Kim Possible

Chris Bailey (season 1)

Nancy Cartwright

John DiMaggio

Nicole Sullivan

Tahj Mowry

Chris Bailey (season 1)

***Kim Possible*** is an American animated sitcom created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show revolves around eponymous high school student Kim Possible, a teenager tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while coping with everyday issues commonly associated with adolescence. Kim is aided by her clumsy best friend and sidekick Ron Stoppable, his pet naked mole rat Rufus and 10 year-old computer genius Wade. Known collectively as Team Possible, the majority of Kim and Ron's missions require them to thwart the evil plans of mad scientist–supervillain duo Dr. Drakken and Shego, but they occasionally encounter other enemies as well. The show is set in a fictional town of Middleton and parodies American culture and society.

McCorkle and Schooley had began working on *Kim Possible*in 1999. Inspired by the scarcity of female-led animated series at the time, the episodes are based on the creators' own high school experiences, combine elements of action, adventure, drama, romance and comedy to appeal to both girls and boys while parodying the *James Bond* franchise, spy and superhero films and teen sitcoms. The studio pitched a seven-minute pilot to Fox in 2000, and the show was greenlit and began production. The series was originally set to premiere in Fall of 2001 with the pilot they showed to Fox earlier that year but the episode was declined to be used by Fox (until it was finally preserved on the season 1 DVD in 2005). The producers of the show then decided to "go ahead" and air another first episode on June 7, 2002. During the third season in February 2005, Fox canceled the series with one episode left unaired. Adult Swim aired that episode in 2006, finishing the series' original run. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim convinced the network to renew the show in November 2005 for a fourth season, which began airing on February 10, 2007.

Since its debut on June 7, 2002, 337 episodes of *Kim Possible* have been broadcast. The show received critical acclaim and was praised for its humor, writing and animation. It has gained mass popularity among teenagers and adults, and is one of the longest running animated television series. *Kim Possible*'s premiere was the most-watched of any Fox series. Originally canceled at the end of its third season Fox unprecedentedly ordered a fourth season of the series to appease devoted fans. *Kim Possible* has won 20 Emmy Awards. The success of the series spawned two films based on the show, *Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time* and *Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama*. A live-action movie based on the television series was released on February 15, 2019. Kim Possible was renewed for a seventeenth and eighteenth season on February 6, 2019. *Kim Possible*is a joint production by Clay Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television. In 2013, *TV Guide* ranked *Kim Possible* the thirteenth-greatest TV cartoon of all time.

*Kim Possible*'s seventeenth season premiered on September 29, 2019. On October 22, 2019, Fox renewed the series for a nineteenth season, which will possibly contain the 400th episode.

## Premise

### Characters

*Main article: List of Kim Possible characters*

*Kim Possible* takes place primarily within the town of Middleton, Colorado 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 10 year-old 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 enemies and 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.

Recurring characters appear alongside Team Possible. These include Kim's best friend Monique (voiced by Raven Symone); Kim's rival Bonnie Rockwaller (voiced by Kirsten Storms); Kim's parents, Drs. James and Ann Possible (voiced by Gary Cole and Jean Smart, respectively); Kim's younger brothers Jim and Tim (Shaun Fleming, seasons 1–3; Spencer Fox, seasons 4-13; Huckleberry Milner, seasons 14-present); Kim and Ron's best friend Eddie Lioose (voiced by Owen Wilson); salesman Frank McDilly (voiced by Martin Sherman); the Possible's rival Grodi Shelby (voiced by Geo G.) and his wife Wendy (voiced by Jennifer Hale); Ron's neighbor Theodore F. Hison (voiced by Robert Stainton); the Possible family's neighbor Jordan Robertson (voiced by Grey DeLisle); Ron's rival Monkey Fist (voiced by Tom Kane); scottish golfer Duff Killigan (voiced by Brian George); father-son billionaires Señor Senior Senior and Señor Senior Junior; Kim's arch-enemy Jack Bianski (voiced by Tony Daniels); mad scientist Professor Dementor (voiced by Patton Oswalt); and Mayor James Pucksbottom (voiced by Billy Crystal).

### Setting

The primary setting of *Kim Possible*is Middleton.

