Kim Possible

(in green), Ron, Kim, Rufus, and Dr. Drakken (upper-right, in blue) Kim Possible takes place primarily within the town of Middleton, USA and focuses on the life and adventures of Kim Possible, an accomplished high school student who fights crime on a regular basis, assisted by her best friend and sidekick Ron Stoppable and Rufus, his pet naked mole rat. Ron's personal fears, insecurities, and clumsiness tend to jeopardize the success of their own missions. Together, the foursome is known as Team Possible. as well as her younger brothers, identical twins Jim and Tim, both of whom possess genius-level intellect. Fully aware of their daughter's occupation, Kim's parents remain completely supportive of her crime-fighting endeavors so long as she continues to obey curfew, but tend to be more-so concerned about the character's performance in school, as well as her love life. Lacking a secret identity, Kim is world famous and her profession is constantly acknowledged by both her classmates and teachers. all the while striving to maintain a healthy work–life balance; fighting crime typically comes to Kim more naturally than the more standard components of adolescence. As revealed in Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time, Kim became involved in crime-fighting rather unintentionally. In a series of events prior to the beginning of the series, a pre-adolescent Kim, in search of a job, creates her own website, kimpossible.com, When he becomes trapped by his own laser security system, a billionaire accidentally contacts Kim while he was attempting to reach Team Impossible, to whose aid she immediately rushes. As news of the character's heroism spreads, her website is soon flooded with e-mails from around the globe requesting her assistance, and Kim ultimately decides to use her talents to help the world, becoming a superhero, even without superpowers. ==Episodes==

Lilo & Stitch crossover A crossover episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Kim Possible aired on August 26, 2005 as part of the former show's second season. Entitled "Rufus", Season 2, episode 20 features Lilo contacting Kim and Ron to help her rescue Stitch, who has been captured by Drakken and Shego in a partnership with Dr. Hamsterviel to clone Stitch for an army of obedient monsters. Meanwhile, Jumba mistakes Rufus for one of his missing experiments. ==Characters==

• Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible (voiced by Christy Carlson Romano): Although protecting the world comes to her quite naturally, Kim finds being a teenager much more challenging, struggling with issues that range from schoolwork to bullying, embarrassment, relationships, A straight-A student, Kim is also a perfectionist. "So not the drama", and "What's the sitch?", short for "situation". socially awkward, clumsy and (up until the final season) unpopular with his peers. Ron has a fear of monkeys and serves as the show's comic relief. • Wade Load (voiced by Tahj Mowry): a teenage computer genius who informs Kim and Ron about upcoming missions from his bedroom, His skin has permanently been turned blue as a result of a laboratory accident. ==Production==

