Veteran Disney Channel writers Schooley and McCorkle were recruited by the network to develop an animated series that could attract both older and younger audiences, and conceived Kim Possible as a show about a talented action heroine and her less competent sidekick.
Inspired by the scarcity of female-led animated series at the time, Kim Possible is based on the creators' own high school experiences, and combines elements of action, adventure, drama, romance and comedy to appeal to both girls and boys while parodying the James Bond franchise and spy and superhero films.
[9][11] Attending Middleton High School alongside Ron, her best female friend Monique and rival classmate Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim lives with her family: father James, a rocket scientist, and Ann, a brain surgeon,[12] as well as her younger brothers, identical twins Jim and Tim, both of whom possess genius-level intellect.
Fully aware of their daughter's occupation, Kim's parents remain completely supportive of her crime-fighting endeavors so long as she continues to obey curfew, but tend to be more-so concerned about the character's performance in school, as well as her love life.
[19] As news of the character's heroism spreads, her website is soon flooded with e-mails from around the globe requesting her assistance,[20] and Kim ultimately decides to use her talents to help the world, becoming a superhero, even without superpowers.
[11] Thus, Stainton and network executives Gary Marsh and Anne Sweeney approached Schooley and McCorkle to create an animated series geared towards the 6 to 14-year-old demographic that was also capable of entertaining older audiences at the same time.
[33] The creators were also influenced by their own childhood heroes James Bond and Captain Kirk from Star Trek, and wanted Kim to resemble a character their daughters could idolize similarly.
[11] Working completely independently from government spy organizations,[34] Kim's crime-fighting abilities are drawn from real-life activities such as cheerleading and gymnastics, "something that any kid...in the world could do", according to the creators.
[23][36] After auditioning several actresses to voice the title character,[30] then-16 year-old Christy Carlson Romano was finally cast as Kim after first being introduced to Schooley and McCorkle by Disney Channel executives.
[22] Ashley Tisdale of Disney Channel's High School Musical film series and sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody was offered the role of Season 4 villain Camille Leon.
[41] Creating the Kim Possible universe and environment was very much a collaborative process between Schooley and McCorkle, Disney Channel, the character designers, and the cast, who were also encouraged to contribute their own ideas.
[14] Opting for a "simplicity that was the hallmark of" the 1960s, some of the architecture in Kim Possible is reminiscent of lairs owned by James Bond villains, specifically SPECTRE’s volcanic lair in You Only Live Twice, the Rumpus Room in Goldfinger, and the Liparius supertanker in The Spy Who Loved Me, as well as the Men in Black: Alien Attack attraction in Universal Studios Florida, while Bodner was inspired by the graphic design of posters Disney used for its Disneyland attractions during the same decade, as well as Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble.
[59] Described as a Motown-influenced R&B and teen pop track,[55][60] "Call Me, Beep Me" is heard during the show's opening title sequence, encouraging viewers and listeners to contact Kim for assistance should they ever find themselves in difficult situations,[55] featuring the lyrics "Danger or trouble, I'm there on the double.
[16] With a tendency not to take itself seriously,[22] Kim Possible both parodies and pays homage to the spy, action and superhero genres,[66][73] its comedy benefiting from the show's emphasis on "over-the-top plots" and circumstances.
[18] McCorkle elaborated on the show's emphasis on technology: "Using the Internet theme in the series became an easy launching pad partially because it is such a major part of the fabric of teen life and the interactive possibilities are endless ...
[11] Kim's ability to travel virtually anywhere around the world within a short period of time is left largely unexplained;[23] BuzzFeed referred to Wade as an "example that sitting in front of your computer all day is actually the most powerful position to be in.
[17] Hosting a diverse cast of strong female characters while confronting gender norms and barriers,[6][25][75] Kim Possible explores feminist themes,[23] specifically third-wave feminism.
[77] Similar to the animated shows Totally Spies, Atomic Betty, and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Kim Possible revolves around an attractive, intelligent, and strong female character whose public identity is meant to indicate that she should be received as a positive role models for young girls.
[61] According to Betsy Wallace of Common Sense Media, Kim Possible "capitalizes on the female villain-fighting craze that sparked with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alias", albeit simplifying the genre for a younger generation.
[51] Agreeing that the series adopted the then-new "crime-fighting female" formula, Tracey McLoone of PopMatters admitted that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias and The Powerpuff Girls comparisons are inevitable, but at the same time observed that Kim is more confident than her predecessors, incorporating cheerleading and acrobatics into her fights against enemies, while using traditionally "girly" accessories such as lip gloss and makeup to her advantage in battle.
[32][83] On November 29, 2005, Disney Channel ordered 22 new episodes of Kim Possible in response to the series' success and popular demand from fans,[66][79][84] who had been heavily petitioning for the show's renewal online and via e-mail.
[41] After a year-long hiatus,[49] Season 4 initially premiered exclusively on Disney Channel's website before finally returning to the network on February 10, 2007,[19] prior to which an image of a watch-sized rendition of the Kimmunicator had been leaked online.
"[13] Writing for The New York Times, television critic Julie Salamon enjoyed Rufus' role, penning, "I probably would have liked Kim Impossible even if one of its lead characters hadn't been a naked mole rat.
But the cheerful presence of Rufus ... in this new animated series from Disney signals that the show's executive producer and director, Chris Bailey, doesn't mind getting cute in obvious ways.
"[52] Similarly, USA Today's Alex Kane wrote that the show "is ultimately made memorable by its charming cast of characters, including a naked mole rat named Rufus".
"[51] Writing for Bustle, Sarah Freymiller opined, "Ultimately, Kim Possible was just a solid show" that "didn't skimp on plot or dialogue in favor of Wile E. Coyote explosions, and its tongue-in-cheek humor allowed it to be self-aware and hip at the same time.
[35] According to a 2019 article by Screen Rant, Kim Possible is the sixth highest-ranked Disney Channel Original Series on IMDb, with a score of 7.2 at the time of publishing, praising its combination of "a strong female lead, a dude instead of a damsel in distress, and a slew of colorful villains to fight".
[120] On April 25, 2018, Disney Channel announced on its Public Relations Twitter account that the movie was set to premiere sometime in 2019 and that Sadie Stanley and Sean Giambrone would portray Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable respectively.
[108] Customers were given a choice of eight different interactive toys to choose from, including a magnetic drawing tablet designed to resemble the Kimminucator and action figures of Kim, Ron, Rufus, Shego, and Monkey Fist.
The attraction is an electronic scavenger hunt that has guests using special "Kimmunicators" (in actuality, modified cell phones) to help Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable solve a "crime" or disrupt an evil-doer's "plans for global domination."