*More coming soon!*

## Development

In 1999, Fox commissioned Schooley and McCorkle to create an animated series geared towards the nine to 14 year-old demographic that was also capable of entertaining older audiences at the same time. While traveling in an elevator on their way back to their office from their lunch break, McCorkle said to Schooley, "Kim Possible. She can do anything", to which Schooley responded, "Ron Stoppable, he can’t", and nearly the entire premise of *Kim Possible* naturally unfolded thereafter. According to Schooley and McCorkle, both lead characters' names indicate that *Kim Possible* "is going to be an arched show that is a little bit over the top, but also that the girl is going to be the action lead and the guy is going to be funny." Conceiving all main characters themselves, Rufus and Wade were eventually created and added to the roster, but the series essentially remains about Kim "who is incredibly competent in the action world but challenged in the real world" while "Ron would be challenged everywhere."

With its main duo finally established, *Kim Possible* became the easiest show Schooley and McCorkle had ever developed. One of Fox's earliest forays into developing an entirely original animated series "from scratch", *Kim Possible* was born out of the creators' realization that there were few animated series starring strong female characters at the time and created Kim as "a character that ... girls can look up to", inspired by their own young daughters. 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 idolise similarly. Despite being a "strong female role model", Schooley maintained that heroism "doesn't help [Kim] a bit when she comes face-to-face with her latest school crush." Unlike traditional superheroes, Kim is entirely devoid of both superpowers and a secret identity; the creators avoided making the character "impervious" like most comic book superheroes tend to be because they wanted both her and Ron to remain relatable to younger viewers. 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.

Craig Kellman retained his duties as art director; Craig McCracken retained his lead character design role; Phil Ortiz had his background and prop design role; along with Salene Weatherwax, the latter having a prop design role during the first four seasons.

Even before the pilot episode premiered, the show had already been renewed for a 27-episode second season. After the first season of the show aired, it was given the green light to start production. On April 27, 2003, less than three weeks into the first season's closing, it was announced that Fox was ordering a third season.

## Production

### Executive producers

McCorkle and Schooley served as executive producers and showrunners during the show's entire run, and also functioned as creative consultants (alongside Chris Bailey for the first season). Steve Loter became an executive producer for Season 4 and subsequent seasons.

### 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. As executive producers, Schooley and McCorkle were mostly involved in the writing process, focusing mainly on plot and dialogue, while storyboarding was chiefly handled by Loter. The writing staff consisted of both Fox employees and freelance writers. Much of the series is based on both Schooley and McCorkle's own experiences growing up as teenagers in high school. Although essentially a comedy series, Schooley and McCorkle also combined elements of adventure, relationships, and humor in order to appeal to both boys, who are primarily interested in action, and girls, who are more-so attracted to relationships and character development, aware of "ancient truisms" surrounding the belief that boys are generally less likely to watch a series starring a female lead, while girls seldom exhibit such reservations when the casting situation is reversed. 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 Fox animated series.

Planning for each episode begins with a table meeting of writers, who discuss the plot ideas as a group. The writers are given index cards with plot points that they are required to use as the center of activity in each episode. A single staff writer writes an outline and then produces a script. Once the first draft is finished, the writers and executive producers call in the actors for a table read. Afterwards, the writers collaborate to rewrite the script as a group before sending it to the animation team.

### Voice actors

*Main articles: List of cast members and List of guest stars*

*Kim Possible*has six main cast members. After auditioning several actresses to voice the title character, then-16 year-old Christy Carlson Romano was finally cast as Kim after first being introduced to Schooley and McCorkle by Fox executives. Romano had already been well known to Disney Channel audiences for her portrayal of Ren Stevens on the series *Even Stevens*, and began voicing Kim while completing her stint on the show. Her first voice acting role, Romano immediately identified with her character because both were "dealing with teenage issues" at the same time, comparing Kim's challenge of battling both her personal life and villains to herself balancing schoolwork with her budding acting career; the actress was forced to forfeit her own senior prom due to *Kim Possible* commitments. Describing her character as "very ambitious, very skilled, very smart," Romano told *The New York Times* "I've tried to make her a good role model. Her confidence and her sincerity really shine through." One episode in particular, "Blush", was inspired by Romano's modesty and tendency to blush at the slightest compliment. Romano's performance as Kim was nominated for an Emmy Award. Recognized for his ability to play "over-the-top characters", Will Friedle, best remembered for his performance as Eric Matthews on the sitcom *Boy Meets World*, was cast as Ron. Actor Neil Patrick Harris had auditioned for the role, as did actor John Cena before he decided to pursue a professional wrestling career. 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."