Conception and main characters Long-time collaborators and veteran Disney writers, Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle had already been writing for Walt Disney Television Animation and Disney Channel for several years, contributing to the network's male-led animated series Aladdin, Hercules and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, each one spin-offs of their respective feature-length animated films. Although they had enjoyed working on those projects, Schooley and McCorkle were becoming interested in contributing to "something original". The creators were also influenced by their own childhood heroes James Bond and Captain Kirk from Star Trek, and wanted Kim to resemble a character their daughters could idolize similarly. Working completely independently from government spy organizations, Kim's crime-fighting abilities are drawn from real-life activities such as cheerleading and gymnastics, "something that any kid...in the world could do", according to the creators. as well as actors known for their roles on other popular animated and comedy series. After auditioning several actresses to voice the title character, Her first voice acting role, Romano's performance as Kim was nominated for an Emmy Award. Recognized for his ability to play "over-the-top characters", Schooley attributes much of the show's success to Romano and Friedle's chemistry, explaining, "they add something to this that makes it more than a typical gag-oriented cartoon." researched naked mole rats extensively to the point of which she became "a font of useless trivia" and knowledge. Cartwright cites Rufus among her two most difficult characters to voice due to the constant use of her diaphragm required to produce 18 mole rat sound effects. Her performance earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. John DiMaggio was cast as Drakken based on his vocal performance as Bender on the animated sitcom Futurama. The creators mused, "Drakken is as funny as he is because of how funny John is. Like any of the great voiceover guys, he can do multiple voices. He also just has a terrific comedic sense", Prior to Kim Possible, Storms had starred in Disney Channel's Zenon film series. ''That's So Raven''s Raven-Symoné voices Kim's female best friend Monique, cast based on her reputation as a comedic actress and ability to deliver a punchline. Writing Serving as executive producers in addition to writers throughout the entire series, Schooley and McCorkle oversaw the show for its entire duration to maintain consistency. Without alienating younger viewers, to whom the show refuses to "talk down", the writing in Kim Possible is "a little older than" that of traditional Disney animated series. Meanwhile, the outfits of Team Impossible were influenced by the X-Men's "classic" blue and gold uniforms. Common Sense Media reviewed that the show's colorful, "hip and retro" style is reminiscent of "campy" spy films released during the 1960s and 1970s. The New York Times observed that the show's retro setting is more similar to that of The Jetsons than The Simpsons. Using a limited animation style, the characters wear a wide variety of costumes and hairstyles. is performed by American recording artist Christina Milian. Having already been working for Disney Channel at the time, appearing as a correspondent on the network's miniseries Movie Surfers after declining an offer to appear on their variety show The Mickey Mouse Club, Milian learned about Kim Possible from Disney when the studio called her in recruitment of an artist to record the new show's theme song. After meeting with the songwriters, who then proceeded to write the song, for the first time, Milian returned to the studio to record "Call Me, Beep Me" one week later. Described as a Motown-influenced R&B and teen pop track, "Call Me, Beep Me" is heard during the show's opening title sequence, encouraging viewers and listeners to contact Kim for assistance should they ever find themselves in difficult situations, A music video was released for "Call Me, Beep Me", which features Milian and Romano recording the song in the recording studio interspersed with short scenes from the series. The song's success ultimately benefited Milian's career as a performer; she explained, "I never realized that show would give me so much exposure. It's great because people have grown with me, even with that damn song. Didn't know so many people were watching Kim Possible like that. Because of that song, it actually inspired me to do my own musical animated artist because a lot of people thought I was Kim Possible." Milian has yet to perform the song live in concert but has expressed interest in recording a remix for fans. "Call Me, Beep Me" became so popular among fans of both the show that several of them proceeded to download it as their own cell phone ringtones, including Milian herself. The third season introduced several character-specific songs. An official Kim Possible soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on July 1, 2003, featuring "Call Me, Beep Me" and "Could it Be", in addition to other musical contributions from the cast of Kim Possible in addition to various Disney recording artists, including Aaron Carter. the soundtrack also features appearances by musical groups A-Teens, Jump5 (performing a cover of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration"), LMNT and Smash Mouth, and Will Friedle and Nancy Cartwright's "Naked Mole Rap", ultimately concluding with a "work-you-up remix" of the theme song by Tony Phillip. ==Styles and themes==

Episodes typically adhere to a simple, similar format, featuring a power-hungry villain who Kim and Ron must somehow prevent from taking over the world. According to The Artifice, the show's unique brand of humor distinguishes it from the slapstick style associated with most Disney Channel sitcoms, namely Phil of the Future and ''That's so Raven'', The villains are also depicted as clever, yet comical. its comedy benefiting from the show's emphasis on "over-the-top plots" and circumstances. the series additionally parodies the teen sitcom genre, Kim Possible explores feminist themes, Kim Possible is considered to be an example of both girl power and power feminism. Similar to the animated shows Totally Spies, Atomic Betty, and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Kim Possible revolves around an attractive, intelligent, and strong female character whose public identity is meant to indicate that she should be received as a positive role models for young girls. ==Broadcast==

Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, Kim Possibles episodes are typically 22 minutes in length and occupy half-hour time slots. Episodes were also broadcast in syndication on several Disney-affiliated television networks including Toon Disney, weekdays at 7:30 am and weekends at 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm, and ABC's ABC Kids Saturday mornings at 11:00 am, In mid 2006, the series started airing on Disney Channel's website. Internationally, Kim Possible aired on the Family Channel in Canada, while broadcasting on CCTV 12 in China, Dubai TV in Dubai in their respective local languages, Mandarin and Arabic and on ABS-CBN in the Philippines in Filipino language. In 2005, production halted following the premiere of Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama after airing three seasons and 65 episodes. On November 29, 2005, Disney Channel ordered 22 new episodes of Kim Possible in response to the series' success and popular demand from fans, who had been heavily petitioning for the show's renewal online and via e-mail. its order to produce 22 new episodes as opposed to the usual 13 to 18 was also unprecedented for a revived program. four seasons and 81 episodes (87 including the films), Kim Possible aired weekdays on Disney XD in the United States. When the series returned to Disney XD in February 2014, fans flocked to Twitter to voice their approval. The series began airing on Disney XD in 2018, though only including random episodes from Seasons 1 and 4. Eventually, the reruns shifted to include episodes from all four seasons, still out of order, beginning with reruns aired beginning and after July 30, 2018 until August 2018. In addition to maintaining consistently high ratings throughout its four-season run, Kim Possible was the longest-running Disney Channel Original Series until it was surpassed by Phineas and Ferb in 2012. The show can now be found on Disney+. Home media ==Reception==

