Made for a paltry $25 million, Jimmy Neutron was tossed into theaters up against Monsters Inc., Pixars 3rd CG film. Even up against the immense competion, Neutron still hauled in about $80 million dollars and that says alot. This is a fantastic animated film for kids and countless refrences to other films will surely have the adult audience in tears. Oh, and the DVD? One of the best on the market for showcasing your system.
Jimmy Neutron heads off into space (yes, space) with his dog Goddard and his best friend Carl. He launches a toaster which he has managed to turn into a reconaisance sattalite. Eventually, an alien race gets a hold of the invention and after seeing a picture of some parents, decide to sacrifice the parents of Jimmy's hometown Retroville. The kids take to the skies in Neutrons inventions to try and get them back.
This is a briskly paced (less than 80 minutes excising the credits which I do recommened watching for a minute or two) action-adventure for kids. Though it makes almost no sense and is entirely implausible (how exactly do they breath in space?), this is any kids true fantasy world. Some of the jokes are of course somewhat immature, but die-hard movie fans will have a blast with in-jokes from Star Wars to the Night of the Living Dead. Though not up to par with other CG films along the lines of Toy Story, this is an excellent alternative when that movie finally runs out of steam with your kids. (**** out of *****)
This DVD offers up both widescreen (roughly 1.85:1) and full screen options on the same disc. In a miracle of compression technology, all the special features have been included as well on the same side. This is a flawless transfer, one of the best I've ever seen. The few very minor sequences with bright reds show some compressions artifacts, but this in no way detracts from the overall presentation and in all honesty, I'm just trying to find SOMETHING wrong with this discs picture. This is a perfect showcase movie, but you may have some explaining to do as to why you bought a new HDTV to play Jimmy Neutron videos. (*****)
Along with the picture, the sound is likewise active throughout. Because ot this entire generations problems with attention issues, this one is almost one massive action scene after another. This is great for audio fanatics. Characters move all around the sound field, Neutrons malfunctioning inventions always find a way into the rears, and a leter seqeunce in the movie presents the chicken dance song like you've never heard it before. Oddly, I had to really turn up the volume to hear this one at a decent level and bass is a bit limited. Still, you'll get your moneys worth with this disc on your shelf. (****)
Though far from an all out special edition, there are some nice features included here. The main making of feature runs about 15 minutes and will be great for kids eager to learn how a CG cartoon is made, but adults will find little here that they won't find better somewhere else. There are 7 "interstitials" which are short cartoons that I'm sure aired sometime on Nickelodeon. There are also 5 "cliffhangers," more short cartoons with, well, cliffhanger endings. The teaser and full trailers are here as well and this time are actually worth a look. You'll spot some deleted/edited/changed sequences buried inside them. Shame they couldn't be shown seperately on the disc. 7 DVD-ROM games are included as well, but my lack of a proper drive obviously doesn't let me try these fancy things. Chances are we could have alot more if they excised the useless full screen version. (***)
This is a great, fun movie that anyone can sit down an enjoy. I really mean anyone. Audiophiles will have a blast, videophiles will be shocked, kids will be brought to tears with the antics, and parents will eat this one up with the countless "tip-o-the-hats" to their favorite films. This is not only a must own movie, but a must own disc as well. Kudos to Paramount for going all out on this on. Now, about that full screen issue.....
