The past can be a nice thing to look back on. To think of all of your old memories and interests can bring up nostalgia. When a remake of a movie or show comes out, nostalgia can be one of the factors that makes it or breaks it. When Disney Channel revealed their live action movie remake of the well loved and remembered TV show “Kim Possible”, it brought up some old memories that some may have had from the original animated show. To say it lived up to these wonderful memories is an extreme overstatement.
This beloved animated TV show shared the story of high school student and vigilante Kim Possible, her sidekick and best friend, Ron Stoppable, and his pet naked mole-rat, Rufus, as they dealt with high school drama along with super villains.
The movie adaptation of “Kim Possible”, which came out on February 15th, 2019, was the live action story of a High School Freshman and vigilante, her sidekick and best friend Ron Stoppable, another High School Freshman girl named Athena who turns out to be an evil robot, and Ron’s pet naked mole-rat, Rufus, who appears for about a five minutes maximum in the entire movie.
The plot of this movie was meant to be inspirational for young girls going into high school as it was based around the insecurities someone might have. The story illustrates how Kim is a new freshman in high school and how terrifying it is to be in a new environment.
Beginning with a bad first day, Kim then meets a friend, Athena. Turning out to be super cool and powerful, Kim and Ron take her on a mission where she upstages Kim. Kim gets jealous and tries to show her up, getting Athena kidnapped in the process, then finally realizing who Athena truly is – an evil robot who was made to be better than Kim. Confusing right? Even when watching, it was confusing to the point it was a bit irritating.
The entire “Kim Possible” movie was extremely cheesy, filled with pointless action sequences and is overall a poor representation of high school. Of course high schoolers aren’t the target audience and younger generations would probably find enjoyment in it; however, comparing it to the series it originated from is probably the eighth deadly sin.
Some memorable scenes from the movie include, but are not limited to: that time Kim raced to the bus and did a somersault for some unknown reason and saved a baby, then the bus driver full on looked her in the eyes and tried to close the door of the bus before she could get in. Or that one time Dr. Drakken, the main villain, had a hangover from drinking too much milk. Even better, the time that Ron met Rufus in an old lab where he felt the need to open the enclosure and steal this strange animal that, for some reason, trusted him at first sight.
This movie had so many pointless action sequences, it’s frustrating to watch. Kim doing a flip out of her window to the one foot drop below was weird and kind of confusing. The somersault mentioned earlier was meaningless, and the amounts of times she used her grappling hook, for absolutely no reason, was astonishing.
The acting left much to be desired. Although their acting wasn’t bad, most interactions between the two villains were awkward and showed they had no chemistry. The wannabe red-headed actress who portrayed Kim was inexperienced and it showed. The only acceptable character was Rufus, the naked mole-rat. They managed to get the original voice actor for Rufus, and while it’s disappointing that he was barely in it, if he had been in the movie more than he was, it would have just made it even more annoying.
Kim Possible was a bratty high schooler trying to make it through all of the unrealistic, stereotypical struggles and drama that makes an appearance in most teen movies. Ron adds nothing to the plot or story besides poor comic relief.
The movie ended with Dr. Drakken turned into a child due to his use of this aging machine, going to the same high school Kim goes to. During this scene, the villain is depicted as a young ten year old, and despite this fact, he has the mission to go undercover and take Kim down. It left off there obviously hoping for a sequel, but with how the movie was, and how many people reacted to it, hopefully there won’t be one in its future.
The movie proved to be an atrocity, save yourself the time and the disappointment by not watching it. It didn’t even live up to a fraction of the legacy that the original animated TV show set up. If you are looking for nostalgia, do not go looking for it in this movie. There are many other places to find the original show, such as the DisneyNOW app. Really though, Disney Channel should come up with something original instead of feeding off the dead flame of a long passed show.
