For those who grew up during the late 90s and early 2000s, cable television was dominated by three children’s networks. Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon all live in the brains of those now in their mid to late twenties. Disney hadKim PossibleandThat’s So Raven.Cartoon NetworkhadCourage the Cowardly DogandEd Edd n Eddy. Nickelodeon hadSpongeBob SquarepantsandDanny Phantom. Mention any of those shows to younger millennials or older Gen Z’s, and memories are immediately unlocked. The channel-exclusive movie would also become common during this era, with the biggest shows getting their own movies. However, movies spawned new shows because of their success, much likeHow to Train your Dragon. But one of the first to do this wasJimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
Against today’s animated features, it doesn’t stand up too well, but it is still a lot of fun. It definitely has aged, but in a way that has the 2000s charm written all over it. It has all the tropes anyone could find in a late 90s and early 2000s movie, like references to popular pieces of media likeThe Blair Witch Projector aliens speaking English somehow. Jimmy Neutron is filled to the brim with tropes and aspects that make it great, but here are the biggest ones.
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The Characters
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Geniushas all the stereotypical characters one would find in a movie at the time. There’s a group of three friends with all distinct personalities: the slightly ditzy nerd who is way into comic book heroes; the best friend that is afraid of almost everything; and the main character himself. Not to mention, the trio also meets the essential size characteristics: one is tall, one big, and one short.
There are other essential character archetypes to round out the cast: the smart girl that is secretly into the main character; the bad boy; the clueless parents, and so many other archetypal characters from the 90s and 2000s. But that is just the beginning.
The Unique Animal Companion
Characters in the 90s into the early 2000s often had animal sidekicks, but they were sometimes more unique than just a dog.Mulan had Mushu, Shrek had Donkey, Aladdin had Abu, and Jimmy Neutron had Goddard. Everyone had a fun sidekick — although most of them talked, and for the most, part Goddard didn’t talk unless he was projecting a voice.
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It wasn’t enough to have a regular animal sidekick like a dog in a tale that usually expanded past their small towns.Jimmy Neutron: Boy Geniushad to include a sidekick that could stand up to the space adventure — which, weirdly, nobody had to wear a space suit for. But more on that later.
The Music
Pop music’s golden age was in the late 90s, so it wasn’t uncommon for movies to feature a couple songs. However,Jimmy Neutronnot only features the hits of the day, has a whole playlist of pop music fromNSYNCtoThe Go-Go’sand toThe Ramones. It seems like almost every few minutes there is a brand-new song from a new artist playing.
Much like its 90s cousins, the music often has nothing to do with the story — it is simply there to set the mood. But to be honest, it is a good soundtrack, and will bring those in their twenties a load of nostalgia.
No Logic
Since this is an animated kids' movie, logic isn’t really the first priority. Even current movies lack some logic, but there has been an uptick in critics and fans requesting more logic in recent stories. But the logic in some early 2000s movies is a bit of a stretch for some to accept, even within the story world.
Jimmy Neutronis a great example. Aliens receive a toaster in space, but yet somehow weren’t aware of Earth already. The kids somehow function while always left alone. And finally, the big one, they are in space with no protection. It’s okay to stretch logic a little in movies, butJimmy Neutrontakes it to the next level with its ridiculosity.
The Animation
AfterPixar releasedToy Story, animation completely changed and evolved. Instead of hand-drawn animation, everything was CGI. For the first few years of this type of animation, it doesn’t look nearly as good as today’s CGI does.
A lot CGI from this era has a very distinct look with very little realism that can be seen in today’s animation. The textures are flat, and the animation is stiff. But it has a charm that only animation from the early 2000s has, and although it is extremely dated, it isn’t without merit.
