My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie (2007 film)

My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie is a 2007 American animated action-adventure superhero comedy film directed by Rob Renzetti, produced by Alex Kirwan and co-produced by Joseph Holt and Dan Krall based on a story by Rob Renzetti, Scott Peterson, Heather Martinez and Chris Reccardi and a screenplay by John Fountain and Alex Kirwan.

Based on the Nickelodeon animated action superhero television series My Life as a Teenage Robot, the film stars the voices of Janice Kawaye as Jenny Wakeman, along with Candi Milo, Chad Doreck, Audrey Wasilewski, Quinton Flynn, and many others. 16-year-old teenage robot Jenny Wakeman was casually flying around Termorton on a sunny day when she heard via her mother, Nora, that reports of a planned mass attack by Lord Crazy (with his henchmen The Clown and The Jester) was spread across the town. Threatened by Lord Crazy, Tremorton would be destroyed in 5 days if Jenny did not comply with their orders. The film is a co-production between Nickelodeon Movies, Frederator Incorporated and Paramount Feature Animation, with animation produced overseas in South Korea.

The film premiered at the Dolby Theatre on July 24, 2007, and had its early release on August 1, 2007, coinciding with the series' four-year anniversary, and was released theatrically two days later on August 3, 2007 by Paramount Pictures. It received near critical success, with critics and audiences praising the animation, voice cast (particularly Milo, Doreck and Wasilewski, with Kawaye receiving universal acclaim), musical score by John Powell, songs, plot, storyline, directorial by Rob Renzetti, and gave universal praise for its faithfulness to the source material. The film was the best Nickelodeon film of all time, with the film holding an approval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a moderate box office success, grossing $200.5 million worldwide on its $50-$65 million budget.

Plot
The movie opens with a shot of Termorton, a bustling city with tall buildings and busy streets. We then see Jenny Wakeman, a teenage robot, flying through the sky. She's a state-of-the-art automaton created by Dr. Nora Wakeman, and designed to look and act like a 16-year-old girl. As Jenny is flying, she receives a transmission from her mother, Nora. Nora informs her that reports of a planned mass attack by Lord Crazy and his henchmen, The Clown and The Jester, have spread across the town. Lord Crazy threatens to destroy Tremorton in five days if Jenny doesn't comply with their orders.

Jenny knows she has to act quickly to save the city, so she quickly flies back to her home. There, she meets up with her best friend and neighbor, Brad Carbunkle, and his little brother, Tuck. They quickly spring into action to help Jenny save the city. Jenny and her friends try to find out more information about Lord Crazy and his plans, but they're constantly being obstructed by the Crust Cousins, a pair of snooty rich girls who take pleasure in making Jenny's life miserable. In the meantime, Jenny's rival, Dr. Phineas Mogg, is trying to one-up Nora by building his own teenage robot.

As the days go by, Jenny and her friends uncover more and more about Lord Crazy's plans. They find out that he's working with Vexus, the Queen of the all-robotic Cluster Empire, who is obsessed with the conquest of Earth. Vexus claims that she's trying to "liberate robotkind" from the humans, but Jenny and her friends know that this is just a cover for her true plans. Jenny and her friends also discover that Vega, Vexus' daughter, is among those blinded to the truth. Jenny and Vega bond over their shared experiences as teenage robots, and they work together to expose Vexus for what she truly is.

As the days tick by, Jenny and her friends work tirelessly to stop Lord Crazy and Vexus. They battle hordes of robots and face countless obstacles, but they never give up. In the end, they manage to stop Lord Crazy and Vexus from destroying Tremorton, and the city is saved. Throughout the movie, we see Jenny grappling with her identity as a teenage robot. She struggles to fit in with her human friends, and she wonders if she'll ever truly be accepted. But in the end, she learns that what makes her different also makes her special, and she embraces her unique identity as a teenage robot.