To prepare herself for the role of Rufus, Nancy Cartwright, best known for her long-running voice work as Bart Simpson on another Fox show, *The Simpsons*, 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 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. John DiMaggio was cast as Drakken based on his vocal performance as Bender on Fox's 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", while director and animator Steve Loter described both Friedle and DiMaggio as "experts in ad-libbing." Sullivan's first recording session opposite DiMaggio established a chemistry between the two voice actors and their respective characters, out of which Shego's signature sarcasm was introduced and eventually expanded upon. During the show's inaugural season, the actors generally recorded separate from each other, but Friedle, DiMaggio and Sullivan experienced opportunities to record together during the second season. Having been attending high school in New York at the time, Romano would mostly work remotely and usually be "phone patched in" whenever necessary; there is only one occasion during which the entire main cast recorded together. Owen Wilson was hired to voice Eddie Lioose. Gary Cole voiced Dr. James Timothy Possible, Kim Possible's father. Cole also had a hand in voicing Harvey Birdman, the main title character in Adult Swim's *Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law*.

Tahj Mowry, who plays T.J. Henderson on Fox's 1997-1999 sitcom *Smart Guy*, voices Wade. In terms of recurring and guest roles, *Designing Women*'s Jean Smart voices Kim's mother Ann. Kirsten Storms voiced Kim's high school rival Bonnie while portraying Belle on the soap opera *Days of Our Lives*. 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. Señor Senior, Sr. and Señor Senior, Jr. are voiced by Ricardo Montalban and Nestor Carbonell, respectively.

Friedle's *Boy Meets World* co-star Rider Strong voices Brick Flag, Bonnie's boyfriend. Ashley Tisdale of Disney Channel's *High School Musical* film series and sitcom *The Suite Life of Zack and Cody* was offered the role of the villain Camille Leon. *That's So Raven'*s Anneliese van der Pol voiced a guest role in the episode "And the Mole Rat Will Be CGI" as Heather, an actress hired to play Kim in a film adaptation of her life, serving as her first voice-acting role. Loter had always been interested in working with the cast of the television series *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* but this idea never came to fruition; one particularly famous actor refused a villainous guest role in Season 4 because he was insulted to have been asked to voice an animated character on a television series.

Robert Stainton voiced Theodore F. Hison, Billy Crystal voiced Mayor James Pucksbottom, Jason Lee voiced Nick Smith, James Clayton voiced Koibito Mitt, but due to his death he was replaced by Paul Koppers in 2015, Geo G. voiced Grodi Shelby, and Tony Daniels voiced Jack Bianski.
In addition to the main cast, Martin Sherman voiced Frank McDilly. Like *The Simpsons*,*Family Guy*,*South Park* and *Futurama*, many episodes of *Kim Possible*feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, entertainers, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest-stars voiced supporting characters, although many voiced themselves. Posthumously, Garry Marshall originally voiced Ron's grandpa Papa Stoppable in the first thirteen seasons but was since replaced by John DiMaggio in the fourteenth season after Marshall's death two months before season 14 premiered. Debbie Reynolds voiced Kim's grandma Nana Possible prior to her death in 2016. Jess Harnell and Fred Tatasciore have also appeared in minor roles, but do not voice any recurring characters. Harnell left the show in 2006, and since then Brian T. Delaney has appeared regularly to voice minor characters. John Cygan voiced the majority of other minor characters until his death on May 13, 2017. Other current additional voices also include Kari Wahlgren, Roger Craig Smith, Lex Lang, Bryce Papenbrook, Yuri Lowenthal, Jamie Marchi, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Joe Whyte.

### Animation

Clay Productions provided production services "in case animation proved to be difficult". Animation for the first two seasons were split between Saerom Animation in South Korea, Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, and Fil-Cartoons in the Philippines. Fil-Cartoons also provided ink-and-paint facilities during the second and third seasons. Various other animation studios were contracted beginning in season three.

