Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - Plot

Plot

At an Air Force base, the military discover a UFO and they send up some F-14s to investigate. The pilots are surprised to find that it is a rocket carrying two boys and a robotic dog: Jimmy Neutron, Carl Wheezer, and Goddard. Jimmy is attempting to launch a communications satellite made out of a toaster, hoping to communicate with an alien species he believes exists somewhere out in the universe. Unfortunately, the pulse rockets fail, and the rocket starts to fall back to Earth, unable to break through the atmosphere. Jimmy shakes up a soda can, tapes it to the satellite and throws it, propelling it into space. Jimmy manages to eject Carl before the rocket crash lands on his roof. He is reprimanded by his parents and misses the bus to school.

Undeterred, Jimmy then tests his latest invention, a form of bubble transportation made from a special pickle jar gum. He catches up with the school bus, but unfortunately, the bubble pops when it hits a tree. During show and tell at school, Jimmy shows Ms. Fowl and the class a shrink ray. He attempts to shrink the head of his rival, Cindy Vortex, but the ray malfunctions and refuses to work. He is teased by everyone, including the most popular boy in school, Nick Dean. After he throws the ray away, however, he accidentally shrinks his teacher, Ms. Fowl (who is later attacked by a worm). When walking home, Jimmy, Carl, and their friend Sheen Estevez (who is obsessed with the superhero "Ultralord") spot a poster for an amusement park, Retroland, opening that night. When they grow excited, but worried that they won't get to go, since it is a school night, Nick tells them that he's going and convinces them to come with him by sneaking out. At first they reject, but when Nick reminds them that there is "only one opening night" and leaves, Jimmy, Carl and Sheen make a plan to sneak out to the park if their parents refuse to take them. Jimmy uses various inventions in his lab (disguised as a clubhouse in his backyard) to create jewelry for his mother. He gives it to her hoping that she will allow him to go, but she unsurprisingly refuses since it's a school night. Things get worse when Jimmy's jet pack sets the living room on fire (breaking a rule that no rockets are allowed in the house), and Jimmy is now grounded. Using the shrink ray, Jimmy is able to sneak out of the house (with Goddard hiding in his bed with Jimmy's voice in case his parents look in on him) and join his friends at the park, where they have the time of their lives.

Meanwhile, the communicator is picked up by an alien race called the Yolkians. King Goobot V and his assistant, Ooblar, watch a pre-recorded message from Jimmy, featuring him introducing himself and explaining about life on Earth. Goobot pauses the video on an image of Jimmy's parents, saying that they look delicious. He sets a course for Earth and kidnaps all the parents in the city, leaving fake notes on the refrigerators to tell the kids they've gone to Florida for an "extended vacation".

On the way home, Carl spots a shooting star, so he, Jimmy, and Sheen wish for no more parents so they could have fun all the time. The next morning, Jimmy spots the note and reads it. The notes are the same for everyone, and with all the children realizing all the adults are gone, they now have the freedom to do anything they choose and celebrate. They do stuff that parents forbid such as flooding the school into a swimming pool, they eat dangerously massive amounts of junk food, they make a huge flood of popcorn near the school, they celebrate with fireworks, dancing, and other fun things. The next morning, Jimmy wakes up and finds school campus and the rest of town in a reckless junk yard of the things they did yesterday. However, all the kids were feeling sick or injured from doing reckless things. Jimmy is sad that his parents didn't even say goodbye before they left. Goddard plays Jimmy a heartfelt video recording of his parents telling "Jimmy" that they love him and they'll see him the next morning. Jimmy realizes that there would be no point in saying that if his parents knew they weren't going to be there and feels that something is wrong. He goes to his lab and compares the note the Yolkians left with notes his parents wrote. Goddard finds evidence of aliens on the computer, and Jimmy tracks them to another solar system. That night, Jimmy, Carl, and Goddard build another spaceship, which breaks down again. However after that moment, the kids in town go to Jimmy's backyard and confronts him, thinking he is the one who knows where their parents are. He then locates where the aliens are by Goddard's projection. Nick then says that Jimmy will take them to the aliens, and he'll take it from there. He organizes the other children in town to build spaceships from the Retroland rides to travel there and get their parents back.

While in space, they encounter a meteor shower. They break free from the shower and camp on a nearby asteroid. While camping, everyone recalls what their parents did at bedtime before they were abducted by aliens. They reach the planet Yolkus, home of the Yolkian race, the next day. Eventually they are captured by Goobot, who tells them the parents are to be sacrificed to their god, Poultra. He shows the kids Jimmy's video, thanking him for helping him find a suitable species for their ritual. The kids, now furious with Jimmy, are taken to the dungeon. Ooblar takes Goddard to his workshop to take him apart after Goddard offends Goobot. After some kind words from Cindy, Jimmy manages to win everyone's forgiveness and comes up with a plan. He calls Goddard on Libby's cell phone and tricks Ooblar into thinking Goddard will self-destruct in a nuclear explosion. Goddard then frees the kids using a glitch in his obedience program and they make it to the sacrifice arena. After an unusual ceremony (in which the parents under mind control do the Chicken Dance), Poultra, a colossal three-eyed reptilian chicken, hatches from her egg. Nick, who previously promised that he would battle the aliens himself, runs out of the stadium screaming loudly. Jimmy's quick thinking allows him to think of a new plan. He sends Sheen to the airfield to obtain an escape ship. Jimmy manages to steal the mind controller thanks to Goddard while the rest of the children keep the guards busy in a short but victorious battle. Poultra blocks their way out of the arena but Sheen knocks her dizzy when his ship hits her in the head.

Everyone just escapes with the adults in tow, but Goobot follows them in his ship at the head of the Yolkus fleet, with Poultra not far behind. As the ships open fire, Jimmy skims the surface of Yolkus's sun. The solar flares fry the ships to a crisp and destroy all but Goobot's ship. The king sends a taunting message to Jimmy, who flies out of the ship with Goddard. He says "You steal my parents, you threaten my dog, you attack my friends, and you made fun of my size! I may be small, but I got a big brain!". He uses his shrink ray to make himself grow the size of a planet, which shocks Goobot. Goobot then calls his thing a mistake and lets them go free. But Jimmy blows the ship into an oncoming asteroid. Goobot vows revenge against Jimmy. The kids are reunited with their parents and Nick comments Jimmy for a great idea. Jimmy reunites with his parents, and they make it home. The movie ends with Jimmy's mother and father trying his latest invention, Burping Soda, much to everybody's glee. Judy tries to yell at Jimmy for the invention only to burp loudly and the four laugh while Goddard imitates a bird outside.