Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a 2001 American computer-animated adventure comic science fiction film produced by Nickelodeon Movies, O Entertainment, and DNA Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by creator John A. Davis and written by Davis and producer Steve Oedekerk, with voice talents by Debi Derryberry, Patrick Stewart, Martin Short, Rob Paulsen, and Jeffrey Garcia. The precursor to the TV show, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which followed shortly after, Jimmy Neutron follows the title character, a schoolboy with super-genius powers who must save all of the parents of the world from a race of egg-like aliens known as the Yolkians.

The idea for Jimmy Neutron was first created by Davis in the 1980s, in which he wrote a script for a short film titled Runaway Rocketboy and starring a prototype character for Jimmy named Johnny Quasar. After coming across the abandoned script several years later, Davis decided that it would be a good idea to revisit it and retool it as a computer animated short and potential TV series. A 40-second demo was animated using LightWave 3D and gained popularity at the 1995 SIGGRAPH convention where it was shown off, grabbing the attention of Oedekerk and leading DNA Productions to develop an extended TV Pilot. After a successful pitch to Nickelodeon, a 13-minute-long TV episode was developed, and Nickelodeon, impressed with both the character and the 3D technology, raised the possibility making both a TV series and a full-length feature film. Davis, in turn, suggested that the film be made first, so that the development team could create the assets at theatrical quality and reuse them in the TV series. Production officially began in early 2000, and was completed in roughly 24 months, with DNA Productions considerably raising its staff count and expanding its studio space. Animation was done entirely using commercial software, including Lightwave and project:messiah.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius was released on December 21, 2001.[1] Backed by a strong pre-release campaign, the film was a box office success, grossing $103 million worldwide. This film along with Shrek and Monsters, Inc. were nominated for the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001, ultimately losing to Shrek. It was the only animated Nickelodeon film to ever be nominated in that category until Rango (2011) was nominated and won.

Due to its success, the film was spun off into an Nickelodeon animated television show series called The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which premiered on July 20, 2002 and ended on November 25, 2006. Eight years later, another spin-off series called Planet Sheen was produced, focusing on Jimmy's friend Sheen Estevez. This series premiered on October 2, 2010 and ended on February 15, 2013.