My Life as a Teenage Robot

This is one of my favorite shows on Nickelodeon. It's kind of a cross between Astroboy and Powerpuff Girls. It's funny, the animation is pretty good and Jenny (X-J9) is real pretty for a robot. Though the writing can use a little work here and there, it is still just on it's first season. If you've only seen it's "Oh Yeah cartoons" appearance, then you haven't really seen the show, It's REALLY IMPROVED! As hard as it is, don't label this as another cruddy Nicktoon. Though a lot of them are pretty lame, this one certainly is not. It's so good, I've already got all the episodes on tape. (But that's mostly because I like Jenny so much.) this at least deserves a chance.

I've seen the pilot of this cartoon many times on Nick's cartoon anthology program, "Oh Yeah! Cartoons", and it has easily been my favorite from that show. I remember seeing that first six minute short about Jenny the teenage robot torn being the world saving failsafe her scientist mother created her as or her own desire to be a normal teenager and hang out with other kids, and thinking what a great series it would make. I'm more than ecstatic to learn that it will in fact be a series, and am greatly looking forward to it. The pilot episode had great animation and character design reminiscent of Cartoon Network's best work from a couple years ago, before then began producing shows with soulless digital painting techniques. I can only hope that the `Teenage Robot' creators stick to their great style.

I'd never really heard of My Life as a Teenage Robot, but it caught my eye stumbling across channels one day. I stayed tuned as the episodes kept rolling, and it struck me - this show is really good!

The plot's pretty simple - mad scientist Dr. Wakeman programmed XJ-9 to defend the Earth, but after being discovered by her human neighbors, Brad and Tuck, "Jenny" decides she'd much rather fit in with humans - but has to get over some of the social hurdles of being a 6 foot-tall, steel-plated, heavily armed war machine.

The show does really well with its premise. Even at their extremes, the characters are all likable, and have some great voice talent to back them up. The pacing is very relaxed, without a lot of the exhausting hyperactivity you see in a lot of newer shows.

The animation has a very traditional style. The characters are a mix of '60s Hanna-Barbera, Astro Boy, and Felix the Cat. The backgrounds look hand-painted with abstract Art Deco and Populuxe designs. And despite being a scifi-themed show, there's none of the conspicuous CGI common to classics Futurama and Invader Zim.

I was just getting started with this show when I found out it had been canceled for a couple of years, which is a shame because it still seemed to have a lot of energy in it. I'd call it an underrated classic for fans of scifi and animation, and probably good enough for Nick's intended audience, too.

Not only is this wonderful cartoon one of the classic superhero shows that we all love, but it also explores the life of a teenage robot who, like all of us, experiences the awkward situations that come along with adolescence. A show that children and teenagers can truly identify with, because they go through the same situations as the main character, Jenny Wakeman, does every day.

Unfortunately however, this show is currently "offline" and only reruns are played on the Nicktoons network. This is believed to be due to ratings and reviews. However, no user rating will truly be correct if you aren't the intended demographic of the show, be your review positive or negative. This show was meant, like many other television cartoons out there, to bring smiles to children's faces, not adults or people who review things for a living. This show was funny, cute and was accompanied by morals and principles that brought fun and learning together, and Nicktoons's popularity has sunken greatly due to its removal of nice shows like this and has thus lost hundreds, even thousands of viewers. This is why Nicktoons should once again broadcast My Life as a Teenage Robot, and go for a fourth season, because this show wasn't meant for being submitted to the scrutinizing eye of reviewers, but to shine its light of knowledge and fun on the children and teenagers that enjoyed this cartoon before it was shut down.

So far, Nick's current line-up is pure horror (The Fairy Oddparents, As Told By Ginger, All Grown Up) but only one of them makes an exception: enters the Blue Girl, XJ-9 from the future! (or should I say retro-future in this case!)

My Life As A Teenage Robot is a surprisingly good Nick Toon that tells the story of a girl robot who saves the day by fighting evil alien invaders and other menacing villains from all sides of the world and the universe (hey, that probably sounds like a Powerpuff Girl rip-off but Rob Renzetti, who creates this show, has also worked on several PPG episodes before, so I abide by that fact) while facing challenges as an ordinary teenager in real-life situations! And if you think the word 'teenager' will often lead to concussion that the show will feature head-banging rock songs and typical teenage punks, think again! TR's artwork and background designs are heavily inspired by classic cartoons of the 20s (think of it as an Oswald cartoon in its newer form), out-of-date anime and even classic buildings of the Golden Years while maintaining the very essence that makes every hit show (Samurai Jack, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, PPG) an instant classic.

But that's not all, folks! Every episode is as sweet as the rest, thanks to its inventive ideas, fluid animation (the best examples include Jenny's transformations and even in one scene where Jenny outfashions her rivals by revealing her fancy costumes, in which I personally think is the best I've seen in recent years), wonderful voice acting and colorful character personalities! The music is, unlike the usual pop songs that are often heard in teenage-themed shows like As Told By Ginger, surprisingly pleasant and is predominantly reminiscent to the ones heard in Tartakovsky/McCracken shows, in addition to the cool techno music.

To sum it up, MLAATR is cute, funny, unexpected and a real blast to watch from start to finish. It is hard to underestimate a Nick Toon like this one, especially when you have no idea what the Blue Girl has up her sleeves!