Creating the *Kim Possible* universe and environment was very much a collaborative process between Schooley and McCorkle, Fox, the character designers, and the cast, who were also encouraged to contribute their own ideas. Although Schooley and McCorkle participated in designing Kim, the majority of that particular task was the combined efforts of Loter, inaugural season director Chris Bailey, art director Alan Bodner and character designer Stephen Silver, each of whom had worked together on previous animated projects. Due to their extensive animation experience, Schooley and McCorkle were aware that "Kim had to be an appealing character", while Ron would be more-so "goofy-appealing". Evolving dramatically over the course of three months, Kim, who had originally been designed to resemble a "standard" athletic-looking blonde heroine, underwent several changes.

Loter typically visualized whatever script he was provided with after they had been written. With characters drawn with large heads and eyes, 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*.

Four different animation studios animated the series: Rough Draft Korea, Starburst Animation Studios, Toon City and Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd.

### Music

Written by musicians Cory Lerios and George Gabriel, the show's theme song "Call Me, Beep Me" (also known as "Call Me, Beep Me! (The Kim Possible Song)" or simply "The Kim Possible Song") is performed by American recording artist Christina Milian. Milian learned about *Kim Possible* from Fox 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. Romano also contributed vocals to the song. 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, featuring the lyrics "Danger or trouble, I'm there on the double." The sounds of mobile devices and modern-day technology are incorporated throughout the song. Although "Call Me, Beep Me" begins "I'm your basic, average girl" in reference to Kim, these lyrics are paradoxical because there is little basic or average about its protagonist. 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.

Composer Adam Berry was responsible for scoring the entire series. Berry was also responsible for creating music for the first three seasons of Comedy Central's *South Park*. While the music in *Kim Possible* is mostly guitar-driven, Berry's scoring experience prior to the show had been exclusively orchestral, composing scores using only a keyboard. A guitarist since the age of six, Berry himself provided all the guitar and bass musical cues in *Kim Possible*. Although discussing whether or not popular music featured in the series should be stylistically similar to the score, Disney decided to avoid limiting the show to then-current musical trends because, according to Berry, "trying to be current is one of the best ways to sound dated." While themes of electronic music are heard during the scene's fight sequences, guitar riffs of "Call Me, Beep Me" are reprised throughout episodes. Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell made a guest appearance in the Season 2 episode "Queen Bebe" in January 2004. The third season introduced several character-specific songs. The title sequence was almost entirely updated in the middle of the sixth season, though "Call Me, Beep Me" remained unchanged.

An official *Kim Possible* soundtrack was released by Back Lot Music 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 recording artists, including Aaron Carter. Romano also recorded a new song entitled "Say the Word" for the album. A combination of teen pop, pop rock, power pop and R&B music, 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", a rapped tribute to Ron's pet Rufus, ultimately concluding with a "work-you-up remix" of the theme song by Tony Phillip.

### 2005 cancellation

In terms of ratings, *Kim Possible* continued to perform consistently well into its second and third seasons. Typically, series that originate on Fox seldom exceed three seasons and 59 episodes before they are canceled. In 2005, production on *Kim Possible* ended following the release of its film *Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama*after airing three seasons and 59 episodes.

### 2007 return

Fox attempted to sell the rights for reruns of the show, but finding networks that were interested was difficult; Cartoon Network eventually bought the rights, "[...] basically for free", according to the president of 20th Century Fox Television. *Kim Possible* premiered in reruns on Adult Swim on April 11, 2005, and immediately became the block's top-rated program, dominating late-night viewing in its time period versus cable and broadcast competition, and boosting viewership by 239%. The first season was released on DVD the same week it premiered on Adult Swim, and the show became a cult phenomenon, selling 400,000 copies within one month. Sales of the season 1 DVD set reached 2.2 million copies, becoming the best-selling television DVD of 2003 and the second-highest-selling television DVD ever, behind the first season of Comedy Central's *Chappelle's Show*. The show's popularity in DVD sales and reruns rekindled Fox's interest, and, on November 29, 2005, Fox ordered 20 new episodes of *Kim Possible*, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales.

In December 2005, Fox ordered 20 new episodes of *Kim Possible* in response to the series' success and popular demand from fans, who had been heavily petitioning online for the show's renewal, constantly begging the creators and Fox for two more seasons via e-mail. *Kim Possible* joined an elite handful of television series to have been brought back from cancellation by its cult following. Its order to fulfill 20 new episodes as opposed to the usual 13 to 18 was also unprecedented for a revived series.

