It is very rare for a successful movie to spawn a good television show. I know people are probably shouting at their screens naming some, but rest assured, I can’t hear you. This was also the rare case of Nickelodeon just throwing out a movie without basing it off something. This didn’t happen a lot unless it was a vehicle for a soon to be hot young actress
You think I meant that girl who showed her boobs in Eurotrip?
“The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius” debuted in 2002 and apparently ended its run in 2006. I am actually very surprised by that, but I guess the constant reruns will makes shows seem like the go on forever. This is how “SpongeBob Squarepants” has had double the amount of episodes of “Rugrats”, yet to me it seems like they are about on par. Jimmy and all the idiots he hangs out with managed to make a pretty big impact and pair up with a much more interesting buck tooth kid in a pink hat on a few occasions. I only wish that show were cancelled so I could talk about it.
This show may seem like a poor excuse for “Dexter’s Laboratory” but it managed to have the same kind of lead character and not use the same old jokes. Jimmy tended to have more of a global reach. Like most shows, the people surrounding the main protagonist were a little more interesting, but Jimmy managed to entertain all the same. He is ultra-smart and is so inventive that he almost kills everyone on a constant basis. The town of Retroville (apparently in Texas?) is lucky to have such a kid to save them after he almost destroys them. Jimmy also has a super power where he can think extra hard and have a “brain blast.” I think that will be an aneurysm soon enough, but let’s hope I’m wrong. He also has a robot dog voiced by Frank Welker. Awesome.
His best friend is Carl Wheezer. He has about every problem you can. He’s shy, asthmatic, fat, ginger, practically blind, he loves his best friend’s mom and llamas, and he’s allergic to his other best friend. Carl is pretty much just a test dummy for Jimmy to test experiments on. They are genuinely best friends, but it seems like Jimmy just picked the two biggest idiots to hang out with to feel even smarter.
That second idiot friend is Sheen Estevez. He was always my favorite part of the show, and since he has recently been given the spin off “Planet Sheen” I think someone must agree with me. He was manic, he was a slave to his whims and most of all, and he was completely out of his mind. He loved Ultra Lord, the super hero who was born on Planet Mektar, in Vector 8, of the Nebulon Galaxy. This clip will show more than I can describe of the awesome of Sheen: Sheen’s Best Lines
The two girls that tend to tag along with the gang are Libby and Cindy. Cindy is the second smartest kid in the class, and she and Jimmy have a “Helga/Arnold” thing going on, except these creators actually capitalize on the story arch at the end of the series. Libby likes funk music and river dancing. She is usually just Cindy’s side kick, but as the series moves on she gets more important and ends up being romantically involved with Sheen. I hate shows where the characters all just start dating, but you know they’re kids, so no big deal. It just gave a reason for all the kids to adventure together.
I have found that the key to a great Nicktoon is to have a great range of interesting characters. If this show had only been about a smart kid making goofy inventions, it may not have done so well. Luckily, the creators created a huge amount of side characters to squeeze into 67 episodes. Maybe that’s why I thought the show went on much longer.
Let’s start with Jimmy’s parents. He loves his wife’s pie. Take that how you will. He also collects ducks and is there for his son to give some wonderful advice. Luckily his wife is much smarter and is a little more helpful. She is the typical mom. She cleans, cooks, and like most moms, she loves fixing cars. These two are basically caricatures of the parents from “Leave it to Beaver.”
Winifred Fowl is the teacher in charge of the boy genius. She makes chicken noises and hates Sheen.
Sam Melvick owns the “Candy Bar” that all the kids hang out at. He is voiced by Billy West and he mainly just says “Yeah!” angrily.
Principal Willoughby is one in the long line of school workers in Nickelodeon land that are closeted. He loves plays and dancing and speaks…well you know how. He’s also kind of an idiot.
Corky Shimatzu is another great Billy West voice. He’s a Japanese television executive and says “”Super crazy!”, and “I’m going to make you, Supah Stars!” He often does not follow through.
Nick Dean is the Fonz of the group. He is cool, has been held back because he’s too busy out skateboarding and breaking legs to go to school.
The more interesting characters, like wrestling, are the heels. Finbarr Calamitous is an evil doctor without a degree. He never finishes anything, which would include getting an actual degree. He has numerous plans to try to destroy the city that he felt made him a failure. Other groups like Nanobots and Zix, Travoltron, and Tee create havoc and are entertaining. I would write more about them, but I’m running long and I’d like to make you search them out. Baby Eddie on the other hand is worth exploring. He is Jimmy’s infant cousin who is so smart that he’s evil. He sounds like Milton Berle and hates how dumb his family is.
Bolbi is not one of them.
This whole mishmash of characters makes up a surprisingly interesting show. The stories can be a little farfetched, but then again it’s a kid’s cartoon. It’s much better than I had hoped all those years ago when I wanted to hate it. The hijinks and screwball situations coupled with all the ridiculous science make for entertaining viewing. If you don’t believe me, maybe I can convince you with the Atomic Monkey Special Forces Squad!
Credit goes to: Wikipedia.org, article.wn.com, tumblr.com, oentertainment.com, tvtropes.com, and nick.com