I�m your basic average girl
And I�m here to save the world
You can�t stop me �cause I�m
Kim Po-si-ble
Ok while you may think it�s immature and dumb, I still love watching cartoons. Most people wrongfully assume that all cartoons are made for little kids. While most cartoons are aimed at youngster there are obviously some cartoons such as �South Park�, �Family Guy� and even �The Simpsons� which are aimed at adults. (Even though �The Simpsons� are, shall we say, family friendly). Most people don�t realize that classic cartoons were also aimed at adults. The �Loony Toons� were very much aimed at adults, as were toons such as �the Flintstones�.
With that said, I am one to still watch cartoons that are aimed at the younger generations. However, there are really no good cartoons these days for kids. All the cartoons are either from Japan and are anime, or are really bad spin-offs of classic toons or are aimed at very young children. They are all basically the same thing and they all pretty much suck. There are no more of the great toons I grew up with. No more �Thundercats� or �Vultron�, or �He-Man�, or even �The Smurfs�. Even worse there are now bad remakes of some of my all time favorites like the �Transformers� and �G.I. Joe� and �the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles�. Now these were great cartoons. Tons of violence but no one ever got killed (you had to love every Cobra pilot ejecting before his plane blew up). The characters were all clean cut. There wasn�t anything close to foul language or even a hint of sex. It was good clean fun.
I know what you�re thinking, �where is he going with this�. Well, I let you all in on my disdain for this new generation of cartoons so you can understand why I love Kim Possible. For those of you who don�t know, Kim Possible is a Disney cartoon that airs in reruns on both the Disney channel and Toon Disney. After watching a marathon of K.P. on Toon Disney that included the first of two Kim Possible movies A Stitch in Time, I wanted to let everyone know what a great show it is.
While entertaining my Niece and Nephew this summer (o.k. I was babysitting for a living) I discovered this masterpiece of animation. I had known about Kim Possible for a while but never took the time to watch it. Since I�ve started watching I have come to love the show. There�s just so much to like about the show from the theme song (hence I�ve used the opening to intro this), to the characters, to the comedy. A quick synopsis of the show would be Kim is a very typical high school cheerleader with red hair, big green eyes, and a hot little bo�ok we wont get into that, who battles evil geniuses with her sidekick Ron Stoppable and his pet naked mole rat Rufus. She is also assisted by Wade, her computer geek friend who alerts her to trouble, hooks her up with cool gadgets like her Kimmunicator, runs her website, hooks Kim and Ron up with rides from people they previously helped out seeing as they are teenagers and can�t drive(I love the fact that they have to bum rides off of everyone), and never leaves his room. She lives at home with her Mom, the brain surgeon, her Dad, the rocket scientist, and her twin younger brothers, or the tweebs as she calls them, Jim and Tim, who are also exceptionally smart. Apparently brilliant offspring is what happens when a Brain surgeon and a rocket scientist get together and have kids.
The cast is made up of mostly Disney TV stars including Kim herself who is voiced by the beautiful Christy Carlson Romano, formally of the show �Even Stevens�. Will Friedle of �Boy Meets World� (you should know how much I love that show) fame brings Ron�s nutty persona to life. Wade�s voice is that of Tahj Mowry who after a short stint on �Full House� had his own show �Smart Guy� and is the brother of Tia and Tamera Mowry. Even the lovable Rufus is the creation of none other then Nancy Cartwright, a.k.a. Bart Simpson.
There are many aspects of the show that I find rather amusing including the many quirks of Kim�s best friend and sidekick Ron Stoppable. Weather it�s his love of his delectable creation the �Naco� (a combination of a taco and nachos) or his complete ineptitude, or his tendency to have his pants ripped off. As far as sidekicks go, Ron leaves a lot to be desired. Usually his role during the mission is to create a distraction while Kim defeats the bag guys. Ron may be over the top and a little wacky but he has a good heart, loves his job as sidekick, loves saving the world, and is a true friend to Kim. His biggest value to Kim may be the fact the he brings Rufus (whom he bought at Smarty Mart because his dad is allergic to fur) with him. Rufus does a lot more to help Kim out then Ron does. Rufus� ability to get into small places or to be unaccounted for by the bad guys has gotten Kim and Ron out of many a tight spot.