Cast

 * Janice Kawaye as Jennifer "Jenny" Wakeman (XJ-9); the main protagonist and the "teenage robot" to which the title refers, a state-of-the-art automaton created by Dr. Nora Wakeman five years prior to the series, though she was designed as a 16-year-old girl. Though XJ-9 was designed to be Earth's protector, armed to the teeth with a wide range of weapons, devices, and transformations, she desires to live the life of a normal teenager and often makes this desire quite apparent to her friends and creator. Jenny's personality is often friendly and optimistic, though this also comes with being rather naïve as to her surroundings. Often, people like the Krust Cousins or robots like Vexus take advantage of Jenny's friendliness to further their own goals. Jenny can also be somewhat of a sucker for trends, even when her mechanical designs prevent her from using them.
 * Candi Milo as Dr. Noreen "Nora" Wakeman; an elderly spinster robotics scientist and the one who built Jenny, who often simply refers to her as "Mother" or "Mom". Though Nora does indeed love her "daughter", she'll often butt into her personal life and is known to call on her at the most awkward moments. She also has a difficult time with modern-day slang and other teenage fads, earning Jenny's annoyance on many occasions. Despite being only human, Nora shows no reluctance in fighting when necessary. In her youth, Nora was a shining officer of Skyway Patrol before retiring to Tremorton. Even in her advanced years, Nora is still very able, and can even hold her own in a fight against Vexus.
 * Chad Doreck as Bradley "Brad" Carbunkle; Jenny's best friend and next-door neighbor. He's usually seen as outgoing and adventurous, and is the first actual friend Jenny ever made. Although he usually tends to cause more trouble than he prevents, he means well and tries to help Jenny in any way he can. Brad likes to think of himself as a "ladies' man", but he's almost anything but that. Nearly every girl Brad hits on rejects him, and it's a rare sight for any girl to truly show any interest in him.
 * Audrey Wasilewski as Tucker "Tuck" Cornelius Carbunkle; Brad's 7-year-old little brother. He is usually tagging along with his brother and Jenny, though his aptitude for adventure is significantly less than Brad's. This can be chalked up to his many childish fears, among them the dark and giant wheels. Despite initial fears of Jenny, Tuck has since warmed up to her as a friend. Tuck has proven to be more clever than he looks on several occasions, often sweet-talking Jenny into doing favors for him.
 * Quinton Flynn as Sheldon Oswald Lee; Sheldon had fallen in love with Jenny when she saved him from the bullies in class one time. However, no matter what he tries, Jenny still refuses his romantic advances; though they are still close friends, and Jenny has shown affection for Sheldon many times (even kissing him in two episodes). Being skilled in robotics, Sheldon has created gadgets and modifications for Jenny, as well as doing minor repair work. He has even done more extreme modifications when requested by XJ9, usually when Dr. Wakeman refuses to do them herself. His skill has led to his creating a robotic alter-ego, The Silver Shell. Sheldon originally created the identity in an attempt to convince Jenny that robot boys were jerks, though this backfired when Jenny's affection for the robot grew even greater. As a hero, the Silver Shell has an imposing appearance, a "smooth" demeanor, and an excess of confidence, all qualities the human Sheldon lacks in his normal guise.
 * Flynn also voices Don Prima; he considers himself the most handsome guy in town. However, he is obnoxiously shallow (a prima donna, hence his name), and is more likely to cry over ruined shoes than care for anyone besides himself. Jenny once had a crush on Don, but gave up on him after seeing his self-centered attitude for himself.
 * Jim Carrey as
 * Lord Crazy; the main antagonist, leader of The Mayhem Corporation, a corporation that causes destruction and pain towards others. He has a hatred for the town of Tremorton, hence why he's in need to destroy the town and ruin the lives for the many citizens. He is known for calling all the shots when being the leader.
 * The Clown; known for making notorious jokes to distract a bunch of people. Under management by his leader, Lord Crazy, leader of The Mayhem Corporation. His jokes are able to distract others, including Jenny Wakeman.
 * The Jester; known for making fun of others and making disrespectful comments and compliments about others. Lead by Lord Crazy, he is the second worker with The Clown.
 * Cree Summer as Vexus; Queen of the all-robotic Cluster Empire, Vexus obsessed with the conquest of Earth, under the claim of "liberating robotkind" from the humans. About the only thing that matches her dreams of conquest is her obsession with Jenny, whom Vexus has continuously tried to induct into the Cluster (though with no lasting success). In addition to her wicked cunning, Vexus is a master manipulator, often appearing in disguise to try and convince Jenny into joining her. This also reflects in her ruling of the Cluster homeworld, Cluster Prime, where she uses fear and propaganda to keep her loving subjects in line with her views while promoting herself as a peace-loving queen.
 * Thora Birch as Vega; Queen Vexus' daughter who is also among those blinded to the truth, though she and Jenny eventually exposed Vexus for what she truly is.
 * Steven Blum as Smytus; an arrogant Cluster commander with an overinflated ego. As opposed to the manipulative Vexus, Smytus prefers action, and is always quick to jump into battle. However, while he thinks highly of himself, Jenny and her allies often see through his bombastic threats and find a way to thwart his plans.
 * Tim Ward as Krackus; a Cluster inventor, though not a very good one. Although he is skilled at putting all sorts of nasty devices together, he usually misses the necessary details needed for them to work, which usually results in humiliating defeats for the Cluster.
 * Hugh Jackman as Dr. Phineas Mogg; Nora Wakeman's top scientific rival. Mogg never hesitates to insult Dr. Wakeman and her inventions, which both her and Jenny do not take too kindly to. He once built his own robotic "child", Kenny, who is fairly smart, but tends to act more like a domesticated dog than a human (fittingly, his code number is YK-9). Jenny once had a brief crush on Kenny, but called it off after seeing Kenny's canine habits in action.
 * Moira Quick and Cree Summer as Brit and Tiff Crust; collectively known as the Crust Cousins, they are a pair of snooty rich girls who take pleasure in making Jenny's life miserable. Normally, Jenny takes their insults in stride, but she isn't above competing with the Crusts just to show them up.

