365 Films A Year!

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is the theatrical debut of the popular character better known for his Nickelodeon television series. It established the basic premise and characters, essentially making it like a longer episode of the show. (It was, in fact, produced as a way of forming a fanbase for the later show.)

We meet Jimmy (voiced by Debi Derryberry), his friends Sheen (Jeffrey Garcia) and Carl (Rob Paulsen) as well as his primary intellectual rival, Cindy Vortex (Carolyn Lawrence) and her best friend Libby (Crystal Scales). Also on hand are Jimmy parents, Hugh (Mark DeCarlo) and Judy (Megan Cavanagh). It’s mostly youthful nonsense until all the parents in Retroville suddenly disappear. Jimmy realizes that they have been taken by space aliens (Patrick Stewart and Martin Short) and convinces the kids to follow him into space to rescue them.

Based on a short by creator/director John A. Davis, this film was one of co-writer/co-producer Steve Oedekerk’s attempts to show that quality CGI films could be made on a very small budget, but with big returns. (His next would be Barnyard, which would have similar success.) The lower-budget nature of the film show mostly in the extremely sparse world that the characters populate. There is little attention to detail and it lacks the “gee whiz” appeal that marked contemporary CGI animated films. (This was the year of Shrek and Monsters, Inc.)

But, to the creators’ point, what it lacks in technology, it makes up for in inventiveness ans sheer entertainment. Jimmy and his circle of friends and associates are vibrant, fully-formed characters right from the get-go. The audience gets who they are instantly and can be quickly swept along for the ride.

There’s a lot of very funny G-rated stuff here, too. Nothing too inappropriate (*ahem* Shrek *ahem*), as it seems Nickelodeon kept an eye towards their key demographic. There’s a touch of drama, as well, just enough to keep this from being too fluffy.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius was never going to set the world on fire or break new ground in animation. But it’s wrong to think of it as just a glorified pilot. It shows how good a film can be when the creators worry less about breaking technological barriers and just tell their story.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under 2001, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Giant Monster, Sci-Fi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.