My kids had been asking to go see this one, so on a lazy New Yea's Eve, we decided to give it a try. With all the attention being Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, we easily got in.
It was enjoyable, but really silly. Jimmy is a kid (4th, 5th grade level) that invents all these amazing devices, but is kind of bumbling with many of his inventions failing slightly. Kind of an absent minded professor type, though slapstickish.
Some of his inventions:
- a shrink ray that fizzles when he tries to demonstrate it, but works every other time.
- An electronic dog, similar to the companion from flubber. This one can imitate Jimmy's voice, record and project movies, and explode himself when asked to "play dead", but then automatically reassemble himself.
- A rocket ship.
- and more.
Once you get past the silliness of the plot and the inventions, it is pretty entertaining. Patrick Stewart, Martin Short, and a few other stars provide voices and there are plenty of jokes for adults as well. I'd recommend this for most everyone as a good G movie. My 3yr old fell asleep, but I think he would have enjoyed it if we had gone after naptime.
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