Kim Possible: La Clé du temps

(Note: IMDb's automatic spell-corrector will not let me spell the title of this film correctly. It's "A S-i-t-c-h in Time", not "S-T-i-t-c-h".)

While Kim Possible (Christy Carlson Romano) sidekick Ron Stoppable (Will Friedle) learns that he must move with his family to Norway, villains Monkey Fist (Tom Kane), Dr. Drakken (John Di Maggio), Shego (Nicole Sullivan) and Duff Killagan (Brian George) join forces to acquire the famed Tempus Simius, which would enable them to time travel and finally rule the world. Can the Possible gang stop them?

Unlike other Kim Possible releases, such as The Secret Files (2003), A Stitch in Time is laudable for being conceived and constructed as a single film, telling one longer story, rather than being a compilation of half-hour episodes. However, there may seem to be some negatives with this film, especially if you are considering buying it on DVD. It only clocks in at 66 minutes--on the short side, even for a direct-to-video animated Disney film. There isn't much on the disc in the way of extras--just a very brief but cute "Naked Mole Rap" video (it must be less than 2 minutes long), and a few drawings with brief descriptions of Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable and Rufus at various ages. In terms of quantity, the disc is slim pickins.

Even when you first begin watching the film you might be hesitant. A Stitch in Time was drawn and inked largely by Disney's Asian television animation division, and is much simpler in some ways than even other Disney direct-to-video fare, or other Kim Possible DVD releases.

But it soon becomes apparent that rather than being overly simplistic like a low budget Saturday morning cartoon, the animation in A Stitch in Time is smart and highly stylized. It's very attractive visually; it ended up appealing to me more then The Secret Files. Also, kids (I would guess maybe 6 or 7 to 14 or 15) are obviously the primary target audience, so the shorter running time can be more of an asset with them.

Most significantly, however, the story and script are excellent. Writers Bill Motz and Bob Roth pack so much into the script, and Steve Loter directs the animators and voice actors to deliver such consistently high-energy, intelligent performances that the film doesn't feel short. Rather it has an epic feel, broad in scope, deep in content, and despite a plot line that could easily turn into a mess in the most capable hands (as has frequently been the case with similar subject matter in "adult" live action sci-fi/fantasy films), A Stitch in Time is always coherent and clever.

This isn't just a film for kids, although they're sure to enjoy it. Motz, Roth and Loter have filled A Stitch in Time with countless jokes, jibes and references that you'd have to be not only an adult to catch, but a quick-witted adult. A Stitch in time is full of social satire, refreshing irreverence (including towards the Kim Possible characters themselves), wonderful surrealism and mind-bending time travel paradoxes. It is closer to The Simpsons or even Ren & Stimpy in its delightfully anarchic spirit (although with nothing inappropriate for young kids) than the much more standardly paced and plotted The Secret Files (which is still a good "film", but nowhere near the quality of this one).

So leave any reservations in the dust and make sure you check out A Stitch in Time if you're a fan of animation, fantasy or sci-fi--even if, like me, you are older and have no children.

Time travel is a great gimmick for a feature length version of a tv show and it works here.

This is much like a typical good episode only longer and a few other treats:

Firstly you get to see the main characters as (younger) kids and it's adorable and also good fun to see how it all began (concisely I might add). But it's not mainly about that.

It's a poignant story about enduring friendship that makes for an epic, visually stunning adventure with some swell developments, various bad guys teaming up and a muscular mole rat army.

There's really nothing to dislike.

"Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time" works as a feature-length episode of this cracking Emmy-nominated series and as a good movie in its own right, if not the most original one of its type - but in any case, time travel's always a good source of stories and so are villains teaming up. In this case, writers/story editors Bill Motz and Bob Roth have most of Kim's recurring enemies joining forces to sort out our heroine once and for all, with Kim getting some help from the future's Rufus 3000 - a muscle-bound molerat who talks with the voice of Michael Dorn. Okay, so it does have some originality...

Most of the show's regular (Kim, her parents, Ron, the tweebs Jim and Tim, Wade, Rufus) and semi-regular characters (Drakken, Shego, Monkey Fist, Duff Killagin, Bonnie, Monique) make appearances here - though Senor Senior Senior and Senor Senior Junior are missing - and a lot of the fun comes from seeing their future selves, especially Wade and the tweebs; unlike some extended episodes there's no padding at all, and plenty of what makes "Kim Possible" such a great show, from sharp writing to good vocal acting (give Christy Carlson Romano credit for differentiating between Kim as herself and as a slightly younger version of herself - and Walt Disney Television credit for leaving the guest cast uncredited until the end).

The identity of the Supreme One is a bit too easy to guess - though in fairness Rufus 3000 does say it's obvious - and the insistence on draping a couple of the fight scenes with distracting songs is unfortunate (Adam Berry's score intentionally references John Williams's "Minority Report" music at one point, which is much more interesting), but these are the sole real flaws in an otherwise good production. Fun both for fans and for newcomers, "Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time" is SO not the waste of time, and arguably the best thing Freddie Prinze Jr's done to date.

"Why is everyone in the future so ripped?"

It was obvious that with the success of the TV show of Kim Possible, that there was bound to be a TV movie to come. Kim Possible, her batch of friends, family and even villains are all pieces of what makes this cartoon so successful. And the best thing is, this hour long TV movie keeps everything the same, which is what should be done for any lovable franchise. But, making things even better is how the writers were able to twist the story to be even cleverer than one would think.

The story is as many would guess without reading the plot is about time travel. Dr. Drakken, Shego, Duff Killagan & Monkey Fist team up to travel back to Kim's early years to keep her from being the crime- fighting good girl that she currently is. Unfortunately along with this news comes word that Ron Stoppable will be moving to Scandinavia with his family. Because of this, the duo tries to keep ties strong but it ends up getting too inconvenient for both to travel to the same location from different parts of the world. Soon, these events will lead to the intervention of individuals from the future to inform Kim Possible about the impending danger.

This is where things get funny and interesting because by the finale, the third act will take place in the future. What's funny is to see the current cast in the future and it's hilariously clever. One of the ongoing jokes is that everyone is ripped and muscular. Funny. Also, the voice actors chosen for the future character roles are a load of laughs too. It is just so oddly placed but funny all the same. As for the rest of the characters, their respective voice actor is with them which is great because no one can do it better than like the originals.

Now it's a little hard to say whether this movie had a budget bigger than its series but the backgrounds are good looking and the animation is well done. The action scenes were sequenced great and the music by TV composer Adam Berry made an energetic score as well. But like most TV movies, the score is never released which is rather disappointing. The only quarrel people might have with this movie is again that it deals with time travel and how messing with the past can alter the future. But all around it's still a lot of fun.

Although it wasn't made for the theater, this TV movie of Kim Possible is still one to enjoy. The action is great, the music is energetic and comedy is always abundant.

The first Kim Possible movie, A Sitch in Time, is a fun movie for fans of the Disney series. The premise is that the partnership between Kim and Ron breaks up when Ron moves away. The villains featured in the movie are Dr Drakken, Shego, Monkeyfist, and Duff Killigan. They team up with the newly found ability of time travel to defeat Kim Possible during different periods of her life. In doing this they hope to take over the world. Kim is pulled in by a futuristic 'Rufus' who provides her with means of time traveling as well. All in all, the movie was entertaining and fun. There were a few annoying time fillers of pop songs that went on too long. It was entertaining, though, to see young versions of Kim, Ron, and the villians as well as older versions of most of the characters. The jokes were typical for the show and in that aspect they were appropriate. It keeps true to the series so it's great for any fans of Kim Possible.