ANIMATED, YET NOT SO ANIMATED 'ZIM,' 'ODDPARENTS' A SWING AND MISS FOR NICKELODEON.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic Nickelodeon premieres two new animated series tonight; alas, the response from my 10- and 7-year-old stepdaughters was a disheartening dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. shrug to both. ``The Fairly Oddparents'' concerns young, beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. Timmy, who must contend with a bully at school, fatuous parents and a sadistic sa·dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. baby-sitter. His sole salvation comes, barely, in the form of Cosmo and Wanda  It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. , fairly inept fairy godparents godparents npl the godparents → los padrinosgodparents npl the godparents → le parrain et la marraine godparents npl whose magical responses often result in more angst than aid. Tonight, Timmy tires of being a picked-upon kid and wishes to be an adult. When Cosmo and Wanda comply, he's transformed into a balding 40-something in a pink sweat suit whom everyone finds pretty ``creepy''; naturally, he quickly learns that being a kid isn't so bad after all. Cosmo and Wanda tonight also concoct con·coct tr.v. con·coct·ed, con·coct·ing, con·cocts 1. To prepare by mixing ingredients, as in cooking. 2. an inadvertently menacing video game for Timmy and his friends (who, together, look like potential dates for the ``Powerpuff Girls''); this one's clearly pandering to its target audience without trying too hard to be clever. My 10-year-old found the show merely ``OK,'' adding, ``it looks more like it should be on Cartoon Network For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see . Cartoon Network is a cable television network created by Turner Broadcasting which primarily shows animated programming. , but if it was on Cartoon Network, it'd probably be funnier.'' Ouch - what makes her comment sting all the more is that she's right. She had even less use for ``Invader Zim,'' a fanciful series about a garrulous gar·ru·lous adj. 1. Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative. 2. Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech. , zealous little alien who wants to help his planet conquer the universe. His own leaders, finding him too unbearable (think a cross between Joe Pesci in ``Lethal Weapon 2'' and Joe Pesci in ``GoodFellas''), dispatch him to a remote unknown quantity we like to call Earth. Zim enrolls in school, where he's challenged by this cartoon's equivalent of Fox Mulder: Dib, a kid who sees conspiracy everywhere. Dib knows Zim's origins, but the other kids in school have wearied of his crying wolf. ``Invader Zim'' boasts an inventive visual style heavily influenced by Japanese animation, but also has some awkward pauses that seem particularly deadly in a children's animated show. Even those impressive visuals didn't impress my 10-year-old, however, who groused, ``It's giving a bad name to kids, saying they're really dumb.'' Which suggests that sometimes, animators try so hard to make sure adults will like their work that they forget who their primary audience is. ``THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS'' What: Animated comedy about a boy with magical but inept fairy godparents. The stars: Voices of Tara Strong, Daran Norris, Susanne Blakeslee, Grey Delisle, Frankie Muniz. Where: Nickelodeon. When: 8:30 tonight. Our rating: Two and one half stars. ``INVADER ZIM'' What: Animated comedy about an outcast alien who studies Earth by enrolling at an elementary school. The stars: Voices of Richard Horvitz, Andy Berman, Rosearik Rikki Simons Rosearik Rikki Simons AKA Rikki Simons (born September 8, 1970 in Fontana, California), is an American voice actor, writer, graphic novelist, and artist. He is known as the voice of the robot GIR on Invader ZIM . Where: Nickelodeon. When: 9 tonight. Our rating: Two and one half stars. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Nickelodeon tries too hard in ``The Fairly Oddparents,'' left, based on Timmy Turner's relationship with his fairy godparents.'' And despite an inventive visual style, ``Invader ZIM'' fails to reach its target audience - kids. |
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