Re-Animated is a television film that aired on Cartoon Network on December 8, 2006. It was the first original production on the genre for the network.[1] It was released on DVD on September 11, 2007,[2] and serves as a pilot for the follow-up series Out of Jimmy's Head, which premiered on September 14, 2007. It was universally panned by both critics and audiences upon release.
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Re-Animated | |
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Created by | Adam Pava Tim McKeon |
Written by | Adam Pava Tim McKeon |
Directed by | Bruce Hurwit |
Starring |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Johnny Colt |
Opening theme | "Re-Animated", performed by Johnny Colt |
Ending theme | "Re-Animated" (Extended) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography | Collin W. Davis |
Editors | Michael Kelly, ACE |
Running time | 78 minutes |
Production companies | Renegade Animation Turner Studios (credited as "Appleday Pictures") |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | Cartoon Network |
Original release |
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Chronology | |
Followed by | Out of Jimmy's Head |
The film's animation was produced by Renegade Animation, which previously produced Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi for Cartoon Network.
Middle school student Jimmy Roberts is often taken advantage of by his peers. During his class trip to Gollyworld, an amusement park themed around animated cartoon characters created by the deceased animator Milt Appleday, Jimmy misses out on many of the attractions. The popular students then, on the suggestion of Jimmy's best friend Craig, tell Jimmy to search for Appleday's frozen brain in the ride "Tux's Arctic Adventure". Jimmy unwillingly goes there bumps into Milt's middle-aged, clumsy son Sonny, who is attempting to retrieve the brain. Jimmy quickly flees and accidentally runs onto the path of another oncoming attraction: "Crocco's Train". He is sent to an on-premises hospital, where Milt's brain is transplanted into his head. He survives the operation with his personality intact, but he can now see all of Appleday's characters in real life, while no one else can.
With the help of his crush, Craig's sister Robin, Jimmy learns that Sonny unwittingly ruined the characters' popularity through his own ideas. When Jimmy is hired as the new president of Appleday Pictures, replacing Sonny, mascot character Golly Gopher believes Jimmy can quickly make him a star again. With Milt's creativity and imagination, Jimmy becomes immensely popular but no longer has time for school or his friends.
Meanwhile, Sonny deceives Jimmy's father into letting him rent out a room in Jimmy's house. Sonny has dinner with the Roberts family while scheming to remove Milt's brain from Jimmy's head. He devises a plan to modify Crocco's Train to include several dangerous devices that will decapitate Jimmy. However, he yells this plan out loud, and Yancy, Jimmy's alien sister, catches on.
Robin attempts to point out to Jimmy that the cartoons are taking advantage of him, but he denies this. He leaves for his television debut, and Sonny takes her hostage. At the studio, Jimmy tells Golly that being the president of Appleday Studios hasn't gotten him what he really wanted. Furious, Golly scolds him for being a pushover. Jimmy realizes Robin was right and denounces his position as president on-air. He then finds out Sonny has tied Robin to the train tracks. Golly apologizes for his anger and temporarily changes Jimmy into a cartoon "Knight in shining armor". Jimmy goes inside the train and destroys the engine, saving Robin. Jimmy dresses up as Milt to momentarily distract Sonny by appealing to his affection for his father. Yancy teleports Jimmy to safety. Robin and Jimmy return to Craig's house, and they mend their "friendship". However, since the partygoers there were watching Jimmy's announcement and saw him talk about the importance of friendship over popularity, they leave.
In an epilogue, while Jimmy is leaving for school, Sonny almost succeeds at extracting Jimmy's brain with a crane-like device but misses.
Two nonverbal cartoon characters, Prickles and Pickles (a porcupine and a pickle, respectively), also appear. They are loosely based on Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse, stars of the Tom and Jerry animated franchise.
Re-Animated was universally panned by critics and audiences, with the writing, humor, characters, acting, plot and the blend of animation with live action receiving the most criticism. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media called it a "brain-swap tale [that] will have tweens' eyes rolling".[3]
Cartoon Network pilots, films, and specials | |
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Pilots |
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TV films |
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Theatrical films |
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Direct-to-video films |
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Specials |
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Cartoon Network Studios (Regular Cartoon Network programming) |