BEFORE: It's finally spring, and there's that certain feel in the air - winter's over, training's almost done, and our national pastime is about to begin - of course, I mean the pastime of drinking, since the beer festival season started today. I went to a new event called "Beer for Beasts", which was a benefit for the Humane Society. Finally, a chance to drink beer for a good cause - they have walk-a-thons for charity all the time - why NOT a beer-a-thon? So I spent 3 hours at the beer festival, found my way home and took about the same amount of time to nap and recover.
The end of my sci-fi chain - I could have worked in "Minority Report", "Terminator 3" and "Bicentennial Man", but I'm saving them for upcoming birthday weeks. And watching this film tonight allows me to devote Birthday SHOUT-out #23 to Martin Short, who does a voice of an alien in this film, based on the Nickelodeon TV series of the same name. Linking from last night, there simply MUST be a film connection between Mr. Short and his SCTV cast-mate Eugene Levy, who voiced a robot last night - ah yes, it's called "Father of the Bride II".
THE PLOT: Aliens abduct a town's adults; genius Jimmy and his friends build an interstellar spacefleet and rescue them.
AFTER: This was a pretty enjoyable film, I think it was even nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar back in 2001. Jimmy Neutron is a "genius" character, but he still manages to get in trouble, sometimes because he's so smart - here he gets grounded for using rockets and setting the house on fire. And his inventions sometimes fail to work, especially during "show and tell", which leads to his classmates questioning his genius.
Jimmy later sneaks out at night (odd, you'd think a "genius" character might realize that his parents are in charge, and that he shouldn't go out on a school night), to attend the opening of a new amusement park (also odd, you'd think they'd open on a Friday or Saturday night), and while he's out, an alien race which he'd been trying to contact beams away all the parents from the town.
At first the situation seems ideal - no parents means no discipline, so the kids in town all stay up late, stuff themselves with candy, and play until they drop. But Jimmy soon figures out what happened to the adults, and they launch an interstellar rescue.
Of course, to enjoy the film you have to believe that a kid can invent just about anything, and that he possesses knowledge of advanced technology, like jet-packs, time machines, robotics, etc. Once you believe that, it's a short leap to aliens and laser-guns, mind control, etc. It's hard to nit-pick with an animated film that's so far out (and so much fun), but you know I'll find a way.
NITPICK POINT #1: Do I really need to point out that people can't travel through space in uncovered rocket ships? For that matter, that even a genius can't build a spacecraft that can travel past light-speed, visit another planet, and get back in a matter of days?
NITPICK POINT #2: I realize they want to use only the characters from the TV series in the film, and that the TV series focuses on Jimmy and his classmates - but where are all the teenagers, or any kids older or younger than them? The parents get abducted by aliens, and the only people left in town are Jimmy's age? Did everyone in town agree to have only 1 child, born at the same time? I guess that way the town saves money on teachers, all the kids will be in the same class.
Also starring the voices of Debi Derryberry, Megan Cavanagh (most famous as the 2nd base-woman from "A League of Their Own"), Mark DeCarlo (yes, the host of "Studs" voices Jimmy's dad), Patrick Stewart (last seen in "Conspiracy Theory"), and cameo voices from Mary Hart, Bob Goen, Andrea Martin (another SCTV alum), Billy West and Carlos Alazraqui.
RATING: 6 out of 10 cans of Purple Flurp
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