A Sitch in Time

I hereby make a confession: I am a big fan of "Kim Possible" and "A Sitch in Time" is mostly responsible for that. Before anyone judges me, I would wager that we all have favourite movies and TV shows that we would like to keep secret. I am thankful that I am not "bronny" at least. While the target audience is children and even though the narrative structure is unbalanced, the film is just as much fun as the TV show if not more so. I will try to focus my thoughts on just the movie and not the TV show but sometimes, I will need to reference the show in order to make a point.

My liking to the TV show didn't happen overnight. I was in my first year of university when "Kim Possible" debuted on Disney Channel and I saw its pilot. During that time though, I was more into "The Proud Family" because it reminded me a little of a favourite TV show of my childhood: "Family Matters". Another reason why "Kim Possible" didn't stand out to me at first was because of the quality of the animation in its first season. This can't be considered a flaw though because when you look at the visual quality of any animated TV show as the seasons pass, it is obvious that it improves due to the success of the series. While I value the story above any other elements of a TV show or movie, when it comes to animation, the visual quality can also sway my judgment. Subsequently, the quality of the animation in the first season of "Kim Possible" deterred me a little. After my first year of university, I took a sabbatical to serve as a missionary for two years in the Philippines and did not watch television during that time. I did see ads and clips of the show on two occasions even though I was half a world away. This should have been a clue that the show was a hit. While I was away from North America, "Kim Possible" gained popularity and when I returned in the middle of its third season, it was funnier and had a higher quality of animation from what I remembered. My roommate watched an episode early in the semester and then I saw a commercial for a re-run of "Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time". I am a sucker for time travel stories thanks to my love for "Back to the Future". Because I saw a few episodes of the TV show previous to this movie, I was familiar enough with the premise and characters to be able to enjoy it. The second time I saw the movie was a memorable experience and I then began to catch up on the series, becoming a fan.

The biggest flaw with "A Sitch in Time" is that there is imbalance with its plot structure. This is due to the fact that the film is divided equally into three parts to be split and shown as TV episode re-runs. This is a common practice with many TV movies and therefore this flaw is common. The argument could be made that many feature films can also divided into three parts but the difference is that the three sections of "A Sitch in Time" have the same running time. If the movie were structured normally, the first part of the film (entitled "Present") would have been a lot shorter for example. "Present" feels the most like an ordinary episode but this is the first time that Kim's villains have teamed up into a threesome (okay, four if you count the sidekicks). The villains of "Kim Possible" have associated or teamed up previous to the story of this movie but not to this extent. "Evil Incorporated" has great entertainment value thanks to its diversity and the comedic possibilities that stem from that. In my opinion and most likely because of this movie, I believe the four main villains of "Kim Possible" are Dr. Drakken, Shego, Monkey Fist and Duff Killigan. Professor Dementor is certainly another candidate but he is too much like Drakken to be included in this film's coalition. Dementor was also only in one episode in the series' first season where as Killigan had two. I love how the villains critique and clash with each other in this movie. "A Sitch in Time" has too many funny moments to mention all of them but I will outline a few. Whenever Drakken tries to talk cool, it is always hilarious. As a result, one of my all time favorite lines of his is in this movie: "Why you got to leave me hanging like that, yo?" I also really crack up when the villains are waiting to put the head of the monkey idol on its body. They refuse to share the honor so Monkey Fist's solution is to "not share together". What splits my sides is that it actually works as the head remains stationary above the body with them each fighting for control. Then later in the movie, Killigan humorously dreads the years of déjà vu that await him stuck the past and in prison. The reference to "Planet of the Apes" is also pretty good as is the accompanying line, "You'll pay for this, lady." The best joke towards the end of the movie is thanks to timing and how it was subtly set up all the way back at the start of the film. Once Kim and Ron arrive in the future, the story takes a moment to show what happened to Kim's parents. We get the same level of resolution concerning Ron's parents in just two sentences and that is what makes it so funny. The middle section of the movie ("Past") is the best portion of "A Sitch in Time" because it provides subtext to the whole TV show and serves as an origin story. My favourite moment in the whole movie is teenage Kim watching her younger self meet Ron in pre-school. This is the ultimate visual representation of reminiscing. "Past" has plenty of the irony and foreshadowing that one might expect in a story about time travel. The final section of the movie, "Future", is less entertaining because if feels like "Kim Possible" in its twentieth season long after it "jumped the shark" or hit its stride. The good storytelling and humor that we had in the opening two thirds is now mostly gone.

The very ending somewhat feels like the writers fell into a plot hole. While that might be the case, this movie did contribute to the series at least from our perspective. The characters might have forgotten everything in their adventure and this story may not have affected the rest of the series but we did get to see the hypothetical consequences of distance (both physical and emotional) coming between Kim and Ron. Because of the move to Norway by the Stoppables, we see just how much Kim and Ron value each other's company and friendship. Even though Ron makes it in time for the mission in Africa, his absence in Kim's normal life disrupts their ability to save the world. Some critics of the show might question how these two are able to stay friends for as long as they have considering that by high school, Kim is the most popular student while Ron is a classic teenage outcast. I think what makes this friendship plausible is the fact that it has lasted so long and that it started strong. Both Kim and Ron independently acknowledge that "pre-K" was a highlight of their friendship. Ron liked spending all day with Kim back in pre-school and Kim during her adventure takes time to re-experience "the good old days". Also, cliques and social groups really don't become cemented until early adolescence. By that time in their lives, Ron became Kim's sidekick as seen in this movie and that kept their friendship going. Kim's popularity could tempt her to break off her friendship with Ron but her good nature counteracts this. Kim is ordinary in some ways and that makes her a relatable character but in other ways, she is obviously extraordinary and therefore also a role model. By nature, she craves a challenge (check her name). Kim defies the rules including breaching social norms and having a strong long-lasting friendship with a nerd. Such a friendship makes her life interesting and at the same time grounded in reality. If Kim's best friend was more like herself, she could hardly be considered average. A lot of high school problems happen because of social factions. "Kim Possible" shows the good that can come from ignoring the worldly laws of popularity. To get back on point, Kim and Ron's separation proves that their friendship is genuine and that they need each other to be happy and to succeed. Things get even more serious in the next TV movie.

"Kim Possible" is full of well-known actors and/or popular voice artists. This is certainly the case with the villains. "A Sitch in Time" also has a list of familiar names from the acting world such as Michael Dorn from "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Dakota Fanning, Freddie Prinze Jr., Kelly Ripa and Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan. I would like to take some time to mention director Steve Loter. He worked with Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle before "Kim Possible" and he is my favorite director in the series. I believe he made a real impact on the show and my reasoning is backed up by the fact that after this TV movie, Loter directed all of season three and four of the series. Animation director Chris Bailey got things off the ground in season one but Loter took "Kim Possible" to the moon. "Kim Possible" is a guilty pleasure of mine and my fascination with the show started with "A Sitch in Time". As good as "Finding Nemo" is, "A Sitch in Time" is my favourite animated film released in 2003. There are flaws but the humor and good storytelling make up for the film's shortcomings. Any fan of the show will like it.

4 Stars