Allan Muir – EiC/Site Admin/Dude Longing For Their Own Goddard

The Unintentional Death of Jimmy Neutron

I was in grade school in 2001 when Jimmy Neutron would ultimately make his debut on Nickelodeon in the film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, this led to the spinoff series that Graydon mentioned in his portion. I watched the show religiously after watching the film and would play the video games between GameCube and Gameboy Advance. They weren’t the greatest games but as a result of nostalgia-goggles there was still a charm to it. Gotta blast!

Time would pass and I would go on to forget that Jimmy Neutron even existed aside from the spare random reminders I’d have that would quickly disappear. That is until I learned the story of Jimmy Neutron. Its origins, its demise, and hope for a possible return.

During the 1990’s Nickelodeon was neck-deep into its renaissance as the number 1 network for kids. In the midpoint of the 90s, test footage was made for the character that would become Jimmy Neutron. This young prodigy was none other than Johnny Quasar! The test footage would also feature one of the more iconic designs for a robot in the form of Goddard the dog. I never understood for the longest time the reason Jimmy Neutron disappeared from Nickelodeon. There are multiple theories, with no one definitive answer to this day over a decade and a half after the show ended. They range from the show ending due to cost, the disastrous box office reception to The Ant Bully – which killed the Jimmy Neutron production studio – and the simple fact that with the general existence of the series there was virtually no audience for a film sequel.

While the show lived on through “Planet Sheen“, there was a planned film that would have seen the Jimmy Neutron characters attempt to rescue Sheen from the planet he had accidentally teleported himself to. This film would be ultimately canceled with O Entertainment and Nickelodeon parting ways for good. In 2020, voice acting legend Rob Paulsen, who voiced Carl Wheezer, said it would be a great idea for Jimmy Neutron to be rebooted due to the fanbase for the series growing with the rise of show revivals. John A. Davis has a story for a Jimmy Neutron revival but is waiting for the right time to execute said plan.

Emmett Watkins Jr. and I talked about Jimmy Neutron briefly during an episode of Player’s Club.