Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a 2001 American 3D computer-animated comic science fiction film based on a few three-minute animated shorts shown on Nickelodeon between the years 1999–2000, and a pilot in 1998. The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, O Entertainment, and DNA Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was produced using off-the-shelf software (messiah:studio and LightWave 6) by DNA Productions. The film was released December 21, 2001. It was nominated for the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Shrek. It was the only animated Nickelodeon film to ever be nominated in that category until Rango was nominated in 2011 and won.

Plot
The movie begins at an Air Force base somewhere in Colorado. The Air Force radar detects up a UFO, and they send planes up to examine the situation. The pilots are surprised to find that it is a rocket carrying two boys and a robotic dog: Jimmy Neutron (Debi Derryberry), Carl Wheezer (Rob Paulsen), and Goddard (Frank Welker). Jimmy needs to launch a communications satellite (which is really a toaster) to communicate with an alien species who sent him a message that was garbled in the ionosphere. Unfortunately, the pulse rockets fail, and the rocket cannot leave the atmosphere. Jimmy tapes some soda to the toaster and throws it, propelling the soda into space. Then, the rocket falls down to town and lands on his roof. He is reprimanded by his parents (Megan Cavanagh and Mark DeCarlo.) He then gets ready for school, but his antics caused him to miss the bus.

He tests his latest invention, a form of bubble transportation, made from a special bubble gum. He catches up with the school bus, but the bubble pops when it hits a tree. In the classroom, Cindy Vortex, (Carolyn Lawrence) Jimmy's rival and love interest, is giving a report on dinosaurs.

When Cindy says that girl dinosaurs are better than boy dinosaurs, Jimmy proceeds to correct her with technical data. During show and tell, Jimmy shows Ms. Fowl (Andrea Martin) and the class a shrink ray. He attempts to shrink Cindy's head, but the ray malfunctions and does not work, however upon leaving class, the shrink ray suddenly shrinks Ms. Fowl, causing her to get tiny and end up battling a worm that has gotten out of an Apple. When walking home, Jimmy, Carl, and their friend Sheen Estevez (Jeff Garcia) spot a poster for an amusement park. Sheen gets excited about meeting Ultra Lord. Carl gets excited to touch a llama. However, their parents refuse to let them go due to a school night, and Jimmy is grounded, so they sneak out without their parents knowing. They have lots of fun. Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen both go on many rides. Carl, and Jimmy go on a tramway while Sheen goes to meet Ultra Lord, which is really a guy in a costume. Carl touches aLlama, and gets a button that says "I touched a llama" They then go on a roller coaster ride that the cars look like bats. By now, the shrink ray is working again, so Nick Dean also had the Golden Rule.

Meanwhile, the toaster is found by an egg-like alien race called the Yolkians. They seem to be of green substance (or yolk, possibly) which contains no water, and they see with eye stalks. They use pods with hovering capability and robotic arms to move, but they fly spaceships in space (that look like chickens). King Goobot (Patrick Stewart) and his assistant, Ooblar (Martin Short), watch the message, Then, all the ships in the armada head to Earth. When Jimmy runs away, Cindy and her best friend Libby Folfax (Crystal Scales) are doing Tai-Chi while Cindy drinks a soda called "Purple Flurp". Meanwhile, Jimmy, Sheen and Carl went to Retroland and have fun. The Yolkians take all the parents and made fake notes on the refrigerators.

On the way home, Carl spots a shooting star, so he, Jimmy, and Sheen wish for no more parents so they could have fun all the time and be free. The next morning, Jimmy spots the Note set and reads it. The notes are the same for everyone, so Jimmy has Goddard scan for adult life forms. When the report comes back (none within radar range), the kids start celebrating and doing things they couldn't do normally.

The next morning, the craze has worn off, and at home, Jimmy is upset that his parents didn't say goodbye. Jimmy goes to his lab and compares the note the Yolkians left with notes his parents wrote. When the writing doesn't compare, Jimmy realizes that the notes are fake. Goddard finds evidence of aliens on the computer, and Jimmy tracks them to another system. He organizes the other kids in town to build rockets from the theme park rides to travel there.

While staying on an asteroid, everyone recalls what their parents did at bedtime before they were abducted by aliens. The next day, Jimmy, Cindy, Libby, Carl and Sheen went to Planet Yolkus. They met Goobot and Ooblar. The others saw Nick, Brittney, PJ and the other kids. Libby asks Goobot that what does he want with their parents. Goobot tells her that it's what Poultra wants. Cindy asks him what Poultra is. He gets tried of answering it. Goddard assaults Goobot. Jimmy calls Goddard on Libby's cell phone and tricks Ooblar into thinking Goddard will self-destruct in an explosion covering 30 square miles. Goddard frees the kids using a glitch in his obedience program (when told to play dead, he detonates in a small explosion, which blows down the door), and they make it to the arena were the parents will be sacrificed to Poultra. When they reach it, an unusual ceremony is finishing (with mind-control devices, the parents do the chicken dance!), and Poultra, a gigantic three-eyed chicken with reptilian legs, hatching from her egg. Jimmy quickly comes up with a plan: Sheen heads to an airfield to obtain a transport, he gets the mind controller, and the rest of the kids keep the guards busy.

