Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated action comedy television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. Its titular protagonist is a teenage girl tasked with saving the world on a regular basis while coping with everyday issues commonly associated with adolescence. Kim is aided by her clumsy best friend, Ron Stoppable, his pet naked mole rat Rufus and ten-year-old computer genius Wade. Known collectively as Team Possible, Kim and Ron's missions primarily require them to thwart the evil plans of the mad scientist–supervillain duo Dr. Drakken and his sidekick Shego.
Veteran Disney Channel writers Schooley and McCorkle were recruited by the network to develop an animated series that could attract both older and younger audiences, and conceived Kim Possible as a show about a talented action heroine and her less competent sidekick. Inspired by the scarcity of female-led animated series at the time, Kim Possible is based on the creators' own high school experiences, and combines elements of action, adventure, drama, romance and comedy to appeal to both girls and boys while parodying the James Bond franchise and spy and superhero films. Distinct from other Disney Channel shows in its use of self-referential humor, Schooley and McCorkle developed fast-paced sitcom-style dialogue in order to cater to adult viewers. Set in the fictional town of Middleton, the show's setting and locations exhibit a retro-influenced aesthetic.
Kim Possible is the second original animated series, after The Proud Family, to air exclusively on Disney Channel, as well as the second show on the network to be produced by Walt Disney Television Animation as an original series. It also became the first Disney Channel animated series to be produced in high-definition. The series premiered on June 7, 2002, and ended on September 7, 2007, after 87 episodes and four seasons. Kim Possible received critical acclaim, becoming one of Disney's top-rated and most popular series. During its run, a pair of made-for-TV films were made: A Sitch in Time and So the Drama. Merchandising based on the series, such as home media releases, toys, and video games were also made. A live-action television film of the same name was released in 2019.
Premise
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. Kim and Ron are aided remotely by Wade, a teenage computer genius who seldom leaves his bedroom and communicates with the duo via a device he invented himself known as a Kimmunicator. Together, the foursome is known as Team Possible. The majority of Kim's missions involve her traveling to various destinations around the world to rescue citizens from harm and fight a variety of villains, the most frequent of whom are Dr. Drakken, a mad scientist constantly plotting world domination, and his superpowered sidekick Shego, who possesses the ability to generate powerful energy blasts and emit them from her hands, making her the heroine's most dangerous opponent. Not yet of age to drive herself to most of her missions, Kim often relies on favors from various people she has assisted in the past for transportation.Attending Middleton High School alongside Ron, her best female friend Monique and rival classmate Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim lives with her family: father James, a rocket scientist, and Ann, a brain surgeon, 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. Kim Possible also explores the highs and lows of Kim's life as a high school student attempting to navigate dating, captaining her high school's cheerleading squad, academics, sports, homework, exams and eventually learning to drive, 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, to promote her burgeoning babysitting and lawn mowing services, promoting it using the slogan "I can do anything". 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 : a confident and adventurous high school student who moonlights as a crime-fighter, dividing much of her time between saving the world and attending cheerleading practice. 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, and self-doubt, continuing to become flustered around boys she likes despite her multiple talents and heroics. A straight-A student, Kim is also a perfectionist. Kim's catchphrases include "No big", "So not the drama", and "What's the sitch?", short for "situation". Combined, her first and last names are a pun of the word "impossible".
- Ronald "Ron" Stoppable : Kim's sidekick; her childhood best friend later love interest who, unlike Kim, is cowardly, socially awkward, clumsy and unpopular with his peers. Although Ron is far less competent within the realm of crime-fighting than Kim, he has proven his merit as a teammate on multiple occasions by gradually maturing and gaining confidence over the course of the series. Known for his catchphrase "Booyah", Ron has a fear of monkeys and serves as the show's comic relief. His first and last names are a pun of the word "unstoppable".
- Rufus : Ron's pet naked mole rat who accompanies Kim and Ron on their missions, traveling in his owner's pocket.
- Wade Load : a teenage computer genius who informs Kim and Ron about upcoming missions from his bedroom, remotely assisting, guiding and equipping them with useful gadgets, especially Kim's Kimmunicator, via which is an Apple Newton-like PDA he communicates and provides his teammates with vital information, and a red hair dryer grappling hook. Wade is also responsible for maintaining Kim's website.
- Dr. Drakken : born Drew Theodore P. Lipsky, Drakken is Kim's archnemesis and most resilient adversary. He is a mad scientist plotting world domination, although most of his schemes fail at the hands of Kim because he lacks both the patience and intelligence to perfect his ideas, which often suffer as a result of his own mistakes and oversights. His skin has permanently been turned blue as a result of a laboratory accident. Additionally, Drakken is a former college roommate of Kim's father James.
- Shego : Kim's primary combatant and most dangerous opponent; a supervillain with the superhuman ability to generate powerful green energy blasts from her hands. Shego is Drakken's sarcastic – but far more intelligent – sidekick, who openly mocks the scientist with little regard for his seniority. The character finds herself making up for Drakken's incompetence on multiple occasions. Originally the lone female member of a team of superheroes known as Team Go alongside her four brothers, Shego eventually makes a full conversion to villainy after ultimately growing attracted to the evil she once fought against. Smart, athletic, and attractive, Shego is essentially a "dark reflection" of Kim, as well as the only character the heroine truly has reason to fear, although the two archrivals share a mutual respect for each other at the same time.