After a year-long hiatus, Season 4 initially premiered exclusively on Fox website before finally returning to Fox on February 10, 2007. "Ill Suited", "The Big Job", and "Trading Faces", which premiered on February 10, 2007, were the first episodes to be broadcast after the show's hiatus. On February 15, 2007, due to the success of the episode "Ill Suited", *Variety* reported that 20th Century Fox greenlit production of 22 additional all new episodes of *Kim Possible*, which began airing on Fox on September 23, 2007.

## Style 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. Although primarily an action-comedy series, *Music in Television: Channels of Listening* author James Deaville observed that *Kim Possible* adheres to the long-standing tradition of combining adventure with comedy in animated television. According to Telebisyon, "The show is fairly action-oriented, but also has a strong, light-hearted comedic atmosphere". In addition to action, comedy and adventure, *Kim Possible*'s storylines also explore elements of romance and drama. With a tendency to not take itself seriously, *Kim Possible* both parodies and pays homage to the spy, action hero, and superhero genres, its comedy benefiting from the show's emphasis on "over-the-top plots" and circumstances; Shego's own family of superheroes, Team Go, is a deliberate parody of the Marvel superhero team the *Fantastic Four*. Self-referential in its humor that avoids talking down to its viewers, the series also parodies the teen sitcom genre, teenage fads and trends in general, and sometimes even makes fun of its own plot holes and oversights, while occasionally adopting common cartoon and sitcom tropes.

In addition to other "mainstays" of modern-day youth, technology serves an important role in the series, specifically the Internet and Kim's gadgets, the most significant of which is a cell phone-like device known as a Kimmunicator, designed to help Kim communicate with Wade and allow her access to virtually any information she desires. McCorkle elaborated on the show's emphasis on technology: "Using the Internet theme in the series became an easy launching pad partially because it is such a major part of the fabric of teen life and the interactive possibilities are endless ... It's as though we get to play James Bond's 'Q' for each episode -- the more imaginative the toy, the better." Particularly desirable to younger viewers, technology allows Kim to travel around the world effortlessly and to some extent mirrors children's ability to speak to anyone anywhere in the world via the Internet. Kim's ability to travel virtually anywhere around the world within a short period of time is left largely unexplained; BuzzFeed referred to Wade as an "example that sitting in front of your computer all day is actually the most powerful position to be in." The fact that Wade never leaves his bedroom could potentially indicate that he suffers from agoraphobia.

According to MTV's Monique Steele, *Kim Possible* is "all about how girls kick butt"; Kim constantly rescues Ron, saving him from peril on numerous occasions throughout the series. Writing for Wewomen.com, Carla Cain Walther observed that the series "scoffed at the 'damsel in distress' trope used in action films" by having Kim save Ron "using her ingenuity and strength", reinforcing the idea that girls are capable of helping themselves. Identifying Kim as a postfeminist heroine because she is intelligent in addition to being "shaped like Barbie" and having a male assistant similar to female executives, *The New York Times*' Julie Salamon joked that "Kim's job seems to be making the world safe for cheerleaders again, following the path forged by Reese Witherspoon in *Legally Blonde* on behalf of sorority girls." Tor.com's Sarah Gailey observed that while Shego proudly spends much of her time lounging poolside and deciding what she does and does not want to do, Kim is forced "to leap into action regardless of whether she's tired or sad or sick or, heaven forbid, too busy". *Bustle*'s Sarah Freymiller wrote that "Kim offers a model for femininity that both bolsters and works against the typical 'high school cheerleader' stereotype", citing cheerleading as an outlet the character chooses willingly.

## Reception

### Critical response

*Kim Possible* received widespread acclaim from critics. The series earned significant praise for its dialogue, humor and animation. Describing the show as "infectious", Rob Owen of the *Pittsburgh Post-Gazette* wrote, "Blessed with a modern sense of humor and hip -- but not too hip -- vocabulary, *Kim Possible* should appeal to the teens (ages 12-16) it clearly targets", while crowning Rufus the series' breakout star. Writing for *The New York Times*, Julie Salamon also enjoyed Rufus' role, penning, "I probably would have liked *Kim Impossible* even if one of its lead characters hadn't been a naked mole rat. But the cheerful presence of Rufus (the mole rat) in this new animated series from Fox signals that the show's executive producer and director, Chris Bailey, doesn't mind getting cute in obvious ways." In his book *The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present*, television historian Tim Brooks appreciated the series for having "a marvelous sense of humor about itself."