Critical response In the days leading up to Kim Possibles premiere, television critics speculated whether or not the show would attract a large enough male audience despite its female lead to prove successful. Ultimately, Kim Possible premiered to both widespread acclaim and strong viewership. The first season currently holds a perfect 100% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The series continued to garner critical acclaim throughout its run, earning particular praise for its dialogue, humor and animation, Evan Levine of Newspaper Enterprise Association stated that the show has a "nice mix of humor and adventure", praising the humor as "genuinely funny moments that parody everything from adventure movies to family relationships." Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News praised Kim Possible for being "an entertaining show that should indeed appeal to tweens, younger kids and even their parents" that "plays with the superhero format in a way that doesn't take itself too seriously but doesn't play down to the viewers." Ratings Kim Possibles premiere received a 2.2 Nielsen rating, totaling 1.8 million households and 2.5 million viewers. At the time, the series had the highest-rated premiere of all the Disney Channel shows. In terms of ratings, Kim Possible continued to perform consistently well into its second and third seasons. By 2003, Kim Possible was Disney Channel's highest-rated animated series for kids 6 to 11 and tweens 9 to 14. In 2005, Richard Huff of New York Daily News confirmed that the series was a "huge hit" with both boys and girls. On March 26, 2007, Thomas R. Umstead of Multichannel News stated that Kim Possible is one of the shows that contributed to the viewership growth of Disney Channel for the past three years. Ratings remained strong into the final season. Internationally, the show proved particularly popular in Germany and Japan. Awards and nominations ==Legacy==

Kim Possible is considered to be one of Disney Channel's most beloved programs. becoming Disney Channel's most successful post-1990s show. The series maintains "legions" of devoted fans. A poll conducted by Disney Channel revealed that Kim Possible viewers voted for Season 3's "Emotion Sickness" as their favorite episode of the series. Kim Possible was placed at number nine on TV Guide's ranking of "The Best Disney Channel Shows". MTV ranked Kim Possible 13th in its article "15 Disney Channel Series We Wish We Could Watch Again". On that same day, a special Kim Possible-themed episode of Romano and Friedle's podcast I Hear Voices was released. At the beginning, Romano and Friedle interview creators Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, as well as voice actors Nicole Sullivan (Shego) and John DiMaggio (Drakken). At the end, the four actors performed a brand new Kim Possible scene written by McCorkle and Schooley and directed by original Kim voice director Lisa Schaffer. The scene begins with Kim and Ron hanging at Bueno Nacho before entering Drakken's lair and tricked into being guests on Drakken and Shego's podcast. As usual, Kim and Ron escape but not before Kim gets into fisticuffs with Shego (with Drakken and Ron providing commentary on the fight). ==Related media==

