During the late 90s and into the early 2000s, cartoons were in their prime. Disney cartoons aired not just on Disney Channel, but also on the programming block Disney’s One Saturday Morning on ABC; The Proud Family, Winnie-The-Pooh, and Recess were a few examples of shows that aired. But if there’s one show that I would rate among my Top-10 favorite Disney cartoons, it would be Kim Possible.
In the summer of 2002, Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle created a teenaged crime fighting heroine, Kim Possible. This series was Disney Channel’s 15th Original Series and only the second to be animated. This show focuses on Kim and her best friend and sidekick, Ron Stoppable. Kim is given the task of 
dealing with saving the world issues, family issues, and school issues on a daily basis, almost always round-the-clock. I don’t know how she does it. The slogan labelled for Kim for the series was “she can do anything.” I can’t begin to mention how many times that phrase is put to the test throughout the series out of the 4 seasons the show was on the air. I absolutely adore the show for its mixture of action, secret agent, and teenager slice-of-life genres of each episode.
Kimberly Ann Possible is the main title character of the show. She is a crime fighter who saves the world. She is also the captain of her high school’s cheerleading squad. She has to carefully manage her schedule by balancing crime-fighting, cheerleading, school and homework, and maintaining her social life. The name Kim Possible is a pun on the word “impossible,” where the phrase “anything is possible for a Possible” is constantly reiterated throughout the show. Kim is also best known for her use of her own jargon, such as “So not the drama”, and “No big” (short for “no big deal”). But her best catch phrase is, “What’s the sitch?”
Kim’s best friend, Ron Stoppable, is the main part of Kim’s social life. Kim and Ron have been best friends since pre-school. Ron is not only Kim’s best friend, he’s her saving-the-world sidekick. The funny thing about Ron is that he’s so clumsy and is often the distraction for the villains. There’s almost always a comic relief character in
a cartoon series, and Ron is exactly that. Ron, as comic relief, is best known for often losing his pants, literally. He’s also best known for carrying around Rufus, his pet naked mole rat, in his pocket everywhere he goes. Kim and Ron eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend in Season 4. It was inevitable that they would be in a relationship considering how much time they spend together.
When you save the world, you need someone for background analysis and information, and his name is Wade Load. He is a super-genius who’s only 10-years-old. Wade runs Kim’s website, gives her various spy gadgets, and communicates with Kim giving her mission information via a “Kimmunicator.” Wade’s role is similar to that of “Q” from Ian Flemings James Bond, except Q mainly manufactures the super gadgets for 007. Wade rarely leaves his room, and there are only a few times in the series when he’s shown outside his room.
The main antagonist who makes more appearances than any other villain in the show is Dr. Drakken. Drakken is a blue-skinned mad scientist fixated on global conquest. However, Drakken may not be cut out for pull off world domination successfully because he is so clueless. He doesn’t double-check anything, and he usually does something before thinking about it first. Also, Drakken is terrible with remembering certain people’s names. For example,
while he always remembers Kim’s name, he always forgets Ron’s name by saying “her sidekick whose name escapes me.” Speaking of sidekicks, Dr. Drakken has one too, and her name is Shego. Shego is Kim’s most dangerous enemy, aside from Drakken. She’s best known for wearing a green and black jumpsuit, her martial arts skills, stealth, and her superpower of burning things with green flames that emit from her hands. The green fire power is the probably her most dangerous quality.
The opening theme for Kim Possible is titled “Call Me, Beep Me!” was composed by Cory Lerios and George Gabriel and performed by Christina Milian. This just like any other cartoon theme because it makes reference to the title character in the lyrics. But there’s nothing more associable to the show that the jingle at the start of the song, it’s the ringtone that Kim’s Kimmunicator makes when receiving a call. I was actually able to
download this ringtone and make it a ringtone on my iPhone. I’ve heard stories of other people who have made this their ringtone. For example, one that I’ve heard was that someone’s phone went off in class, and after silencing it his classmate said, “So, what’s the sitch?” I thought it was a comical mash-up of rule-breaking and comedy at the perfect moment.
A remixed version of the theme was made for the Kim Possible TV movie So The Drama. The style of that version that really stood out to me was that the mood of both the song and the title sequence was much like a title sequence from a James Bond movie. The movie remix was performed by Angela Michael.
The voice cast of Kim Possible had some on-camera veterans and some notable veteran voice actors. Kim is voiced by Christy Carlson Romano who is best known for her on-camera role as Renee Stevens on Disney’s Even Stevens for 3 seasons. Will Friedle is the voice of Ron. Friedle is best known for his role as Eric Matthews, the older brother of Cory Matthews, on ABC’s Boy Meets World for 7 seasons.
FEENY!!
I love it when he does his “Feeny Call.” Wade is voiced by Tahj Mowry, who was T.J. Henderson on Smart Guy on the WB Network for 3 seasons. The name Mowry rings a bell, doesn’t it? Tahj is the brother of the twin duo of Tia and Tamera Mowry; both of whom had the lead roles on ABC’s Sister, Sister from 1994 until 1999. John DiMaggio was the voice of Dr. Drakken, John had voice roles in Johnny Bravo in 1997, and American Dragon: Jake Long in 2005. Shego was voiced by Nicole Sullivan, who had a recurring role as Holly Shumpert on CBS’s The King of Queens, and a supporting role as Space Ranger Mira Nova on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command in 2000. Other notable actors on the show included Tara Strong, Patrick Warburton, Melissa McCarthy, Raven-Symoné, George Takei, Wendie Malick, and Rider Strong who also accompanied Will Friedle on the cast of Boy Meets World.
I’ve seen many of the episodes to this day, and I really wish that Disney brings the show back for a fifth season. I would rate this show with a 9.8 out of 10 for its depiction of a teenaged female heroine, its use of running gags and catchphrases, and its all-star cast. I think that this show has had a significant impact on pop culture, because where else do you hear certain slang like “So not the Drama” or “No big” or “So what’s the sitch?” This kind of slang is, in my opinion, one of the many tropes that one can easily associate with this show. The use of slang makes this show unique. This show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2003, and for Daytime Emmy’s in 2004, and 2005. The show won a Daytime Emmy in 2005 for Outstanding Sound Mixing in Live Action and Animation. I think that the show should’ve won more awards.
Who were your favorite characters from this show?
Image References:
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Feldman, Barbie. “Friendly Persuasion.” Boy Meets World. Prod. Michael Jacobs. ABC. 19 Oct. 1998. Television. Screen Captures
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Walt Disney Television. Kim Possible. Disney Channel. 2002-2007. Television. Screen Captures
True 90s Kid 