Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)

B+ SDG

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is sort of like a rollicking adventure from the fevered boyhood imagination of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes — as if Calvin really were simultaneously the Super-Genius Boy-of-Destiny he thinks of himself as, with his transmogrifiers and time machines and so forth, and also the hero of his Spaceman Spiff fantasies, battling gooey aliens with nefarious plans to kidnap and eat innocent earthlings.
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2001, Nickelodeon/Paramount. Directed by John A. Davis. Voices: Debi Derryberry, Megan Cavanaugh, Mark DeCarlo, Rob Paulsen, Martin Short, Patrick Stewart.

Artistic/Entertainment Value

Moral/Spiritual Value

+2

Age Appropriateness

Kids & Up

MPAA Rating

G

Caveat Spectator

Comic sci-fi menace; mild bathroom humor; a rock-based soundtrack that some may find unpleasant.
About These Ratings

But then, added to all that, Jimmy also learns moral lessons about parents, family, obedience, consequences, and so on that callow Calvin would never have glommed to in a million years.

Instead of a stuffed tiger, James Isaac Neutron (Debi Derryberry) has a robot dog named Goddard and an anxious pal named Carl (Rob Paulsen) who are his faithful companions in the pursuit of scientific achievement. Jimmy also has a classroom rival and unacknowledged romantic interest like Susie, a brainy blonde named Cindy Vortex (Carolyn Lawrence) who’s his intellectual match.

Typical of the film’s absurdist humor — and the hero’s sanguine character — is this exchange in which Jimmy’s friend Carl uneasily recaps their status: "So, you and me… and a dog… are going to take on an advanced alien civilization… is that right?" Jimmy’s dauntless reply: "But he’s a good dog!" Go carbonated life forms!