Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius (2001)

Jimmy Neutron, the feature that launches Nickelodeon's attempt to create a new children's franchise, plays like a cross between Rugrats and Dexter's Laboratory in outer space. Accompanied by his cyberdog Goddard, "boy genius" James Isaac Neutron (voiced by Debi Derryberry) invents fantastic devices that work only sporadically and with decidedly mixed results. The communications satellite he makes out of his mother's toaster allows for a race of gooey, egg-shaped aliens to kidnap the adults in Jimmy's town with the intent of sacrificing the parents to their chicken-god. Converting amusement park rides into spaceships, Jimmy saves the day, despite a few false starts and misadventures. Several of the characters feel like slightly older versions of Rugrats: smart-alecky Cindy (Carolyn Lawrence) resembles Angelica; sniffling nerd Carl (Rob Paulsen), Chuckie. The most original member of the cast is Sheen (Jeff Garcia), the maladroit devotee of superhero Ultralord--a very funny spoof of cartoon fandom. The characters look more like plastic toys than human beings. Instead of the thousands of individual hairs on the heads of the realistic figures in Final Fantasy, Jimmy sports a one-piece hairdo that recalls a soft-serve ice cream cone. The animation is weightless and the acting minimal, but the often quirky story carries the limited visuals and will appeal to elementary school kids. Rated G; suitable for ages 6 and older; cartoon violence, minor gross humor. --Charles Solomon Amazon.com

I have this movie on VHS and DVD!!

I saw this movie with my old friend during my sophomore year in high school. My older sister bought me this movie on VHS when my cat Flower died the week before I started my junior year in high school. My older sister got the movie on dvd my last birthday to watch in my room. September 3, 2008

Way, Way Sub Par

In my opinion, the true mark of a good children movie is one that can entertain and speak to children and adults at different levels. This is a movie children will enjoy but not likely grow into discovering grown-up jokes or a more sophisticated understanding of its theme as they mature. It is very much a vapid story within a framework so arbitrary that anything can happen. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius it's not so much a children movie as it is a children's movie.

I saw this with my daughter when it was first released in theaters and two minutes into it I realized there was just no comparison between it and anything from Pixar or Dreamworks. Prior to the theatrical release Nickelodeon had for months played a number of JN sketches and some were quite funny, but they were all so disjointed I realized after a while they couldn't all possibly be in the movie. And they weren't! This movie was just an attempt to capitalize and promote a show that was going to be on TV.

The voice talents are excellent and the animation is good. The characters themselves are funny (especially the dad and Sheen) and stand out from one another, unlike other shows in which several characters seem to speak with the same voice, both physical and from script. Yet the story line is halting and, even for a kid show, inconsistent, i.e. Jimmy travels around the world (before breakfast) in a rocket he made which is faster than military planes but his family is still middle class and makes no money off his super talent/He is a genius but still attends the same class as non-genius -and downright loopy- kids/He travels through space without a space suit, etc. Fantasy is not the issue, but there has to be consistency within the fantasy; there are "rules" even in the most fantastic children fantasy universe that keep the story concordant with itself and not, like in JN, flying off the handle and going wherever it wants to. You'd never see a story so loose from Pixar or Dreamworks.

Eventually, Jimmy Neutron TV episodes went on to be refreshingly original and unusual for a children show (open endings/bad guys winning) but this movie was a letdown, it surprises me the mostly good reviews it has gotten. Whereas I'm just as excited -if not more- than my daughter about whatever new CGI movie is released, with JN I kept glancing at my watch and mentally balancing my check book.

There are worse children movies you can buy, but there are not many of them.
June 30, 2008

Science Geeks Unite

It was a great movie for me(oh yeah, and my kids). It brought back lots of memories of wanting to be a space explorer. Plenty of fun stuff and action! June 17, 2008

A great family movie!

I thought that this movie was a great one to watch any day. It is about a genious boy who I think is in the 5th grade. His parents are abducted by aliens, so Jimmy and his friends go to save them. It is a very lighthearted punchline. I think it is great for kids- and adults alike- who enjoy funny, funny films!

Also, try the TV show! July 29, 2007

Funny

I Love this movie and i think it is great for kids. I bought this movie because i had seen it on tv and loved it. this movie is about Jimmy Neutron who is a boy genius. He sends a Communicater into outter space to contact alien species. so while the thing is floating around space, jimmy and his friends on earth go about their day. one night while jimmy is out with his friends his parents disappear long with the rest of the grown ups and they go wild and do what ever they want. jimmy relises through an alarm going off in his lab, he discovers that the Aliens are responable for the parents disappearents. after the kids have their fun they relise that life with out their parents is no fun so they devise a plain to get their parents back. June 20, 2007

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