Kim Possible only ran for four seasons, and it still managed to become an enduring classic television series with legions of adoring fans. Its original run from 2002 to 2007 feels like a lifetime ago because, well, in a way it was. Seventeen years in television time is basically an eternity, which is why it was so surprising that Disney Channel made the decision to make a live-action Kim Possible film in 2019 for a new generation of Disney fans.
Before the most recent Kim Possible movie, the hyper-popular franchise had spawned two made-for-TV animated movies and a video game series, in addition to scoring eight Emmy Award nominations and one win. Although its record-breaking 87 episodes, which were unprecedented in Disney history at the time, have been surpassed by Phineas and Ferb as of 2012, Kim Possible is still remembered as one of Disney Channel’s most successful and beloved animated series.
Kim Possible might have been an iconic franchise, but that does not mean that there weren’t some major mistakes made during the show. With clashes between the executive producers and Disney Channel, an evolving fan base, and a surprise final season that no one saw coming, there are some things in Kim Possible that just make no sense. While some of the idiosyncrasies have solid answers lurking behind the scenes, some of this stuff remains just as confusing today as it was all the way back in 2002. Why did the show end on a cliffhanger? Is there really a Naco? And why couldn’t Drakken drink coffee? All this and more will be answered in 25 Things That Make No Sense About Kim Possible.
The Show Was Cancelled
Kim Possible is one of the most beloved Disney Channel shows of all time, cartoon or live action. So, it makes absolutely no sense that the show would be canceled after only three seasons. Disney added a fourth season at the request of fans before finally putting it on the chopping block for good (or at least until the 2019 live-action film), but the show was only in jeopardy in the first place because of a now-defunct rule that stated all shows would end after 65 episodes. Kim Possible was actually the last show to be subjected to this rule.
Kim Never Had A Successful Relationship Before Ron
Kim Possible wasn’t interested in Ron Stoppable romantically, like, at all. She finally realizes that the boy next door had been there all along during the Kim Possible movie So The Drama, but for 65 episodes, Kim was single only because of her own insecurity. She could battle supernatural villains and use a blow dryer as a grappling hook, but she could never talk to the mediocre dudes at her high school. Sure, everyone is human. Kim had to have some type of flaw. It’s just even more surprising that these guys never came up to her.
Shego Was Always A Sidekick
Even the series creators, Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, knew that Shego was way too competent to be satisfied on the sidelines. That’s probably why they made her the primary antagonist of So The Drama and the only Kim Possible villain to ever take the titular character down (albeit only for 71 minutes.) The only explanation for Shego’s role as the sidekick to an incompetent blueberry is that somewhere deep down she knew she didn’t want to actually destroy the world. Either that or she was just a little lazy.
Shego Had A Degree In Child Development
Making Shego’s character even more confusing, Kim Possible included an episode where Shego turned good, got a job at Kim’s school, and became a good friend to Kim. It was a tragic moment in all of our childhoods when Shego was permanently reverted to her evil state, especially since it was clear she remembered her time as Kim’s friend fondly. The weirdest part of all this, though, was how Shego managed to have the time or desire to get a college degree in child development. What was she planning on doing with that?
It Was Weirdly Violent For A Kids’ Show
A lot of evil villains try to take Kim’s life over the series’ 87 episodes and three movies in shockingly violent ways, especially considering that the Disney Channel is one of the most polished children’s television conglomerates. It also lets these high stakes seep into other plot-lines in the show, like when Kim and Shego seriously considered letting Ron and Dr. Drakken drown, when two aliens try to make Kim into a trophy, or that strange evil baby army. And that’s not even mentioning Gill Moss or Dr. Drakken’s piranha tank.
Ron Was More Successful As A Supervillain Than As A Hero
In the episode “Bad Boy,” Ron slowly absorbs all of Dr. Drakken’s evil, leaving Drakken as a good man and Ron as a villain bent on world domination. The creepy thing is that Ron is way more competent than Drakken at doing bad things. Ron is much more effective as a ne’er-do-well than he ever was as a sidekick, and it’s not just because of his storied knowledge of the best crime fighter in Middleton (and possibly the world.) To be fair, his goal was to reclaim the world’s supply of nacos, so not everything changed.
Kim Doesn’t Get Paid To Save The World
Shego gets paid to help Dr. Drakken. Global Justice and Dr. Betty presumably paid Team Impossible and Will Du. There’s even a realistic chance that Team Go got paid back in the day for their crime-fighting skills. So why was Kim doing her world-saving pro bono? Her original website, kimpossible.com, was set up as a way to find paid jobs, but the super important jobs that she’s found since were done free of charge. She even had to get a part-time job at Bueno Nacho. This doesn’t seem legal, Dr. Betty!
Neil Patrick Harris Auditioned For Ron
Will Friedle ultimately won the role of the loveable sidekick, but two very big Hollywood names were up for the Ron Stoppable title before Disney exes settled on the Boy Meets World alum. Neil Patrick Harris reportedly auditioned for the role, but what’s even more shocking is that John Cena (aka the man with the deepest voice in recorded human history) auditioned for Ron. Legend has it that John turned to wrestling because he couldn’t get voiceover work, which led to him winning a lot of a different type of title.
