Kim Possible: The Villain Files review by Mike Long

As with many other home video companies, Disney has really gotten on-board with the whole "TV on DVD" thing. Just look at their recent releases, as they've brought full season sets of Home Improvement, The Golden Girls, and Boy Meets World to DVD. However, when it come to their animated fare (ie: kid's shows), Disney hasn't gotten on board with the full-season sets. (Although, I'm sure many are rejoicing about the recently released Season One DVD of Gargoyles.) A good case in point is the popular Disney Channel program Kim Possible, which is seeing its second DVD release of random episodes.

Kim Possible: The Villain Files contains three episodes from the series, plus one never-before-seen episode.

1. "Blush" -- Kim Possible's (voiced by Christy Carlson Romano) arch-nemesis Dr. Drakken (voiced by John Di Maggio) is frustrated by the fact that Kim and her side-kick, Ron Stoppable (voiced by Will Friedle), always manage to foil his plans for world-domination. Drakken realizes that he must get rid of Kim. So he and his assistant Shego (voiced by Nicole Sullivan), douse Kim with the pollen of a rare Amazonian flower which causes a person to literally disappear when they become embarrassed. This happens at a remarkably bad time for Kim, as she's going on her first date with Josh (voiced by A.J. Trauth), a boy on whom she has a major crush.

2. "Animal Attraction" -- Kim's high-school has been taken over by a new fad, "Animalogy", where-in a person learn what kind of animal they are. However, Kim can't worry about the fact that she's a "Blue Fox", as she's summoned to the corn-dog factory of "Pop-Pop" Porter (voiced by Stephen Root), who reports that his flash-freezer has been stolen. Kim soon learns that villains Senor Senior Sr. (voiced by Ricardo Montalban) and his son Senor Senior Jr. (voiced by Nestor Carbonell) has taken the freezer to exact revenge on their former billionaire's club.

3. "Number One" -- When a former weapons specialist, who now designs grass seeds, is kidnapped, Kim and Ron are called in to help a government agent. They are paired with Agent Will Du (voiced by B.D. Wong), an uptight spy who relies more on his gadgets than on his instincts. While tracking down clues, Kim deduces that mad-golfer Duff Killigan (Brian George) is behind the abduction and that his evil scheme is too weird for words.

4. "Showdown at the Crooked D" -- Ron tags along as the Possible family head for the ranch owned by Kim's uncle. Once there, they meet Kim's niece, who idolizes Kim. Meanwhile, at the next ranch over, Dr. Drakken, furious that he's been rejected by the other geniuses of the world, devises a plan to get revenge, by making all of them stupid. When Kim's dad Dr. Possible (voiced by Gary Cole) notices many of his colleagues heading for Drakken's lair, he investigates, setting the stage for Kim and Ron to save the day.

Reviewing this DVD is a tough call. On the whole, Kim Possible is a fun show and these four episodes are prime examples. They show off the wit that comes form the show, mostly in the cracks from Ron, and the action/adventure portion provided by Kim's adventures. (Although, the series' best offering, "Sink or Swim", has yet to make it to DVD.) Of the four, "Number One" is the weakest show here, but that is mainly due to the fact that Duff Killigan is such a lame villain. However, the quality of these episodes and the fact that Kim Possible fans will enjoy this DVD doesn't make it easy to endorse. There's always the possibility (?!) that Disney will do what Paramount did with the Spongebob Squarepants DVD releases -- release several compilations and then roll out full-season sets. Having any Kim Possible episodes on DVD is certainly nice, but given the fact that the show has a relatively low profile, as every household doesn't get The Disney Channel and some affiliates don't air the Saturday mornings showings of the series, Disney may want to place faith in the show's true fans and bring us the boxed sets that this intriguing series deserves. No, Kim Possible isn't the best show on TV, but it's that rare show which features action and adventure with a kid-friendly vibe and jokes that adults will appreciate. And, even more remarkably, it can appeal to boys and girls. So, Kim Possible: The Villain Files is a nice addition to any fan's collection, but it's no substitute for a complete series set.

Kim Possible: The Villain Files backflips onto DVD courtesy of Disney DVD. The four episodes of the show included on this DVD are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, although the menus are 16 x 9. The image looks very good, as the picture is very sharp and clear, and the colors are fantastic. The image shows no grain and no defects from the source material. There is some minor edge enhancement, but it's not as prominent as prior releases in the series. The show's are accompanied by a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which is acceptable, but somewhat disappointing. The dialogue is always sharp and clear, but save for the action scenes, the sound is confined to the center and front channels. The fight scenes do contain some nice surround and subwoofer effects.

The only extras on the DVD are a set-top game entitled "The Villain House Party" and a music video by LMNT (?) for the song "It's Just You".


5 out of 10 Jackasses

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