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." Tracy McLoone of *PopMatters* reviewed, "*Kim Possible* includes adult humor and pop culture references, in the event that parents feel the need to watch tv (sic) with their kids. But nobody in or watching the series will ever be offended or over-stimulated, or even surprised." While accepting Kim as a positive role model and acknowledging that the series teaches "good lessons" at times, Besty Wallace of Common Sense Media expressed concern about the show's use of action sequences and violence, explaining, "lessons may get muddled and nearly lost as the heroes shimmy up rope ladders dangling from helicopters and dodge spinning tops of doom." Wallace concluded, "As long as you're not expecting too much in the way of educational value, you'll probably have plenty of fun with this one." Conversely, *Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection Among Girls* author Lyn Mikel Brown was less receptive towards Kim herself, criticizing the show for promoting the beautiful and thin heroine as "your basic average girl" and apparent reliance on Ron's intelligence, as well as the fact that her "biggest threat" is Bonnie as opposed to evil. According to Brown, "Being the kind of girl who's accepted or befriended by boys underscores a girl's power and sets her against other girls."

The series has attracted many celebrities. Robert Downey Jr. telephoned the show production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode's creation, as his son is a fan of the show; the producers subsequently created a character for Downey. Lauren Conrad met McCorkle and Schooley while recording a *Laguna Beach* clip for the episode "Homecoming Upset" (season 4, 2007). She has watched *Kim Possible* for years and considers Ron her favorite character. Commenting on his appearance in the episode "Failure to Love" (season 7, 2010), actor Dwayne Johnson stated that he was a "big fan" of *Kim Possible*. R&B singer Rihanna has admitted to being a fan of *Kim Possible*, as has pop singer Britney Spears. Spears, who was mocked for her personal problems in the *South Park* episode "Britney's New Look" in 2008, offered to appear in a cameo to hit back at the similar animated show, but McCorkle and Schooley declined, stating that he did not want to start a feud with the series.

### Awards and nominations

*Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Kim Possible*

*Kim Possible*and its cast have been nominated for 48 Emmy Awards, with 20 wins. In its first season, *Kim Possible* was nominated for 3 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2003. That year, it was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program, but it lost to *The Simpsons*. It was also nominated for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for the titular theme song, but lost to *Monk*. However, it won Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for Will Fredile's role as Ron Stoppable in "Ron the Man".

In 2004, the series was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards in the categories Outstanding Animated Program (for the episode "Queen Bebe"), Outstanding Music and Lyrics, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, and Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, winning Outstanding Animated Program.

In 2005, *Kim Possible* was nominated for a record-breaking total of five Primetime Emmy Awards, the highest number of Emmy Award nominations ever received by the series. The number of nominations was also the highest received by any animated series recognized that year. Nominated for Outstanding Animated Program, Outstanding Voice-Over Peformance (for Romano), Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy Series or a Special, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Dream Series, *Kim Possible* ultimately won two awards, for Outstanding Animated Program for "Emotion Sickness" and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series. *Kim Possible*'s popularity at the Emmy Awards is credited with further proving that the show was popular among both children and adults.

In addition to 20 Emmy Awards win and eight nominations, *Kim Possible* has also won 12 Annie Awards, 2 British Comedy Awards, 4 Environmental Media Awards, 2 Genesis Awards, a Parents' Choice Award, 2 Peabody Awards, 2 People's Choice Awards, a Pulcinella Award, a Saturn Award, 6 Teen Choice Awards, 12 Writers Guild of America Awards, and a Young Artist Award.

In the 1,000th issue of *Entertainment Weekly*, Rufus was selected as the pet for "The Perfect TV Group".*Wizard Magazine* rated Shego the 95th-greatest villain of all time. British newspaper *The Times* rated *Kim Possible* as the 45th-best American show in 2009. IGN ranked *Kim Possible*at number seven in the "Top 100 Animated Series" and number six in the "Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time". *Empire* named it the twelfth-greatest TV show of all time. In 2005 viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 voted *Kim Possible* at number 5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons. Rufus was awarded the 2009 Stoner of the Year award by *High Times* for the episode "Virtual Lignen", marking the first time an animated character received the honor. In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked *Kim Possible* number 12 and number 15 in their list of top cult shows ever. In 2013, TV Guide ranked *Kim Possible* the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.

