Out of Jimmy's Head, is an American live-action animated television series. It was advertised as the first Cartoon Network original tv-series in its genre, and is based on same network’s 2006 movie Re-Animated. The series was produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. It was created by Tim McKeon and Adam Pava, who were originally the writers for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, as well as the creators of Weighty Decisions short on Cartoon Network's Sunday Pants anthology series. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on September 14, 2007, to coincide with the release of the Re-Animated movie on DVD, and was the only network show to be affected by the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Then made its Canadian premiere on Teletoon on Saturday, September 6, 2008. It also aired on Boomerang in Australia. The U.S. run of the show ended with the airing of the show's final episode on May 29, 2008. Cartoon Network did not acknowledge the series again until 2018, where Golly had a cameo role in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes crossover special "Crossover Nexus," alongside a small cameo with Dolly in the 20th-anniversary mural from 2012.
Premise
The series follows the back-story established by the film. After receiving a brain transplant from a celebrated cartoonist following an accident, 13-year-old Jimmy Roberts finds himself inexplicably capable of seeing and communicating with the famed animated characters created by the cartoonist, resulting in a variety of odd predicaments or situations at the hands of Jimmy's interactions with these hallucinations. However, he also must handle the deceased cartoonist's conspiring and scheming son, Sonny Appleday, with intentions of murdering Jimmy and obtaining his father's brain so he may gain notoriety as a cartoonist, and take over the world.
For Out of Jimmy's Head, Cartoon Network ordered 20 episodes, which were filmed from May to September 2007. In airing the show, Cartoon Network split the series into two seasons. The first season of the show premiered in September 2007 and lasted 13 episodes. The channel later aired the remaining seven episodes as the second season, starting in March 2008, one week after the airing of episode 13, which was considered part of the first season. The show's hiatus between seasons coincided with the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, which led many to believe that writing on the show had been interrupted. In fact, writing and production for all episodes had been completed in September. However, the strike did prevent the writers from being involved in editing and post-production, including the controversial decision to add a laugh track beginning with episode 8, "Skate Night". Following the strike, the series was not renewed. It was the last Cartoon Network original series to be broadcast in full screen 4:3 before Cartoon Network started its own high-definition feed, although it was produced in a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9. Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times wrote: "Cast aside all that clutter, though, and this is really just another show about a seventh grader trying to fit in. It’s also a show with a sly sense of humor when it’s not being self-consciously frentic", and praised Bil Dwyer for his comedic role. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media rated the show 3 out of 5 stars and wrote: "It's just fun fluff. It is worth noting that the show is an improvement on the movie in terms of Jimmy's increased confidence and ability to fend off peer pressure, which is certainly a welcome change". Despite the negative reviews from critics and audience, it had some accolades: the program's cast won a combined Young Artist Award in 2008 for "Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series"., then was nominated at the same ceremony for "Best Family Television Series", and finally Tinashe Kachingwe with Caden Michael Gray were nominated for "Best Performance in a TV Series - Supporting Young Actress" and "Best Performance in a TV Series - Recurring Young Actor", respectively.
