If you grew up in the early 2000s, then you probably watched or at least heard of this classic show on Nickelodeon during its Silver Age. If you haven't for whatever reason, then you should definitely watch it (on either Hulu or the complete season DVDs available on Amazon)!
Our swirly-haired boy genius first came into our lives 18 years ago in the form of a movie released into theaters aptly called, "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," which proved to be a huge box office success as well as the perfect sign for John Davis to create "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," or "Jimmy Neutron" for short, for Nickelodeon. The series had three seasons, running from 2002 to 2006, and eventually went on to be one of those shows we had come to know, love, and cherish as Nick-nostalgia.
I know I certainly did, as it was one of my go-to Nick shows as a kid!
However, "Jimmy Neutron" was originally going to have four seasons in total, with the fourth tying up all of the loose-ish plot threads that season three introduced (and even re-establishing an old norm): Evil Jimmy would return to get revenge on Jimmy (prime); Jimmy and Cindy's relationship would continue to grow and be officially solidified; Cindy would let go of her grudge/jealousy of Betty Quinlin and they would decide to become friends; Nick would rejoin the main cast of characters; and ultimately, the League of Villains would come back together to plot to destroy Jimmy once and for all and everyone in Retroville – not just the main gang – would play a part in helping him.
Unfortunately, aside from declining ratings at around the time of the third season (despite that season arguably being the best season of the whole show) and the fact that it was supposedly being watched by more girls than boys (at least so I thought because of a rumor), Nickelodeon could no longer make any profit off of it because of the high costs in 3D animation from its two studios, O Entertainment and DNA Productions.
Once the latter studio's movie "The Ant Bully," which was supposed to rake in extra money to stay afloat, failed in box office ratings, that studio shut down while the former studio went on to other projects, such as "Back at the Barnyard," pulling the plug on "Jimmy Neutron" for good.
It's a shame that a Nick show as special as "Jimmy Neutron" didn't deserve the fate it got.
While in 2010, with DNA Productions gone, the sister studio O Entertainment, now Omation, produced a spin-off series from "Jimmy Neutron" called "Planet Sheen," following Jimmy's friend as he takes one of Jimmy's rockets to space and lands on an alien planet, it was canceled on an unresolved cliffhanger in 2013 after only one season due to negative reception of its quality not exactly matching that of the original show.
So, needless to say, unless you recently decided to re-watch the series (as was my case) or have shared fond memories of it with your loved ones, you probably haven't heard about anything "Jimmy Neutron"-related in a long while… that is, unless you heard word from the "Jimmy Neutron" 15th Anniversary Reunion Panel at last year's Comic-Con in LA, regarding a possible revival, which you could watch in full here.
With modern-day revivals of classic shows (specifically of the Nickelodeon variety) on the rise, such as "Hey Arnold!" with the long-awaited "Jungle Movie" airing in 2017 on both Nick and Nicktoons, as well as "Rocko's Modern Life" and "Invader Zim" with their very recent straight-to-Netflix movies "Static Cling" and "Enter the Florpus," respectively, the idea of reviving "Jimmy Neutron" for long enough to give it the ending it truly deserves isn't too far out there.
Will there be adjustment issues, as it had been nearly 15 years since the show ended?
Yes, undoubtedly, but hey, didn't the creator of "Hey Arnold!" Craig Bartlett face those very issues when working on "The Jungle Movie," so then decided to give the show's characters, who initially were living in the 90s, modernized cell phones, the very thing that puts Helga's dad out of the beeper business?! And it was especially the case with "Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling" – in the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con sneak peek alone – as it was not subtle at all in pointing out the significant era-jump!
Anyway, getting back to "Jimmy Neutron," when a show has inspired kids to pursue science by making it entertaining to experience, and shown the hijinks as well as realities of growing up at the same time alongside Jimmy's cool inventions, and it just abruptly ends without warning, then it is calling for a revival so that it may rest in peace.
And that was exactly what the "Jimmy Neutron Revival Project" was created to do way back even before the show's cancellation. In fact, as of last year, it supplied us with not one, but two petitions in an effort to bring back this "Silver Nick Oldie" for that fourth – and officially final – season! Sign both petitions (one name entry per petition), chip in as much as you can, and share them around with your fellow "Jimmy Neutron" lovers to bring the matter to Nickelodeon and Viacom's attention and share the "Jimmy Neutron" love!