### Legacy

In 2016, a *New York Times* study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that like other satirical comedies, *Kim Possible* is most popular in cities. The show's popularity was more correlated with support for Hillary Clinton than any other show". As of 2008, the franchise has generated $1 billion in total revenue, including $400 million from TV syndication, $400 million from DVD sales, and $200 million from merchandise sales.

*Polygon* writer Petrana Radulovic observed that the series "bears a weighty legacy" due to being "a staple of many childhoods ... Unlike many other action comedies at the time, *Kim Possible* centered around a capable heroine, and many boys and girls alike watched the show. Because it is such a beloved animated sitcom, the nostalgia value is high." One of Fox's most popular and successful shows, *Kim Possible* remains the project for which Schooley and McCorkle are best known. Few anticipated *Kim Possible* would become as successful as it ultimately did, proving popular among both male and female audiences. Explaining *Kim Possible*'s universal appeal, the creators said, "Whenever there's an action complement to a show, boys get excited, and when Kim does her martial arts and when she's doing one of these incredible stunts, boys love to watch it ... And one of the things that we’ve always found is that boys of any age ... love humour and characters that are a little goofy, sort of silly and weird. When we tested it, the kids were like: 'Oh, Ron's stupid funny' and that became sort of a buzz phrase." Ron's role helped maintain a strong male audience and following both throughout the series. Fox President Rupert Murdoch extolled *Kim Possible* as a "stand-out" among both the network's live action and animated catalog. The series maintains "legions" of devoted fans. A poll conducted by Fox revealed that *Kim Possible* viewers voted for Season 3's "Emotion Sickness" as their favorite episode of the series.

*Kim Possible* is considered to be one of Fox's most beloved programs along with *24*, *American Idol*, *Cops*, *Family Guy*, *Married... with Children*, *The Simpsons*, and *The X-Files*. *Entertainment Weekly* ranked *Kim Possible* the fourth on greatest Fox Series, calling it an "animated gem". *Kim Possible* was placed at number four on *TV Guide*'s ranking of "The Best Fox Shows". In 2018, WatchMojo ranked Kim Possible #5 on its Top 10 Funniest Cartoons of All Time video. According to a 2019 article by *Screen Rant*, *Kim Possible* is the sixth highest-ranked Fox series on IMDb, with a score of 7.2 at the time of publishing, praising its combination of "a strong female lead, a dude instead of a damsel in distress, and a slew of colorful villains to fight".

## Broadcast

*Kim Possible*premiered and originally aired in the United States on the Fox network, June 7, 2002 – present, followed by Adult Swim April 11, 2005 – present, FX March 7, 2007, The Bloo DeTour April 11, 2005 - present and Troll Adult May 28, 2005 – present. Syndicated broadcast of the series in the US began in September 2003.

Canadian networks YTV, Teletoon and Global Television broadcast *Kim Possible*June 7, 2002 – present.

The series was broadcast in Australia on the following stations: Seven Network aired the series from November 7, 2002 – present, Fox8 from 2003–present, Network Ten between 2003–present, and on 7mate September 23, 2009 – present.

Audiences in New Zealand received the series on the following stations: TV2 June 8, 2002 – 2006, the BOX from 2002–present, Fox from 2003–present, and on Four from 2003–present.

*Kim Possible*currently airs in Ireland on networks Fox, Pick and Sky1.

The series was carried by the following networks in the United Kingdom: Sky1 from August 20, 2002 – present, Channel 4 from 2003–present, and the series is currently repeated on Pick and Fox.

*Kim Possible* was also broadcast in Japan on the following stations: Fox from October 5, 2002 – present, Fuji Television from March 20, 2003 – present, Tokyo Broadcasting System from 2003–2008, TV Asahi from September 22, 2002 – present, and on TV Tokyo from 2012–present.

The show has also aired on Fox in other countries including South Korea, China, Russia, Brazil, Spain, and others since 2002.

