Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Jimmy Neutron is one smart kid.

One morning before school, he's flying through the sky on his rocket, with plans to release his satellite into space (it's the kitchen toaster, but it gets the job done). He hopes an alien race will pick up his satellite and respond.

Unfortunately, the evil King Goobot picks up the toaster (er, satellite) and abducts all the parents in Retroville, leaving the children all alone. At first they love it, but soon realize there's only so much ten-year-olds can do without their parents. So Jimmy devises a way to fly everyone into space to rescue their folks.

Jimmy may be short (his classmates tease him about it all the time), but he proves size doesn't make a hero. He uses his genius (and his pet robotic dog, Goddard), to thwart King Goobot and his minions and save the day, thus winning the respect of his peers.

Jimmy Neutron is a wonderful film. It has enough jokes to satisfy both kids and adults, has cheesy-but-great computer animation, a fun story, and is short enough to not overdo it.

It's completely inane, and it knows it and doesn't care.

The movie features some great voice talent, most notably Patrick Stewart and Martin Short, who sound like they had a blast recording for this one. You can probably recognize a few of the other voices, and part of the fun is figuring out where you've heard them before.

Jimmy Neutron is one of the best animated films to come out in quite a while. Better than Shrek, better than Atlantis, even better than Monsters, Inc. (though that's a tough call). Let the kid in you take over (or if you're a kid already, just sit back and relax), and have a great time.

A movie the whole family can watch together, and enjoy equally.

The picture and sound are better than the average Paramount release, but unfortunately the DVD has Paramount's usual amount of extras. This is the first Paramount release can remember that has both a widescreen and Pan&Scan option (both on the same disc, instead of sold separately, which is a nice change), and if you have to release a Pan&Scan copy this is the way to do it.

The picture quality is flawless, with nothing at all to complain about (shucks!). The sound is equally impressive, with perfectly clear audio that uses every one of the speakers effectively. Again, we profesional whiners have nothing to complain about.

Okay, the extras are a little lackluster, but they still aren't bad. First up is a 16-minute making-of featurette that features some great interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. This is much better than the typical promo piece, and is actually interesting. There are also two music videos, one by Aaron Carter, the other by No Secrets. Next are 12 promotional spots. There are seven interstitials, which are fun advertisements for the film that don't actually use footage from the film itself. They're almost like deleted scenes, except they wouldn't really fit anywhere in the movie. Some are quite amusing and a lot of fun. There are also five "cliffhangers," each of which puts Jimmy in a bad situation that is continued in the next. Not as fun as the interstitials, but interesting nonetheless.

Finally, there are seven DVD-Rom games (aimed at children), and the theatrical teaser and trailer.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, from Paramount Home Entertainment
82 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) or pan & scan, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Debi DerryberryPatrick Stewart, Martin Short, Rob Paulson, Mark DeCarlo
Produced by Steve Oedekerk, John A. Davis and Albie Hecht
Screenplay by John A. Davis and David N. Weiss & J. David Stem and Steve Oedekerk
Directed by John A. Davis

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