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"JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS"
(2001) (voices of Debi Derryberry, Patrick Stewart) (G)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
None Minor Mild *Moderate Minor
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Mild None None
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
None None Mild Mild Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Animated Action/Adventure: When a boy genius discovers that aliens have kidnapped all of the parents in his town, he organizes his friends, robotic dog and various inventions and sets out on an intergalactic rescue mission.
PLOT:
In the small town of Retroville, Jimmy Neutron (voice of DEBI DERRYBERRY) is known as the boy genius, although that doesn't prevent other students, such as his archrival, Cindy Vortex (voice of CAROLYN LAWRENCE), from making fun of him, particularly when his various inventions don't always work.

Many times his efforts, such as his latest of putting a toaster satellite into outer space -- with the help of his robotic dog Goddard and his best friend Carl Wheezer (voice of ROB PAULSEN) -- to contact alien life forms, only cause his otherwise oblivious parents, Judy (voice of MEGAN CAVANAGH) and Hugh (voice of MARK DeCARLO), to offer bits of advice to him, such as in this case reminding him not to talk to strangers.

Yet, Jimmy's various creations - such as real pearls and a huge diamond - can't convince his mother to let him attend the nighttime grand opening of the Retroland Amusement Park. Thus, he, Carl and their friend Sheen (voice of JEFF GARCIA) follow the advice of school rebel Nick (voice of CANDI MILO) and sneak out to it any way where they collectively wish their parents would disappear from their lives.

It's while they're gone that the Yokians, some gooey, egg-shaped aliens, have followed Jimmy's satellite signal back to Earth and abducted all of the parents from Retroville to be used in some sort of sacrifice to a monstrous Chicken-like creature.

Although the kids are initially joyous about their parents being gone, they soon miss them. Thus, Jimmy sets out to figure out what's happened. Once he does, he assembles his friends and sets out on an intergalactic rescue mission to free their parents from the clutches of the Yokian leader, King Goobot (voice of PATRICK STEWART), and his royal assistant Ooblar (voice of MARTIN SHORT) before it's too late.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they've seen the advertising for it, many younger kids will probably want to see it.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G
For not containing material to warrant a higher rating.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS: It's debatable whether kids view animated characters as role models, but here's a quick look at the main one's most noticeable characteristics:
  • JIMMY NEUTRON is a boy genius who loves inventing things, some of which lead to some trouble - such as aliens kidnapping all of the parents - but whose smarts and determination ultimately save the day.
  • CARL WHEEZER plays his somewhat cautious best friend.
  • SHEEN plays another friend who's mesmerized by an action figure.
  • CINDY VORTEX plays Jimmy's snooty rival who's always putting him down until she eventually comes around to seeing how smart and useful he is.
  • NICK plays the school's "rebel" who convinces the other kids to sneak out of home at night to attend the grand opening of a local amusement park.
  • JUDY and HUGH are Jimmy's parents who love him but are mostly oblivious to what he's really doing.
  • KING GOOBOT is the leader of the Yokians who orders the abduction of the Retroville parents.
  • OOBLAR is his royal assistant.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a brief summary of the content found in this G-rated kids film. Despite the rating, a few scenes could be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers, all depending on the child's age, level of maturity and tolerance for material. That includes a monstrous, chicken-like creature that comes after the kids, a menacing looking worm that threatens a shrunken teacher and the sudden disappearance of parents, leaving kids all alone and upset.

    Violence includes some aliens presumably being killed in explosions (in a sci-fi manner) with some occasional, cartoon gooey results, while some of the kids also hit some of the aliens, some property damage occurs in various scenes, and a mechanical dog explodes when told to "play dead." Some cartoon-based, kid-targeted scatological humor is present, some of which may be enticing for some young kids to imitate (belching a lot and peeing in the shower).