Films The success of Kim Possible spawned two animated—as well as a live action—television films based on the series, becoming the first animated series to be adapted into a Disney Channel Original Movie. and the film itself premiered on February 15, 2019. Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time is the first full-length animated TV movie based on the series. Dubbed an "extended episode," it premiered on Disney Channel on November 28, 2003. following Kim as she journeys both into the past and the future to save the world. It also explores the characters’ origins, revealing how Kim and Ron first became crime fighters, and features an all-star cast. It originally aired between the 13th and 15th episodes of Season 2. In reruns, the film was typically split into three parts, serving as episodes 26, 27, and 28 of the second season. It was released on DVD in the U.S. (Region 1) on March 16, 2004, with two bonus features, and in the U.K. (Region 2) on March 14, 2005. An online episodic series consisting of three Flash-based video games based on the film was also released in 2003. On Disney+, the film is only available as three episodes. Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama is the second TV movie based on the series, and it premiered on Disney Channel on April 8, 2005. It was originally intended to serve as the series finale, but due to popular demand the series was renewed for the fourth season. In its premiere night, the film received a 3.6 household rating - about 3.1 million viewers. It received generally positive reception. Emme Oliver of CBR described the movie as "awesome" and said that it "fits perfectly" into the series while "being outstanding on its own" and was so successfully that "Kim Possible was renewed for a fourth and final season." Oliver also asserted that the film pays "homage to traditional spy thrillers" and is action-packed. Oliver, a separate review, described the film as a "forgotten hidden gem" with "unparalleled magic" which is as "thrilling today as it was back then" when it originally released, enjoyable for fans and for anyone who likes "action flicks with a hint of coming-of-age" themes. Ben Protheroe of Screen Rant said the film gives fans "more of what they love" for the series, while making room "for plenty of exciting action scenes." He also argued that the film would evoke a "fond memory" and seeing Kim's battle suit "may bring about a wave of nostalgia." Tracey Petherick of Common Sense Media said that the film "combines teen angst with superhero antics" with a focus on family, friendship, and "what it means to be loyal and determined" with a coming-of-age storyline. She also said the film had "all the trademarks of the franchise" and combines clever storylines, fast-pacing, and "smart jokes," calling the film plot-filled and "family fun." Live-action Kim Possible film In between working on the first and second seasons of the series, series creators Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle began writing a script for a live-action film adaptation. However, the project never materialized for unknown reasons. On February 7, 2018, Disney Channel announced that a live-action adaptation was in development. McCorkle and Schooley returned as executive producers, joined by Josh A. Cagan, Zanne Devine, Adam Stein, and Zach Lipovsky. The film, produced by Middleton Productions, was slated to begin filming in mid-2018 for a 2019 premiere. Casting was revealed over several months: Sadie Stanley and Sean Giambrone were announced as the leads on April 25, 2018. followed by Alyson Hannigan, Connie Ray, Todd Stashwick, Taylor Ortega, Ciara Wilson, and Erika Tham on May 25. Issac Ryan Brown joined on June 22, with Christy Carlson Romano and Patton Oswalt announced on August 11, and Nancy Cartwright on January 14, 2019. Principal photography began on June 4, 2018 and wrapped on July 23, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, including locations in Richmond at McMath Secondary School, and at the Cleveland Dam in North Vancouver. The film premiered on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW on February 15, 2019. During its 8:00 p.m. debut, it drew 1.24 million viewers with a 0.22 rating among adults aged 18–49, making it the lowest-rated Disney Channel Original Movie premiere of the decade, until 2021's Under Wraps. Critical reception was mixed. Brian Lowry of CNN wrote: "It's all a good deal of fun, bringing the animated show to life while riffing on those conventions. That said, the tone can be a bit uneven, with Stanley nicely turning Kim into a flesh-and-blood girl, while Giambrone's Ron is played much closer to the cartoon version." Petrana Radulovic of Polygon said that the film "keeps the true spirit of the DCOMs many of us grew up with — Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior, Halloweentown and Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century among them", and added: "Kim Possible is campy and hammers in its message with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but that's not a critique. It just means that Kim Possible is, like most in the DCOM canon, a fun movie, and little else." Sabrina Pitre was nominated at the 2020 Canadian Cinema Editors Awards in the category Best Editing in Family - Series or MOW, Live Action for her work on this film. Miniseries The live action film was followed by a short-form miniseries, Kim Hushable, which aired from June 5 to 24, 2019 and was released on Disney Channel's YouTube account. The shorts take place after the movie and focus on Kim, Ron, and Athena as they help out in a library during spring break, all while dealing with various rogues and impressing Mr. Dewey. Warhok and Warmonga, who appeared in the original series, make an appearance in the shorts. Video games and merchandise The success of Kim Possible spawned its own video game series; a total of six video games were released, supported by various gaming consoles and platforms: • ''Disney's Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist'' (GBA) – released, November 13, 2002 • ''Disney's Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise'' (GBA) – released, September 15, 2004 • ''Disney's Kim Possible 3: Team Possible'' (GBA) – released, August 21, 2005 • ''Disney's Kim Possible: Kimmunicator'' (DS) – released, November 9, 2005 • ''Disney's Kim Possible: Legend of the Monkeys Eye'' (PC) – released, May 16, 2006 • ''Disney's Kim Possible: What's the Switch?'' (PS2) – released, October 19, 2006 • ''Disney's Kim Possible: Global Gemini'' (DS) – released, February 9, 2007 • ''Disney's Kim Possible'' (Java ME) – released in 2007 • Additionally, Kim, Ron, Dr. Drakken, Shego, Monkey Fist, and Duff Killigan are all playable heroes in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode. Rufus also appears in Ron's blue skill. In 2003, Disney began using the popularity of both Disney Channel's Kim Possible and Lizzie McGuire in an attempt to revive the company's struggling merchandising division, which had been suffering from a declining interest in movie and television tie-ins. In June 2004, McDonald's customers received Kim Possible memorabilia ranging from action figures to spy gear and accessories with their purchase of a Happy Meal. Epcot attraction Based on the series, the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure was an interactive attraction that took place in several of Epcot's World Showcase pavilions in Walt Disney World. The attraction is an electronic scavenger hunt that has guests using special "Kimmunicators" (in actuality, modified cell phones) to help Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable solve a "crime" or disrupt an evil-doer's "plans for global domination." The "Kimmunicator" is able to trigger specific events within the pavilion grounds that provide clues to completing the adventure. Launched in January 2009 and presented by Verizon Wireless, the Adventure is included in park admission. The attraction was closed on May 18, 2012, to make way for a similar attraction themed around the character of "Agent P" from Disney Channel animated television show Phineas and Ferb. The new attraction, now called ''Disney's Phineas and Ferb's Agent P World Showcase Adventure'', opened in June 2012. ==Notes==