| Director: | Bruce Hurwit |
| Theme Music Composer: | Johnny Colt |
| Open Theme: | "Re-Animated", |
| End Theme: | "Re-Animated" |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Cartoon Network |
| Producer: | Evan W. Adler |
| Editor: | Michael Kelly, ACE |
| Cinematography: | Collin W. Davis |
| Company: | Renegade Animation Turner Studios |
| Runtime: | 78 minutes |
| Related: | Out of Jimmy's Head |
Re-Animated is a 2006 American live-action/animated teen fantasy-comedy television film that aired on Cartoon Network on December 8, 2006. It was the first original production on the genre for the network.[1] It was released on DVD on September 11, 2007,[2] and serves as a pilot for the follow-up series Out of Jimmy's Head, which premiered on September 14, 2007. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release.
The film's animation was produced by Renegade Animation, which previously produced Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi for Cartoon Network.
Middle school student Jimmy Roberts is often bullied and belittled by his peers. During his class trip to Gollyworld, an amusement park themed around animated cartoon characters created by the deceased animator Milt Appleday, Jimmy misses out on many of the attractions. On the suggestion of Jimmy's friend Craig, the popular students tell him to search for Appleday's frozen brain in the ride "Tux's Arctic Adventure". Jimmy unwillingly goes there and bumps into Milt's middle-aged, clumsy son Sonny, who is attempting to retrieve the brain. Jimmy quickly flees and is hit by an oncoming attraction: "Crocco's Train". He is sent to an on-premises hospital, where Milt's brain is transplanted into his head. He survives the operation with his personality intact, but he can now see all of Appleday's characters in real life.
With the help of his crush, Craig's sister Robin, Jimmy learns that Sonny unwittingly ruined the characters' popularity through his own ideas. When Jimmy is hired as the new president of Appleday Pictures, replacing Sonny, mascot character Golly Gopher believes Jimmy can quickly make him a star again. With Milt's creativity and imagination, Jimmy becomes immensely popular but no longer has time for school or his friends.
Meanwhile, Sonny deceives Jimmy's father into letting him rent out a room in Jimmy's house. Sonny has dinner with the Roberts family while scheming to remove Milt's brain from Jimmy's head. He devises a plan to modify Crocco's Train to include several dangerous devices that will decapitate Jimmy. However, he yells this plan out loud, and Yancy, Jimmy's alien sister, catches on.
Robin attempts to point out to Jimmy that the cartoons are taking advantage of him, but he denies this. He leaves for his television debut, and Sonny takes her hostage. At the studio, Jimmy tells Golly that being president hasn't gotten him what he really wanted. Furious, Golly scolds him for being a pushover. Jimmy realizes Robin was right and denounces his position on-air. He then finds out Sonny has tied Robin to the train tracks. Golly apologizes for his anger and temporarily changes Jimmy into a cartoon knight in shining armor. Jimmy goes inside the train and destroys the engine, saving Robin. He then dresses up as Milt to momentarily distract Sonny by appealing to his affection for his father. Yancy teleports Sonny away from Jimmy. Robin and Jimmy return to Craig's house, and they mend their "friendship". However, since the partygoers there were watching Jimmy's announcement and saw him talk about the importance of friendship over popularity, they leave.
In an epilogue, while Jimmy is leaving for school, Sonny attempts to extract his brain with a crane-like device but misses.
Two nonverbal cartoon characters, Prickles and Pickles (a porcupine and a pickle, respectively), also appear. They are loosely based on Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse, stars of the Tom and Jerry animated franchise.
Re-Animated received mixed-to-negative reception by critics, with the writing, humor, characters, acting, plot and the blend of animation with live action receiving the most criticism. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media called it a "brain-swap tale [that] will have tweens' eyes rolling".[3]