Kim Possible: La Clé du temps

It's been a while since I've seen a good adaptation of a TV series into a movie. Not only is the plot interesting and exciting, but the humor is top-notch. Starting with a simple mix-up between Latin the language and Latin the ethnicity the movie stays true to the series' style of blending hilarious one-liners and dialog exchanges with fast-paced invigorating action sequences. Recommended for any fan of the series or anyone who just wants to see a good movie.

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.

I liked this movie very much. I sat down and watched it with my kids who are into the Kim Possible show. I liked the fact that were so many "big-name" voices in this one. This movie was pretty much like the show except the obvious being longer in length. You had Kim fighting villains that were in her show and actually losing a battle or two to the "bad guys." I liked the fact that they made the relationship between her and her friend/sidekick, Ron Stoppable, that of a "friends only" type of thing when they showed it. There were her brothers who I don't really recall in her shows in this movie. In fact, they helped out quite a bit! Good one to add to your collection!

(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.

As a parent, I love this show. It's hip (far as I can tell, anyway), funny, exciting, teaches gentle moral lessons without an unduly heavy hand, and manages to hint at being sexy without remotely getting close to any boundaries. At its best, KP is better than lots of "Buffy" was.

Alas, this film isn't up to KP's own standard. Like many feature-length excursions from a TV series, it goes off in directions that are not really part of the canon, including some time-travel into the near future that lets us see some things about the characters' destinies that are just not all that interesting.

Regardless, the devotion Kim and her sidekick Ron have for each other, which is--to my mind--the greatest strength of this show, comes through clearly, and that's a good enough reason for KP's fans to see this one. If, however, "Sitch" is your first meeting with the high-school superspy who "can do anything," give the series a try too; it's better than this not-bad film.