    Beyond that and some characters with mild bad attitudes, the rest of the film's categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Nevertheless, should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home who might want to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information about the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • None.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Some kid-based scatological humor includes Goddard (the mechanical dog) depositing bolts and nuts on the front steps (like dog poop); Jimmy, Goddard, and later his mom and dad loudly belch after drinking burp-inducing soda (with the dad saying it's a good thing it's coming out of the "attic" and not the "basement" (while another kid also belches after eating a lot of cotton candy); Jimmy has fire-extinguishing foam shoot out of Goddard's rear end to put out a small fire; we see Carl getting ready to vomit on a ride (and then briefly hear him doing so); we see one father reading the newspaper with his pants around his ankles (no nudity) in the seated bathroom position as he's sucked up into a spaceship; and Sheen comments that he's peeing in the shower (when he realizes his parents aren't home) but we only see part of him there and not the peeing.
  • Some green goo oozes/squirts out of several alien creatures when the kids attack them.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Cindy has a sassy attitude toward Jimmy and is always cutting him down/making fun of him, although she eventually changes her ways.
  • Nick has a bit of a bad attitude toward school, saying he doesn't do "show and tell" and that he forged his parents' note excusing his tardiness.
  • Jimmy and others sneak out at night - despite being told that they can't go - to attend the grand opening of a nearby theme park (after Jimmy tries to bribe his mother with flowers, pearls and a large diamond he collected/manufactured).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • The following may be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to younger viewers, all depending on the child's age, level of maturity and tolerance for such material.
  • After Jimmy's reducing ray accidentally shrinks Miss Fowl down to insect size, a large and menacing looking warm (with a large mouth filled with sharp teeth) rears up when it sees her and she grabs what looks like a huge (to her) toothpick to defend herself (but no violence occurs).
  • A scene where we briefly hear Jimmy's parents scream as they're individually kidnapped by aliens via being sucked up by shafts of light from the spacecraft (and the general overall thought of that happening) might be unsettling for younger viewers.
  • Once flying through outer space, Jimmy and his friends must avoid/get out of a meteor shower they encounter.
  • Nick tells a generalized version of the "Blair Witch Project" to the younger kids around a campfire at night (like a ghost story). It could be a little suspenseful to younger kids who will see the other young kids in the film acting scared.
  • The sight of a monstrous chicken-like creature with three eyes (and that of a close-up view of the inside of its mouth/throat) might be unsettling or scary for some kids, particularly when we first see its huge, clawed feet and when it chases after Jimmy and the others.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Fighter Jets: Scrambled to intercept Jimmy and his rocket (but they only observe him).
  • Alien spears: Used to zap/shock Nick and then Jimmy.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Holy cow pies," "Nerd-tron," "(Bone-headed) Dweebs," "Scared the be-jeebers out of me," "Scuzzballs," "Kick some alien buttocks" and "You big ball of phlegm."
  • Jimmy and others sneak out at night - despite being told that they can't go - to attend the grand opening of a nearby theme park.
  • Some kids might think it's funny to loudly belch like Jimmy and later his mom and dad who do so after drinking burp-inducing soda.
  • Sheen comments that he's peeing in the shower (when he realizes his parents aren't home), but we don't see anything explicit, while another kid holds the water fountain open to fill up the school hallways with water, and yet another runs some underpants up the flagpole.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A mild amount of adventurous and suspenseful music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • None.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • None.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Many of the kids are upset and state that they miss their parents after aliens have kidnapped their moms and/or dads.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • How resourceful Jimmy is in coming up with solutions to the various complications or problems he encounters.
  • Kids wishing their parents would disappear and then reacting (both joyously and then with angst) when they do (as in "Be careful what you wish for").
  • Cindy's comment that beating oneself up for a mistake isn't going to fix it.
  • Jimmy and Carl agree that they don't like girls, but Jimmy then tells him that one day hormones will cause them to pursue the opposite gender against their better judgment, but then adds that puberty is still probably a long way off for them (some kids may be curious about what they're referring to).
  • VIOLENCE
  • As Jimmy crashes back to Earth in his rocket ship (after the small toaster satellite falls back and hits him in the face), he inadvertently causes some property damage including blasting through a billboard and tearing the shingles off some roofs as his ship skips along them.
  • Jimmy tells Goddard (his mechanical dog) to play dead and the pooch then explodes (but his parts all come back together again just like new).
  • Jimmy loses control of a rocket pack, with him eventually slamming into a wall inside his house (and putting a hole in it) and briefly catching the drapes on fire.
  • An alien guard zaps/shocks Nick with an alien spear, and one then does the same to Jimmy, causing Goddard to bite the King on his arm.
  • Jimmy tells Goddard to play dead, so the mechanical dog explodes once again, knocking a locked door down and presumably knocking down the guard outside it.
  • Nick grabs an alien guard's charged spear and knocks the same from another guard's hands. He then hits both guards with the spear. Cindy then kicks one of the aliens, another disintegrates into a blob as a result of music played at it, while the same happens when a flying ship crashes into a wall.
  • Alien guards fire energy shots at an escaping spacecraft.
  • A spacecraft flies into a monstrous chicken creature's head, knocking it silly.
  • Various alien spacecrafts fire upon Jimmy and the others in their spaceship, but all but one of the chasing ships are destroyed as they pass close over a sun.
  • Jimmy then turns into a gargantuan version of himself, blowing a pursuing spaceship backwards until it crashes into something and explodes.



  • Reviewed December 15, 2001 / Posted December 21, 2001

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