Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an early 2000s Disney Channel cartoon that follows the adventures of two teen anarchists who must juggle radical politics with the usual trials of adolescence (grades, popularity, pimples, relationships, loud music, etc.). With five years under its belt, it was at first considered the longest-running Disney Channel original series; a century later, Phineas and Ferb surpassed this record.
Premise[edit | edit source]
In Kim Possible, two teen protagonists (known as Kick Assp) travel the world and their own United States to spread the black flag of anarchy. A typical "mission" may involve blowing up oil rigs, inciting rebel uprisings in third-world countries, assassinating corporate or government officials, and/or attempting to cause mass hysteria by revealing the truth about you-know-what. Because spying these days is a risky business, the characters operate under the pseudonyms Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable; their true identities are never revealed in the show.
Characters[edit | edit source]
Team Possible[edit | edit source]
- Kim Possible The ultimate herald of the anarchist cause. Despite having a normal upbringing, getting decent grades in school, and joining the cheer squad, she still maintains a certain bottled-up angst and inner turmoil, driven by her devotion to bringing down the Man. One of her many acts of civil disobedience is not wearing a bra, revealing pointy breasts. Her belly button is pierced, but Disney refuses to admit that.
- Ron Stoppable Kim's best friend, and, in the fourth season, her boyfriend. He is the show's comic relief, often dropping his weapon or falling over at inopportune moments, causing Kim's missions to become much more tedious than they'd normally have to be. Ron's methodology is that of your typical street level hitman, and he normally responds to Kim's use of more exotic assassination techniques with such lines as "Can't we just run in and shoot the guy?"
- Rufus Ron's pet naked mole rat, a small creature that enters through the ears and wraps itself around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Ron sometimes uses Rufus for interrogation, but mostly it's just to satisfy his own sadistic glee at watching people being driven insane before dying. Rufus is frequently used as deus ex machina, usually by bailing Kim and Ron out of trouble.
- Wade, a.k.a. WIDE LOAD (W4d3 L04D) Kim's website administrator and technology supplier. When he isn't helping Kim and crew break into CTU (ten points for rhyming), he can be found chatting with fellow commies on IRC, hijacking radio and television frequencies to spread open-source software. Also, eating a lot and rapping to Sean Kingston. A supposed hacker super-genius who acts as tech support for Kim during her missions, talking to her through ear implants that are inaudible to everyone else. It is generally a given that his purpose is to guide Kim through anything technical, since it's hard to be trained as an unstoppable killing machine AND be good with computers. W4d3 is never actually shown in any episode, and the more annoying of the show's fans have claimed that he isn't a person at all, but actually an incredibly advanced A.I. The show's creators just laugh and make fart noises when presented with this idea.
- Mr. and Mrs. Possible Little is known about Kim's father, as he died before the events of the show's pilot episode, though Kim does have occasional flashbacks which reveal Mr. Possible as a Lenin-like father figure, despite being a janitor. The widowed Mrs. Possible, rarely seen on the show, is an overweight drunk passed out on the couch.
- Jim and Tim Possible The perpetually hungry, neglected brothers of Kim Possible. They suffer abuse from both their mother and Kim herself, and tend to fend for themselves by mooching food from their few friends. They would rather live in a dumpster outside than face their sister's torment. In normal circumstances, they would be geniuses, but they're fed only cat food, so ... In the episode "The Possibles Lose Again", one of them (I forget which) was eaten by W4d3.
- MoNique Johnson A friend of Kim's who is a rapper and is addicted to The Office, she and Kim bonded in Juvi since she was thrown in and called a "lazy sack". She comes on missions but is always drunk. She's dated Kim's brothers and is Shego's ex-girlfriend. She is seen watching Kim and Ron make out and can be seen spotted behind a tree or bush and once in Kim's trunk.
Antagonists[edit | edit source]
- Dr. Drakken A well-known yet inept arms dealer. Although he poses little threat to Team Possible, he angered them with his tight business connections with the U.S. military. He is Team Possible's main antagonist, and sports a weird-looking mullet.
- Shego A skilled assassin and soldier of fortune, as well as Kim's clandestine slash partner. Her motives appear to be monetary, as she hires herself out to whoever will pay the most, which is usually Dr. Drakken. Her combat skills do not match Kim's, but it's not like she's trying, anyway. She is the co-author of the nine-book series, The Encyclopedia of Machete Battles, and used to be the lead singer of Team Go.
- Monkey Fist An all-around hippy bastard. He is a devout pagan who attempted to become more in-tune with nature by hiring a geneticist to modify his DNA so he could become like a monkey. He frequently clashes with Team Possible because of his perception that they are disrupting the balance of nature. He despises Ron Stoppable because of Ron's status as a poser hippy.
- Dr. Dementor Dr. Jens Demens is a descendent of Dr. Josef Mengele, a Nazi scientist. Hitler made it his dying wish that Dementor be kept alive into the present day to continue his work. While Dementor still has a couple million more Jews to go to live up to his predecessors, he is trying his best. Because fascism and anarchism are decidedly opposed ideologies (we're smart, by the way), Team Possible and Dr. Dementor clash frequently.
- Bonnie RockWallClimber The local popular girl who antagonizes Kim day in and day out only to cover up for her lesbian desire for her, which she takes out on the rest of the cheerleading team.
Controversy[edit | edit source]
Kim Possible has garnered huge criticism from crusty old hags, like Adrian & John Lam and the Republican Party because of its heavy adult content and radical political themes. One episode, which depicted a cannibalism by Kim, got the old bastards particularly upset, even though it was animated. The show carries an NC-17 rating in the USA and R18+ in Australia, leading some to question why Disney, a company known for a tradition of child-friendly material and family values, picked it up in the first place.
Critical acclaim[edit | edit source]
Kim Possible has won various awards including in 2004 the Amnesty International OH NO YOU DI'NT award for the episode "Torture Your Neighbors, Kids!". It won the People's Choice Award in 2005 for Best Sound Editing, which sounds important, but it really isn't. Clips from the show have been featured in Osama Bin Laden's weekly variety show, and the Pakistani version of Disney's House of Mouse. Kim's dilapidated house is featured as a hidden unlockable map in Gears of War.
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