Development
Development on a film to My Life as a Teenage Robot first began in April 2004, during the production of Season 2. Thanks to the success of previous Nickelodeon franchise-based films in the late-1990s to the early-2000s, series creator Rob Renzetti had plans on making a full-length feature film. It was revealed on April 27, 2004 that Renzetti was to direct it, with Alex Kirwan planning to produce it, with Joseph Halt as a co-producer. Plans on a storyboarding process was revealed two months after the film went into full-motion, with Rob Renzetti, Scott Peterson, Heather Martinez, and Chris Reccardi planning to write the story, along with John Fountain and Alex Kirwan developing the screenplay.

Cancellation
Development on the film was cancelled abruptly, with no given explanation from the Nickelodeon executives on the reason why it was cancelled. According to an article published to the Los Angeles Times on October 21, 2004, it stated that Nickelodeon "cancelled the film due to apparent budget constraints, due to a financial struggle at the Burbank-based company," and further stated it "wasn't going to be good", said Nickelodeon executive Herb Scannell.

When interviewed by the L.A. Times, series creator Rob Renzetti expressed disappointment to Nickelodeon, saying that this film "was my dream", adding he "was very upset with Nickelodeon for their cancellation of such a good project". Due to the cancellation, fans of the My Life as a Teenage Robot series heavily criticized Nickelodeon's cancellation of the film. Multiple news articles were published, and was covered on CBS News and WTVT (or Fox 13 Tampa Bay).

Back in Production
In late-December 2004 to mid-January 2005, the cancellation was removed, and the film was back in production. However, Nickelodeon was still heavily criticized around this time period. Paramount Pictures CEO Gail Berman addressed the problematic scenario in a press conference.