They escape, but Goobot follows them in his ship at the head of the Yolkus fleet. He orders the ships to open fire. During the battle, Jimmy skims the surface of Yolkus' sun, and flares destroy all but Goobot's ship. The king sends a taunting message to Jimmy, who flies out with Goddard. He uses his shrink ray to make himself the size of a planet, and blows the ship into an oncoming asteroid. Goobot vows he'll be back. The kids are reunited with their parents, and they make it home without further incident. After which they had eggs for breakfast and Judy and Hugh Neutron take a few sips of Jimmy's experimental soda and begin to burp uncontrollably. Realizing a picture of an atom (Jimmy's signature logo that could only be found on the front of his shirt), Judy yells "JAMES ISAAC NEUTRO--" before burping loudly. The family (and Carl) laugh. Outside Goddard imitates a bird.

Production
The film started out as a short called Johnny Quasar in 1995 and was shown off at SIGGRAPH that same year. It was intended to be a short pilot for a TV show and in 1998, a new short with the main character's name changed to Jimmy Neutron called Runaway Rocketboy was made and pitched to Nickelodeon with the intent of making it into a television series. The pilot was so successful that the producers wanted to make it into a film, due to the evaluation of CGI. However, they were concerned that making a feature film before a TV show was too risky so they made and aired short interstitials on Nickelodeon leading up to the feature's release.

Theatrical release
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius was released in cinemas on December 21, 2001, by Paramount Pictures.

Home media
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius was released on VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on July 2, 2002.http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/4234/jimmy-neutron-boy-genius/ It was re-released on DVD on June 22, 2011. A Blu-ray release hasn't been announced yet.

Critical response
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. The film currently holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics consensus reads: "What Jimmy Neutron lacks in computer animation, it makes up for in charm and cleverness". According to Metacritic, the film also holds a score of 65/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rita Kempley of Washington Post praised the film, saying that "this little charmer both celebrates and kids the corny conventions of family sitcoms". Nell Minow of Common Sense Media enjoyed the "stylish 3-D computer animation, good characters", giving the film 3 out of 5 stars. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave this film a B+, calling it "

a lickety-split, madly packed, roller-coaster entertainment that might almost have been designed to make you scared of how much smarter your kids are than you". Paul Tatara of CNN.com called this film "the most delightfully original children's film of 2001". Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave this film a 3/4 score, saying that "it doesn't have the little in-jokes that make Shrek and Monsters, Inc. fun for grown-ups. But adults who appreciate the art of animation may enjoy the look of the picture".

Box office
The film was financially successful, bringing in $13,833,228 on its opening weekend for an average of $4,407 from 3,139 theaters, and ended up with a total of $80,936,232 domestically, and the film did better overseas bringing in $22,056,304 which made a total of $102,992,536 worldwide. It had a budget of roughly $30 million. It is one of only twelve feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters and still improve on its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 8.7% from $13,832,786 to $15,035,649.

Cast

 * Debi Derryberry as Jimmy Neutron
 * Patrick Stewart as King Goobot V
 * Martin Short as Ooblar
 * Frank Welker as:
 * Goddard
 * Poultra
 * Rob Paulsen as:
 * Carl Wheezer
 * Mr. and Mrs. Wheezer
 * Carolyn Lawrence as Cindy Vortex
 * Jeffrey Garcia as Sheen Estevez
 * Crystal Scales as Libby Folfax
 * Candi Milo as:
 * Nick Dean
 * Britney
 * PJ
 * David L. Lander as:
 * Yokian Guard
 * Gus
 * Megan Cavanagh as:
 * Judy Neutron
 * VOX
 * Mark DeCarlo as Hugh Neutron
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Estevez
 * Jim Cummings as:
 * Ultra Lord
 * Mission Control
 * General Bob
 * Keith Alcorn as:
 * Bobby
 * Control Yokian
 * Kimberly Brooks as:
 * Zachary
 * Angie
 * Libby's Mom
 * Andrea Martin as Ms. Winfred Fowl
 * Billy West as:
 * Bobby's Twin Brother
 * Butch
 * Old Man Johnson
 * Robobarber
 * Bob Goen and Mary Hart as Yokian newscasters
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Norad Officer
 * Greg Eagles as Libby's Dad