DVD Review: The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius (The Complete Series)

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I don’t mean to shock you, but if you were 10 years old when The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius began running on Nickelodeon, you’re about to turn 30. But before you get too old, you can sit back in front of the TV set and binge on the CGI adventures of the smartest boy in Retroville. All three seasons with boxed together in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: The Complete Series.

Jimmy Neutron (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is way too smart although he’s grown up in a kind of smart house with his father Hugh being a scientist although not quite as smart as his son. He’s a bit more practical in his creations. His mom Judy is all about keeping things orderly between the two inventors in the family. He does have two goofy buddies who get into the odd creations Sheen (Rio‘s Jeffrey Garcia) and Carl (Pinky and the Brain‘s Rob Paulsen). The episodes are based around the context that Jimmy comes up with a strange invention to get around something. Sheen is extremely excited. Carl is a bit hesitant, but doesn’t try to stop him. Cindy Vortex (SpongeBob SquarePants’ Carolyn Lawrence) is the one who gives him lip because she wants to be the smartest kid in the classroom. Jimmy also has a robot dog to show he’s a kid of tomorrow.

The first episode “When Pants Attack” has Jimmy invent a device to make self-folding pants to avoid getting punished by his mother for leaving them on the floor. But the pants take on a life of their own and refuse to be worn. It’s fun animation as the kids have to fight pants in the streets. What adult doesn’t end up fighting their pants at some point? “Incredible Shrinking Town” has Jimmy shrink his hometown and aliens arrive to claim the citizens as their hot new toys. “El Magnifico” has Sheen’s father enlisting Jimmy’s help to turn into a superhero to impress his son. It doesn’t quite go as planned for Jimmy or Sheen’s dad.

Jimmy Neutron was one of the better CGI cartoons when it debuted. Part of it was the fact that Nick had made it a feature film originally. The computer technology used for the film was adapted for the television version. This proved a smart move since the show doesn’t look clunky or cheap. This appears to be the first time that all the Jimmy Neutron TV episodes have been put out on DVD since previous releases have been Best of selections. Now you can truly indulge. You can also now notice a few deceptive jokes including how the animators snuck in the puzzle box from Hellraiser into an episode.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: The Complete Series is a fun trip back to when we appreciated genius on TV instead of dumb people on reality TV. It’s extremely easy to sit back on the sofa on a Saturday morning and devour a disc’s worth of episodes before you have to get back to your adult life. Or you can share the episodes with your young children. They might get influenced by Jimmy Neutron to do more for the Science Fair than the volcano project.

The video is 1.33:1 since even though the show was about the future, Nick wasn’t ready to expand out to HDTV. The resolution is sharp even on DVD. The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0. You’ll hear it when Jimmy’s creations go wrong.

The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour contains the three crossover episodes the series did with The Fairly Odd Parents. This was a rather interesting show merging since the producers had to figure out how to combine traditional animated characters with CGI characters. The first special had Timmy and Jimmy switch their realities and rendering in “The Fairly Odd Parents” (49:33). “When Nerds Collide!” (50:49) has them dealing with a lot of weirdness on Friday the 13th when Timmy wants to get a date with Cindy in Jimmy’s universe. “The Jerkinators!” (48:28) has them team up to fight a monster that they had previously created together.

Jimmy Neutron Pilot Episode (13:32) has the kid getting grounded for wanting to test a nuclear propulsion unit. This segment was supposed to be for a cartoon show on Nick, but executives used it to green light a CGI feature film (that you can still buy on DVD). The film was a serious hit and Nick decided to make it a series.

Behind the Scenes shows how they animated the CGI characters with computers and pencils. The shorts include How Hugh Moves (1:15), Hugh’s Virtual Makeover (1:17), The Storyboard Artist (0:38), Drawing Goddard (0:32) and Original Character Sketches (1:12). These ran as part of Nick Toons.

Storyboards includes the really rough versions of episodes so you can see what was done before the finished project. The episodes include “Raise the Oozy Scab,” “I Dream of Jimmy,” “Maximum Hugh,” Sleepless in Retroville” and Crime Sheen Investigation.”

Shout! Factory presents The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: The Complete Series. Starring: Debi Derryberry, Rob Paulsen, Jeffrey Garcia, Frank Welker, Carolyn Lawrence, Crystal Scales, Mark DeCarlo, Megan Cavanagh, Candi Milo, Andrea Martin & Tim Curry. Boxset Contents: 64 episodes on 10 DVDs. Released: October 26, 2021.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.