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The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (sometimes shortened to Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius or commonly Jimmy Neutron) is an American computer-animated television series based on the 2001 film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius created by John A. Davis and Keith Alcorn. It originally aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons beginning July 20, 2002, and the final episode aired on November 25, 2006. The show follows an 11-year-old genius from Retroville, the eponymous character, as he goes on adventures with his best friends Carl Wheezer and Sheen Estevez. Throughout the show, various mishaps and conflicts occur on these adventures, as Jimmy's various inventions go awry. The series features voices of Debi Derryberry (Jimmy), Jeffrey Garcia (Sheen), and Rob Paulsen (Carl) for the three main characters.

The series has been the recipient of various nominations such as Kid's Choice "Favorite Cartoon" in 2006 and 2007, and has won an Annie award for "outstanding achievement in animated television production produced for children" as well as a Motion Picture Sound Editors "Golden Reel award". A spin-off, Planet Sheen, aired from 2010 to 2013.


Summary[]

The show follows an 11-year-old boy named Jimmy Neutron from Retroville, Texas who is a scientific genius. He frequently goes on adventures with his two best friends Sheen and Carl, usually involving his inventions going awry.


Episodes[]

:Main article: List of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius episodes

Season Episodes First aired (Original) Last aired (Original)
Pilot September 7, 1998
Movie December 21, 2001
1 19 July 20, 2002 September 5, 2003
2 17 September 19, 2003 July 9, 2004
3 19 November 11, 2004 November 25, 2006

DVD releases[]

Main article: List of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius episodes#Home media
Title Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Confusion Fusion May 27, 2003 October 8, 2003
Sea of Trouble October 7, 2003 March 24. 2005
Jet Fusion February 3, 2004 July 7, 2005
Jimmy Timmy Power Hour May 11, 2004 - -
Attack of the Twonkies November 16, 2004
Nick Picks Vol. 1 May 24, 2005 - -
Nick Picks Vol. 2 October 18, 2005 - -
Nick Picks Vol. 3 February 7, 2006 - -
Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2 March 14, 2006 - -
Nick Picks Vol. 4 June 6, 2006 - -
Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3 July 25, 2006 - -
Party at Neutron's September 4, 2006
Nick Picks Vol. 5 March 13, 2007 - -
King of Mars July 5, 2007
The Best of Season 1 September 16, 2008
The Best of Season 2 September 16, 2008
The Best of Season 3 September 16, 2008

Production[]

Development[]

Keith Alcorn and John A. Davis created Jimmy (then named Johnny Quasar) sometime during the 1980s and wrote a script titled Runaway Rocketboy (later the name of the pilot), which was abandoned. He later stumbled upon the idea while moving into a new house in the early 1990s. Davis re-worked it as a short film titled Johnny Quasar and presented it at SIGGRAPH, where he met Steve Oedekerk and worked on a television series of the short as well as the movie. Jimmy was still called Johnny Quasar before it was decided to name him Jimmy Neutron because the name sounded eerily similar to Jonny Quest.

Writing[]

Victor Wilson was hired as the Story Editor. The main writers when the show was greenlit were Steven Banks and Jed Spingarn.

Animation[]

DNA Productions retooled their pipeline when moving from the film to the TV series, to reuse assets for the episodes. Some of the programming team at the studio programmed a special code that allowed the animators to animate scenes in Maya, which can then be rendered in Lightwave. This helped the team keep up with the deadline and avoid going over budget.

Possible reboot/revival plans[]

In 2016, director John A. Davis has stated that he has a story for a Jimmy Neutron reboot feature that he would like to make, but he is waiting for the "right situation" to make it.

When asked about a reboot in 2020, Rob Paulsen stated "Well, I've got to tell you, man. I go all over the world when we don't have the coronavirus, and people love Carl. They love Carl. I don't think it would be a bad thing at all to reboot Jimmy Neutron. I think that's one of those shows that a lot of people would love to see again. It was very good. Really smart. That wouldn't surprise me."

Theme[]

The theme song was originally written by Brian Causey for the pilot episode. Pop-punk band Bowling for Soup later revamped and extended Causey's theme for the film version theme. Ultimately, the original theme was kept for the TV series intro and outro.

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Joly Herman of Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars; saying that, "Jimmy Neutron has all the trappings of a Nickelodeon show: the preteen peer pressure, the gadgets, the spacey parents. But it's clever enough and funny enough to have earned a devoted following. The script is generally well written and well executed -- the adults behind this show approach the project with apparent zeal. [...] Kids will enjoy this program, while parents might get a kick out of some of the gags as well. And though the computer animation may seem a bit freaky for old-school animation fans, it does allow for quality special effects."

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2003 BMI Awards BMI Cable Award Charlie Brissette Won
2004 31st Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced for Children Nickelodeon and DNA Productions Won
Outstanding Achievement Directing in an Animated Television Production Mike Gasaway Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Jeff Garcia as Sheen Won
10th annual NAMIC Vision Awards Children's MTV/Nickelodeon for The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Nominated
BMI Awards BMI Cable Award Charlie Brissette and Brian Causey Won
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing in Television Animation The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Won
2005 32nd Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Television Production Keith Alcorn Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Carolyn Lawrence as Cindy Nominated
2006 33rd Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Writing in an Animated Television Production Christopher Painter Nominated
2006 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Cartoon The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Nominated
2007 2007 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Cartoon The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Nominated

Spin-off[]

Main article: Planet Sheen

A spin-off series, Planet Sheen, aired from 2010 to 2013. The show focuses on Sheen Estevez, who accidentally crash-lands on the planet Zeenu in the pilot episode.

See also[]

External links[]


v - e - d
Jimmy Neutron template background
Media
TV Pilot: Jimmy Neutron: Runaway Rocketboy! • Film: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius • TV series (Main): The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius • TV series (Spinoff): Planet Sheen
Characters
Main characters; JimmyGoddardCarlSheenCindy • Libby • Hugh • Judy
Supporting characters; Nick Dean • Britney • Butch • Betty • Bolbi • Miss Fowl • Sam
Villains; King Goobot • Ooblar • Poultra • Yokian Fleet Commander • Finbarr Calamitous • Beautiful Gorgeous • Jimmy Negatron • Eustace
Video games
Jimmy Neutron, Boy GeniusVs. Jimmy NegatronJet FusionAttack of the Twonkies
Locations
Retroville
Crossovers (Jimmy Timmy Power Hour)
TV Films: (The Jimmy Timmy Power HourThe Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds CollideThe Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators) • Comic: (The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour: Cower Hour!)
Songs
Jimmy Neutron Theme • Poultra: God of Wrath Part 1 & 2 • The Plan • Leave It Up to MeKids in America
Related
John A. DavisOmation Animation StudioDNA ProductionsParamount PicturesNickelodeon Animation StudioJimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast • Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer
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