The life of a boy genius is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Being able to build your own spaceship, robots, or shrink ray does little good when you are still bound by rules imposed by your parents. Surely Mom and Dad must realize that the opening night of a new amusement park is far more important than school the next morning, and that being seen and accepted by peers is an important concern.
Such is the life of Jimmy Neutron, a self-proclaimed boy genius. In the film of the same name, viewers are introduced to Jimmy, his family, and friends. Jimmy is an energetic child, who desires to make contact with an alien race. Towards this end he has created a satellite from a toaster and spare parts and placed it in orbit. While the launch worked well, the landing of the craft left something to be desired causing Jimmy to drawn the wrath of his mother for yet another explosion. A day that started with such promise soon takes a turn for the worse when Jimmy’s shrink ray fails to work during show and tell, and his bubble travel hits a snag, or rather a tree branch in full view of his classmates.
Despite the setbacks, Jimmy is thrilled when he learns that a new amusement park is opening and that all the kids from school will be at the opening night. Even though he is not allowed to go, Jimmy decides to sneak out and attend the opening with his classmates and his robotic dog Goddard. While at the amusement park, the parents of the town are kidnapped by aliens who were alerted to Earth via Jimmy’s Satellite. The next day, Jimmy and his friends are delighted that there are no more parents in town, and enjoy their new freedom. The joy is short lived, and soon the fate of the parents is learned causing Jimmy and his friends to race against time in an all out bid to rescue the parents.
The film is done via computer animation and while good, it is sadly lacking when compared to the likes of “Monsters Inc” and “Toy Story 2”. The story is slow in parts but as this is a Nickelodeon film, it is filled with all sorts of fun moments that children are sure to love. The film is short on plot, and any form of character development, but I am sure the target audience of children will find plenty to enjoy even though most adults may find it a bit boring. All in all, “Jimmy Neutron” is a nice holiday diversion for the family.