Music
In July 2005, it was revealed that John Powell was to compose and conduct the score for the film, with Peter Lurye, James L. Venable and Peter Dinletir. The score was composed at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox, and was additionally composed at the Sony Pictures Studios Scoring Stage. The scoring spanned from November 19, 2005 to February 14, 2007.

Animation
The animation for the film was produced at Rough Draft Studios' Korean division in Seoul, South Korea. The animation was produced overseas, starting on September 8, 2005, before wrapping up and being shipped to Los Angeles to Paramount Feature Animation where the animation was compiled and edited by English editor Claire Dodgson. The animation process concluded on May 11, 2007.

Soundtrack
"Main article: My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie (soundtrack)" The film's music was composed by series composers Peter Lurye, James L. Venable and Paul Dinletir, while the film's score was composed and conducted by British composer John Powell. The scoring took place at both the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox, and at the Sony Pictures Studios Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios. The soundtrack album was released through Nick Records, while the score album was released through Sony BMG Music Entertainment, both on August 1, 2007, coinciding with the film's early release.

Release
My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie had its official premiere at the Dolby Theatre on July 25, 2007. It later had an early release on August 1, 2007, coinciding with the television series' four-year anniversary, and was later theatrically released two days later on August 3, 2007 by Paramount Pictures. My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for frenetic superhero action, some violence, mild language, and suggestive themes.

Marketing
Prior to the film's release, in March 2007, Paramount Pictures had made a partnership deal with Hasbro, and the company produced and distributed exclusive merchandise and figurines of characters from the series. McDonald's had tie-in promotional deals with Paramount as well, and included My Life as a Teenage Robot toys with their Happy Meals.

The first theatrical release poster was unveiled in early April 2007, with the caption "More Metal. More Gadgets. More Action." and included the My Life as a Teenage Robot symbol on the background with the film's logo below. The first official trailer premiered at screenings of Spider Man 3 and Shrek the Third. The trailer received high praise for its orchestral score and its more dramatic tone compared to the actual television series itself. The trailer has been nicknamed "Jenny's First Big Screen Trailer" by the My Life as a Teenage Robot community since it first premiered.

Box office
My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie debuted at #2 in the United States and Canada, though debuted at #1 in other countries. The film opened alongside Bratz, El Cantante, Hot Rod, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Underdog. The film made $14.9 million on its first day, with an additional $2.6 million in Thursday night previews, and made $21.1 million in its opening weekend, performing below expectations of $35-40 million. However, outside of the United States and Canada, the film made $39.4 million in its opening weekend, becoming much more successful in Eurasia, as well as in African countries. The film concluded its theatrical run on March 11, 2008 and made a total of $81.2 million in the United States and Canada and $119.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $200.5 million on its budget of $50-$65 million.

Critical response
The film was opened to near-universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting an approval rating of 95% based on 112 professional critics' reviews, with an average rating of 8.35/10. Its critical consensus reads: "With their best efforts of Nickelodeon, comes this heart-pounding, action-packed adventure of Jenny Wakeman in My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie, which pulls all the strings together to form one cohesive narrative, a full cast, heartwarming (and heartbreaking) tones, and anything else imaginable." The film is listed as Nickelodeon's best film of all time, dethroning their own Rango. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film a rare average grade "A+" on its scale of A+ to F.

Home media
My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 29, 2007 by Paramount Home Entertainment, and was later released on Universal Media Disc (UMD) on September 27, 2007. It included an audio commentary with director Rob Renzetti and the voice actor of Jenny Wakeman, Janice Kawaye, a 5-minute animated short film, an animated music video, and an exclusive outtake reel, animated by Rough Draft Korea.

Comic books
The film was the start of multiple comic books published by Scholastic. They were published in November 2007.

Video game
"Main article: My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Movie (video game)"A video game based on the film was released on August 29, 2007 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Wii, later on August 31, 2007 on PlayStation Portable, PC and Mac, and on September 3, 2007 for Game Boy Advance and DS. It was released in Japan on September 6, 2007, September 9, 2007 and September 15, 2007 for the ports listed above.