### Networks Edit

Adult Swim (2005-present)
The Bloo DeTour (2005-present)

FX (2007-present)

Troll Adult (2005–present)

TBS (2009-present)

 Canada
Teletoon (2002-present)

 United Kingdom & Ireland
Sky1 (2002-present)

Channel 4 (2003-present)

ITV2 (2008-present)

## Other media

### Comic books

*Main article: Kim Possible Comics*

On November 19, 2003, Bongo Comics announced plans for a *Kim Possible*comic book series written by Steve Loter. The series launched on February 8, 2004. This comic book line ended in April 2010 with its seventy-fifth issue.

A separate line of comics, officially denoted as graphic novels, have also been released. Books in this line include *Playing with Fire* (June 14, 2005), *Give Us Your Money* (November 6, 2005), *Seeing Rufus*(May 2, 2006), *Phone of the Future* (November 11, 2006), *Worst Item Ever* (May 12, 2007), *We Already Have Those* (November 11, 2007), *Giant Apples* (May 17, 2008), *Sharp Market* (September 27, 2008), *Big Blast* (March 28, 2009), *Track to Loveness* (July 18, 2009), *The TV Adventure* (January 30, 2010), *Roman Ancient* (June 19, 2010), and *First Take* (February 26, 2011).

### Films

The success of *Kim Possible* spawned two animated—as well as a live action—films based on the series. The first, *Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time*, is science fiction-themed and was released on DVD and VHS on December 2, 2003, following Kim as she travels both back in time and into the future to save the world. Dubbed an "extended episode", the film also explores the character's origin, revealing how both she and Ron became crime fighters, and features an all-star cast. The second, *Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama,* was released in theaters on April 8, 2005 and was a box office success, grossing $645 million at the box office. It was originally going to be the series finale, but due to favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim, Fox ordered more episodes of the show.

On February 7, 2018, Fox announced on Twitter that they were moving forward in making a live action *Kim Possible* movie and were beginning casting and would be released on February 15, 2019. On April 25, 2018, Fox announced that Sadie Stanley and Sean Giambrone would portray Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable respectively. On May 25, 2018, Variety revealed casting for six key roles in the movie including Alyson Hannigan as Dr. Ann Possible, Connie Ray as Nana Possible, Todd Stashwick as Drakken, Taylor Ortega as Shego, Ciara Wilson as Athena and Erika Tham as Bonnie. On June 22, 2018, it was announced that Issac Ryan Brown will portray Wade. In August 2018, it was announced Christy Carlson Romano had joined the cast of the film, with Patton Oswalt reprising his role as Professor Dementor.

### Video games and merchandise

*Main article: List of Kim Possible merchandise*

The success of *Kim Possible* spawned numerous video games based on the show; thirteen video games were released, supported by various gaming consoles and platforms:

* *Kim Possible*(PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, OS X) - released, October 17, 2003
* *Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise* (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance) – released, September 15, 2004
* *Kim Possible 3: Team Possible* (Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation Portable) – released, August 21, 2005
* *Kim Possible: Kimmunicator* (Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable) – released, November 9, 2005
* *Kim Possible: Legend of the Monkeys Eye* (Windows) – released, May 16, 2006
* *Kim Possible Online* (Windows) – released, May 29, 2006
* *Kim Possible: What's the Switch?* (PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360) – released, October 19, 2006
* *Kim Possible: Global Gemini* (Nintendo DS) – released, February 9, 2007
* *Kim Possible: Party Craze* (Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable) – released, October 30, 2007
* *Kim Possible: Invasion of the Robots*(Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360) – released, September 20, 2011
* *Kim Possible Builder* (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire) – released, February 19, 2014
* *Kim Possible Adventures* (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U, Windows, Nintendo 3DS) – released, June 10, 2014
* *Kim Possible: Mission Blast* (iOS, Android) – released, May 15, 2015
* *Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem* (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows) - releasing in 2020

In 2003, Fox began using the popularity of *Kim Possible* 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.

Since the show's premiere, various forms of merchandise based on the show have been released, such as home media releases, action figures, clothing, food, and more.

### Theme park attraction

Based on the series, the *Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure* was an interactive attraction that took place in at Universal Studios Florida. 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.

### DVD releases

*Main article: List of home video releases*