Disney Releases First Trailer for Disney Channel Kim Possible Movie

Television

This week, Disney dropped the first footage of their upcoming Kim Possible reboot. We already knew that relative unknowns Sadie Stanley and Sean Giambrone would be playing Kim and her best friend turned boyfriend Ron Stoppable, and that original Kim Possible voice Christy Carlson-Romano and actor/comedian Patton Oswalt would be appearing. The new trailer is about a minute long and gives us a good look at some of the cast and the setting, as well as hints at some plot details:

Fans haven’t responded well to the trailer or the casting choices for the leads, and honestly, I agree. I’m unfamiliar with Stanley and Giambrone, so I’m skeptical more so of the way the Disney Channel has styled them, but I also think they look a little young for their roles, particularly Stanley as Kim. Her voice-over in the trailer also did nothing for me; the trailer doesn’t need to tell us how she got into crime-fighting. I’d honestly rather just see Kim and Ron’s mundane high school existence juxtaposed with their globetrotting. There is some of that in the trailer, and I did find the text labeling her as “Hero. Legend. High schooler.” to be quite funny, in fairness. But, to me, it feels like they’re playing up the world-saving more than her regular existence, when that duality resulted in a lot of the best comedy and drama in the original animated series. The monologue itself is also unconvincingly delivered and annoys me just by how it sounds. Patton Oswalt looks great as Professor Dementor, and I’m excited that he’s attached; I also can’t wait to see who Christy-Carlson Romano is playing, and I hope she gets a substantial part. She’s a Disney legend in her own right; in addition to originating the role of Kim, she also played Belle in one of the Beauty and the Beast stage productions and has guest starred in projects including Big Hero 6: The Series for Disney.

I loved the Kim Possible series when I was a kid, and from what I’ve gone back and rewatched, it still holds up pretty well; the characters are likable, it’s really funny, and the action is great. This show really had an excellent roster of villains, and I’m glad the movie is putting a few of them to good use. However, I’d be lying if I said anything about this movie, aside from Romano and Oswalt’s involvement as well as the apparent plot of Kim being cloned, excites me. But I can’t help feeling that a lot of fans would prefer for the animated series to be revived, specifically with Romano back in her role as Kim. I really don’t like how these kids look, and again, based on this trailer alone, it doesn’t feel like the spirit of the series is alive in this film. Although it’s obvious they’re aiming for the ankle-biters with this one, I also can’t help worrying they’re going to focus too much on portraying Kim as an infallible superwoman rather than a teenage girl with flaws and insecurities. She’s a cheerleader and a hero, but she also has to deal with boy drama, family drama, and who to take to the prom. This duality is what made Kim relatable to regular people, as well as made her an endearing character. I really don’t want to see Disney make one of its beloved creations into another Rey from Star Wars.

I will be watching Kim Possible when it airs and giving it a chance. It’s not entirely fair to judge a movie based on its marketing alone, particularly when that movie bears the Disney label; their marketing is some of the worst and most misleading, in my opinion. After all, I’m not sure Romano would agree to appear if the film was disrespectful to the show or character her fans love. The idea of the villains cloning Kim is also good and sounds like something that would have been in the original series or one of its spin-off movies, although I wonder if the tone of the film will suit this plot point. Regardless, much like the with the upcoming remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the spin-off of Penny Dreadful, I’ll wait until this film airs to really judge it. As an aside, it seems strange just how many beloved series are being continued in some way as of late.

What do you think of the trailer? Will you be watching the Kim Possible movie? Drop your response in the comments below!