Anneliese Van Der Pol Had To Turn Down Kim To Be On A Different Disney Show
Running with the pattern of hiring actors that look eerily like their animated characters, Annalise van der Pol was offered the role of Kim before it was given to Christy Carlson Romano. Annalise supposedly had to turn down the role to take her position as the lovable best friend Chelsea in That’s So Raven. Kim Possible was a lot of work, so it makes sense that juggling the two would be difficult. Christy even had to miss her prom to work on the series. The eyebrow-raising comes from the tiny fact that Raven Symone (yes, that Raven) was the voice of Kim Possible’s Monique.
It Took Over A Decade To Make A Live-Action Movie
Kim Possible remains the Disney Channel’s highest-rated television series to this day, so it makes sense that they would want to attempt to capitalize on the KP nostalgia to earn some extra money. Waiting nearly two decades to make said TBT film was a bit of a bold move on their part, though. The series is old enough that their core audience is pretty unfamiliar with it, especially since it rarely runs in syndication on their channel, and the older audience was mostly miffed that Disney would risk messing up a classic.
Taco Bell Made A Naco
Okay, so maybe it isn’t called a naco per se, but Taco Bell has released at least two menu items weirdly similar to Ron’s multi-million dollar invention. The closest Taco Bell has come to a naco is the Grilled Stuffed Nacho, and Kim Possible fans definitely noticed. The most surprising part of all this is that Disney didn’t try to sue Taco Bell for stealing their intellectual property. That just seems like something that Disney would do under the table, especially if it was being talked about en masse online.
Drakken Wasn’t Allowed To Drink Coffee
A recurring joke in the series is that Drakken loves his chocolate milk, otherwise known as his “coco moo.” The widespread rumor that Drakken wasn’t allowed to say chocolate milk because of some brand partnership is false (he says it in one of the earliest episodes that the milk is introduced,) but restrictions placed by Disney execs did mean that Drakken wasn’t allowed to drink coffee. Drakken originally was meant to brew himself a nice old cup o’ joe, but rules meant his caffeine habit had to be replaced by something more kid-friendly, even if Drakken was a fully-grown adult.
Kim’s Super Spy Identity Isn’t A Secret
Kim’s secret identity was never a secret. She didn’t wear a mask, she didn’t change her last name, and she even left poor Ron’s entire identity go unprotected as well. She could have just screamed his social security number to disarm her enemies, it would have the same effect. Her heroics were an open secret at school, but no villain ever just showed up during her first period math class and offed her right there. Sure, that would have effectively ended the series, but it would have been much more realistic. Or, you know, she could just put on a mask.
There Were Aliens
Shego’s glowing hands and Drakken’s blue skin were a bit of an indicator that Middleton did not exist in the real world as we know it. The Mystical Monkey Power and widespread use of pagers also helped get that message across, but it was the appearance of two vaguely offensive aliens that really set Kim Possible over the edge. Is this The Powerpuff Girls or Totally Spies? If there were aliens this whole time, why did only these two bother to show up? And, more importantly, did they even have to be aliens in the first place?
The Government Is Totally OK With A Teenager Fighting Crime
Dr. Betty doesn’t have to pay for Kim to take out all of the United States’ enemies, so maybe her incentive was the huge sigh of relief coming from taxpayers’ wallets, but it seems a tad odd that the US government would let a teenager do their dirty work. Teens can’t vote, can barely drive, and can’t purchase a ton of various items, but they can fight? Actually, never-mind, this sounds exactly like the US government. At the very least, Kim’s profession violates child labor laws in a real way.
Ron Was A Multi-Millionaire
Easy come, easy go. Remember that episode where Ron becomes a multi-millionaire and starts dressing like K-Fed? No? Well, then. Ron is given nearly a hundred million dollars for inventing the naco, which is confusing in its own right. Find one item on Taco Bell’s menu that singlehandedly brought in nearly a hundred million dollars. Then try to find one “idea guy” who was given a multi-million dollar check for inventing a vague food concept with no patent. Ultimately, Kim lets Drakken and Shego steal all of his money because he was carrying all of it on his body. There’s no need to explain the myriad of things wrong with that sentence.
Bonnie Gave Cheer Captain Back To Kim
Bonnie was fun. She had a blind ambition to beat Kim that never quite panned out, but she still kept trying. She was mean because her sisters are awesome and she’s just half of each of their awesome, and she still manages to be at least as popular as Kim, who the show basically implies is next to Godliness. Bonnie even gets the cheer captain title away from Kim through a democratic vote, only to crack under pressure and return it within a week. That doesn’t sound like Bonnie at all.
There Was No Reason For Wade To Never Leave His Room
Case in point: Wade left his room. Many, many times. By the fourth season, it wasn’t exactly shocking to see Wade joining the fearsome threesome (Kim, Ron, and Rufus) on their adventures. So why was he always there? There was never a time Wade wasn’t at his computer ready to help. Even if he did end up being agoraphobic, which he wasn’t, he has parents who might ask him to eat dinner in the dining room as a person, and even kid geniuses need bathroom breaks. This was a little too convenient.
Naked Mole Rats Are Nothing Like Rufus
Naked mole rats really are as cool as Rufus. If they don’t have oxygen, they survive by just turning into plants, NBD. They’re called sand puppies. They’re always pregnant. It’s gross, but kind of cool. However, and this cannot be stated enough, naked mole rats cannot survive as pets. If someone tries to keep a naked mole rat as a pet like Ron, that naked mole rat will pass away. And it will be sad. And it will be your fault for not googling naked mole rats before buying them on the black market.