One thing that separates Kim Possible from other shows of its ilk, cartoon or live action, is that every one knows who Kim is. She doesn�t have a secret identity and everyone from the bad guys to her parents (who treat it like she�s a girl scout or something) to her schoolmates and teachers know she and Ron are crime fighters. For that matter people call for her help by sending messages to her website. Actually it was typo that got her started on her world saving adventures.
Yet another trait of Kim�s that is very unlike her cartoon brethren is that she changes her cloths. Most cartoon characters, from Fred Flintstone to Bart Simpson, always wear the same cloths. While she does have her Saving the World outfit and her cheerleading uniform and her green tank top with blue peddle pushers outfit that she wears regularly, Kim frequently models the latest fashions from her favorite store Club Banana. It�s little distinctions like this that puts Kim Possible ahead of other run of the mill cartoons. Of course the rest of the cast pretty much wears the same cloths all the time except for Ron who also has a Saving the World outfit to go along with his regular outfit.
The highlight of the show may very well be Kim�s archenemy Dr. Drakken and his sidekick Shego. Kim battles a whole cast of deranged, oddball bad guys, and girls, such as Monkey Fist, Duff Killigan, DNAmy, and Senor Senior Sr.. However, it is Dr. Drakken and Shego who cause Kim the most trouble.
Drakken is not your typical evil genius. For starters, he�s blue and has a ponytail. He does have a classic (not so) secret lair where he does most of his evil doings. While he is bent on taking over the world, his tactics are a little less normal, even for an evil genius. For one, while his plans are original he doesn�t come up with his own evil gadgets. Basically he goes around and steals them from laboratories and government agencies. Well, I should say he has Shego steal them. Most of the time he doesn�t even know what the particular gadget does or how it works, he just steals them because they are top secret and he figures they must be worth having. Most of his plans are, how can I say it, terrible. They are usually way too complicated to work or way too easy to foil. Basically he�s a buffoon. He�s a coward and has Shego do all of his fighting for him. Shego, of course, is more then happy to oblige him. Shego is Kim�s evil counterpart. She�s every bit as physically gifted as Kim is. Their fighting abilities are pretty equal except for Shego�s green energy that emanates from her hands and can be quite destructive. To quote the official Kim Possible website, she is �Excellent in all areas of evil. Infiltration, kidnapping, Sabotage. She�s good at being bad.�
While by themselves they are good characters and are both rather funny, what makes Drakken and Shego so great is their relationship. They don�t have a relationship like a boyfriend girlfriend kind of thing. It�s their working relationship that I am talking about. You see, while Shego is Drakken�s right hand man, she is just a hired hand. She doesn�t care about the plans themselves or Drakken�s desire to rule the world. She loves being evil, even though she started out as a good guy, and doing evil things. So she works for Drakken but thinks he�s an absolute idiot. She spends most of her time making fun of his ideas, busting his balls, and making snide remarks. It�s really funny. I think it�s a great idea for them to have this kind of relationship. Usually evil partners are just that, partners. They are in it together. But to have the two of them going back and forth at each other and her not respecting him at all is just great. I�m really not doing it justice in my explanation. Shego is just a great character weather she�s getting disgusted with Dr. Drakken�s lame plans or insulting Kim as they are battling.
I hope this little review of Kim Possible has enlightened all of you to a great show and peaked your curiosity. I really only scratched the surface of the show. I hope you can take the time and maybe check out and episode or two or even one of the two movies, �A Sitch in Time� and �So the Drama�. If you would like to read a much more in-depth review of the show check out this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Possible or you can go to the official home page at www.kimpossible.com. Don�t just write it, and me, off as some childish show, it really is good, not to mention it has won multiple Emmy awards.
There is nothing I can't do
When there's danger just call
Know that I am on my way
It doesn't matter where or when there's trouble
If you just call my name
Kim Possible
Call me, beep me
If you wanna reach me
When you wanna page me it's ok
Know when you need me baby
Call me, beep me if you wanna reach me
Call me, beep me
If you wanna reach me
Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter when
I will be there for you til the very end
Danger or trouble
I'm there on the double
You know that you always can call
Kim Possible