Jimmy and friends
Sheen and Carl Weezer
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|
The Oscar outsider
launches in time to woo the kids this Easter.
Nigel
Bell
Given the success of Shrek
and Monsters
Inc. over the past 12 months Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius
is in danger of being overlooked.
That would be
a crying shame because it's a great family movie.
The animation
might not be as sophisticated as those other two but the characterisation
and witty script means there's something for everyone.
The Plot
As the title suggests Jimmy Neutron is a genius. We first meet
him in a home-made rocket launching a toaster satellite into outer
space.
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| Jimmy and
Goddard to the rescue |
This satellite
is to cause him many problems as it alerts the egg-shaped aliens
- the Yokians - to the possibility of the yummy human adults who
populate Jim's home town of Retroville.
When Jimmy and
friends sneak out one night to go to the grand opening of the Retroland
Amusement park the Yokians arrive and whisk their parents away.
At first the
kids love this. No parents, they can do what they like. But soon
they miss mom and dad and want them back.
Jimmy organises
a rescue mission, adapts the fairground rides for intergalactic
flight and the kids are off in pursuit.
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| Cindy "drops
her pencil" for heartthrob Nick Dean |
When they arrive
on the alien planet they find their folks are brainwashed and about
to be sacrificed to a giant chicken god!
Can they save
them?
The verdict
There's no getting away from the "families are good"
moral of this tale but that doesn't detract from a great piece of
work.
And the old
adage of "don't talk to strangers" couldn't be put more
bluntly. Jimmy's message via his satellite leads directly to the
adults capture.
Compared to
Shrek
and Monsters
Inc. the animation looks basic, but that's part of the feel,
creating a 50's style America, full of post-war optimism yet embracing
modern technology.
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| Meet Jimmy's
mom and dad |
The script is
great offering something for everyone. For a start there's Jimmy's
full name - James Isaac Neutron.
His pet robotic
dog, Goddard, does tricks - one of which is to play dead, which
his does so by blowing up!
Visually there's
plenty going on and I probably missed loads of in-jokes.
One ride in
the fairground has a play on the "show me the money" line
from Jerry McGuire. The ride is called "Show me the
Mummy."
The characters
are well defined - there's Jimmy's dopey sidekicks who both have
a role to play in the end rescue, there's Nick, who's a play on
Fonzie, and there are Ooblar and King Goobot, the two bad eggs,
brilliantly voiced by Martin Short and Star Trek's Patrick
Stewart.
All in all an
Easter winner. Peter Pan's going to get a pasting.
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