Nickelodeon and the filmmakers called upon the most talented actors working in the voice-over world today, as well as several celebrity voices, to help create the characters in "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius."
"The voice recordings always come first in animation," explains John A. Davis, "because we actually animate to the track. The voice actors first lay the creative template by which everything else follows. And, since most of the lead characters are children, casting their voices is an added challenge. You have to try to find a voice that sounds the appropriate age, yet the actor has to have the experience necessary to be very flexible."
Veteran voiceover actress DebiDerry berry, known for her ability to truthfully voice adolescent characters, is cast as Jimmy Neutron.
"Debi has an innate quality about her voice that's really fun," comments Davis. "She doesn't sound like an adult trying to do a little boy's voice."
So what does Derryberry say when people find out that Jimmy Neutron is a woman? "Women are used a lot for little boys' voices," she explains. "It saves the producers the trouble of having to recast when the little boys reach that age when their voices change. Women, on the other hand, are able to reach that range and stay there."
Practically a magnet for major talent, "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" also brings the voicing expertise of such actors as Patrick Stewart, Martin Short, and Andrea Martin.
The venerable Patrick Stewart of "Star Trek" fame partners with the chameleonlike actor/impressionist Martin Short to voice the evil Yokian duo of King Goobot and his shaman sidekick, Goblar. In directing these actors, Davis makes sure to clearly define the uniqueness of these creatures, which fly around in giant chicken ships and worship a chicken god named Poultra.
"Yokians are an alien race that live millions of light years from Earth," Davis explains. "Basically, they're egg creatures, amorphous shapes that have evolved beyond the need for conventional bodies, life forms that have atrophied to the state that they're merely an oozing jelly substance. To that end, Yokians are totally reliant upon little conveyances to propel them around; otherwise, they would just run all over the floor."
It is their unique yucky yolkiness that ultimately becomes the Yokians' undoing.
"You see, they have to live in these glass and metal shells with little robotic arms that hover around," Davis adds. "In essence, they're just a pile of goo, so if they're ever spilled, they're incapable of doing anything. It's their Achilles heel."
Stewart understands that imagination is key in creating the role of the alien king.
"You must erase all impressions of any kind of alien that you've ever seen," the actor who brought to life the stalwart starship Enterprise commander observes. "Even 'Star Trek' never produced aliens like this. And I know because I've acted with grains of rice and even an oil slick."
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