys, even when the bad guy is a ruthless, merciless river pirate! When the situation calls for it, Helga doesn’t sit around, waiting to be helped or rescued. If she can fight the villains, she will do it, and she’ll even give them a taste of her fists as she does!
All I have to say about these scenes are, only the strong survive! Helga may still be a child, but I hardly think it’s difficult to see that she is the stronger, braver, more reliant, and more resourceful Pataki sister here! And Olga may be much older, but she seriously lacks many of the capabilities her “baby sister” has been proven to do. Guys, Helga is the sister who is doin’ it for herself, and she does it well!
As a finishing note, I wanted to add that Bob and Miriam aggravate me so much with how think they have such a wonderful, perfect daughter in Olga while they simultaneously grossly underestimate Helga by having no ability to see that she is unquestionably the most amazing Pataki daughter! As described by my dear friend @minervadeannabond, Helga is an absolute kick ass girl, while all Olga does is whine like a spoiled brat!
This analysis is for @minervadeannabond, my best friend, little soul sister, and fellow Hey Arnold! fan, who also suggested the title and the term “pansified” to describe Olga! You are the best, little soul sister! Love you, girl! 😄 ❤️
