An Open Letter to Disney: Please Bring Back Kim Possible

Dear Disney,

Even as a fully grown, bill and tax-paying adult I still faithfully watch cartoons any chance I get. Can you blame me? Being a responsible young adult isn’t easy. Sometimes I like to come home after working a 10-hour shift and sprawl out on the couch watching hour-long blocks of whatever cartoon is airing as I count the hours before I have to wake up and do it all again the next day. Great animation is like comfort food to me, it takes me back to a simpler time when I was just heeding warnings about the real world instead of actually walking out into it on a day to day basis. From the art, to the voice acting, to the stories, to the messages, to the winks at the older crowd, there is so much inside a good animated show that you have no choice but to respect all the work that goes into it. Then there are some shows (in any genre, mind you) that only come around once in a lifetime. You got your Looney Tunes, your Flintstones, your Charlie Browns, your Batmans, The Simpsons (Yes, this is my personal Top 5, by the way) — shows that changed the landscape of how we watch television and leave a lasting impression on us.

Years later I still remember the final episode of Kim Possible. Kim and Drakken getting abducted by Warmonga and Warhok the day of Kim’s graduation. Leading Ron and Shego to head after them to rescue their respective mates. The good guys win, the bad guys lose, Drakken turns to the side of good, Kim and Ron graduate Middleton High all before riding off into the sunset one last time. I always felt that the KP finale did a good job of wrapping things up and tying up loose ends, but every so often I think to myself “damn I miss this show.”

This show left an impression on me. Here you had an American teenage girl; the daughter of two world renowned doctors, older sisters of twin prodigies, who lived your average American life (school, cheerleading, boys) with the exception that at any given moment she could be halfway across the globe saving the world. You essentially had a Natasha Romonoff-esqe character living a Peter Parker-esqe life only she never went out with a mask and some costume, she didn’t fall into some vat of radioactive goo, and she didn’t keep her identity a secret or use some kind of alias. Kim Possible charged out each episode on these dangerous world-saving missions, out of a sense of responsibility.

One of the messages I took from the show was that it doesn’t matter how big your personal problems may seem, a meteor could plummet to Earth at any given moment so suck it up and tighten your bootstraps. Our generation has grown up now and in our place a new generation has come forth. One that could use the lessons from this show.

Let’s face it, adolescence is a difficult time for everybody, finding out who you are and questioning your purpose in this thing called life. It’s comforting to have characters on television that can mirror whatever you’re going through. While Kim was seemingly perfect on the surface she still faced problems that any normal teenager faced. She wasn’t old enough to drive so each mission she had to hitch a ride with one of the many people who owed her favors for saving their bacon. Her parents wouldn’t let her go on missions during school hours no matter how dire, she had problems in love, self-doubt and she was best friends/partners/lovers with one of the most dorkiest characters ever to grace the small screen. Yet all of this humanized her. It made her relatable to audiences, it made her a role model to young girls, it gave dorks a bit of hope. So Disney, in some shape or form, you have to bring this show back.

I know it’s a bit of a stretch — after all, the show’s creators originally planned to stop the series after their made for TV movie So The Drama aired after season three. Still they brought it back for season four out of loyalty to the fans, so I ask what’s stopping them from bringing it back one last time? There is still a fanbase for this show. A fanbase so loyal that they stay up until 4 am to watch reruns. In this digital age where everyone is either saving shows to watch later on their DVR or downloading off the internet, to stay up to watch something you seen a million times before speaks volumes. So Disney, whether you reboot, continue, or adapt for the big screen, now is the time to give fans what they want. Bring back Team Possible!

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