Review of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
2001
Nickelodeon Movies
Paramount Productions
review by Joshua Taj Bozeman- written on Dec 19, 2002

At 82 minutes, this movie definitely seemed a bit short, and the plot really didn't have a nice flow to it...it felt like it ended too soon. Heck, it felt like the climax came way too soon. I was sitting there thinking, okay, it's over? Overall, Jimmy Neutron is a great movie...for kids...and for adults like me who, well, love these kinds of animated shows/movies. I've seen all the Jimmy Neutron episodes on Nickelodeon, and am just now seeing the movie, so that probably helped a little. The show is really well done, and the characters are enjoyable. Jimmy himself being the least enjoyable character in my opinion...I really like Carl and especially Sheen. The actor who does his voice is great, he has some of the best lines in the movie, like- "I'm peeing in the shower!"

The movie is about James "Jimmy" Issac Neutron, boy genius, as the title mentions. He spends his time inventing new gadgets- mainly, as we see in the beginning, things that put his shirt on, brush his teeth, make his bed, and tie his shoes...tho, most of them don't work all that well. He has a robot dog named Goddard and two best friends named Carl, who loves llamas, and Sheen, who is obsessed with superhero Ultralord...he has the rare, never- before- seen action figure, never seen until he pulls it out of the box during show- and- tell to prove to the kids that it's actually in there, that is. We find that Jimmy feels like his parents don't understand him. He wants to go to the grand opening of Retro Land with his buddies...but his parents won't let him. It's a school night afterall. He's a boy genius tho! He can't be held back like this. He ends up sneaking out of the house by shrinking himself with the shrink ray he invented, meeting up with Carl and Sheen, and having a night they will not soon forget. Carl gets to pet the llamas, while Sheens gets to meet Ultralord in person...being sworn in as super hero by Ultralord himself, before fainting right in front of him. The boys talk about how they wish their parents would go away for a while, then they could do anything they want.

When they wake up in the morning, they find all their parents missing. All the kids have notes from their parents that say they went on extended vacations to Florida...yet, Jimmy finds out that his communication satellite he built and sent into orbit to talk to aliens has worked, and those same aliens have come to earth and taken all the adults. The whole town full of kids are in heaven, and spend the entire day doing everything their parents won't let them do. All is happy, until the next day, when they all realize they can't take care of themselves. They need their parents afterall. Jimmy, with the help of Carl and Sheen, and ultimately all the kids, build rocket ships that will take them into space to rescue their parents. They run into the aliens, battle them, rescue their parents, and that's that. I say it like that, because that's exactly how it happened. All of the rocket ships and space aliens stuff takes place in the span of what must have been only ten minutes or so. That's the only down side to the movie...as I mentioned before, it seemed as tho it was cut short, ending out of nowhere. The climax wasn't very climactic. In the end, it doesn't take away from the movie overall, but a better ending would have boosted the overall rating a bit, I think.

Jimmy Neutron is a very well made movie, great voice work by the actors involved (including Martin Short is an alien), spectacular animation, and a nice story that will bode well with children and some adults. There is a tiny bit of violence, but it's rated G, so they must not think it's too bad. I would recommend it for anyone who likes the show, or any of the other various Nick series, and all children...I'm sure most, if not all of them, would enjoy the antics of Neutron and his buddies. 8/1