Codename: Kids Next Door


Codename: Kids Next Door is an American animated television series created by Mr. Warburton for Cartoon Network, and the thirteenth of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The series follows the adventures of a group of five 10-year-old children who operate from a high-tech tree house, fighting against adult and teen villains with advanced 2×4 technology. Using their codenames, they are Sector V, part of a global organization called the Kids Next Door.
The series came about as the result of a viewer's poll by Cartoon Network. It ran from 2002 to 2008, with six seasons and 78 episodes. Two TV movies were broadcast: Operation: Z.E.R.O., which aired in 2006, and Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S., which aired as the series finale in 2008. A special half-hour crossover episode with fellow Cartoon Network series, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, aired in 2007.
Two video games, ' and ', were released based on the series. A handful of other Cartoon Network-branded games featuring the characters were also released. The series has also seen releases on DVD, both as part of Codename: Kids Next Door and as additions to other Cartoon Network compilation DVDs.

Overview

Synopsis

The show revolves around a group of five 10-year old kids, using codenames Numbers 1 through 5, who are the main home operatives of what is known as Sector V, which is part of a worldwide espionage-style organization called the Kids Next Door. Their mission is to fight crimes against kids, many of which are willingly committed by "evil" adults, senior citizens, teenagers, and other children. Numbuh 1 is the bald, astute, no-nonsense, super-skilled British-American boy Nigel Uno, leader of Sector V. Numbuh 2 is the overweight, intellectual, aviation enthusiastic, nerdy German-American boy Hoagie Gilligan Jr. Numbuh 3 is the quirky, happy-go-lucky Japanese-American girl Kuki Sanban. Numbuh 4 is the short-tempered, often irrational, fighting-prone Australian-American boy Wallabee Beatles. Numbuh 5 is the intelligent, laid-back, tomboyish African-American girl Abigail Lincoln.
Following a period of training, every member of the Kids Next Door chooses a number or alphanumeric code and is sent to a "sector" that acts as their home base. The sector headquarters, like some of the organization's bases and facilities, are tree houses, with both treehouse and the tree it's in being of ludicrous proportions, and often suited to their environment. This includes a base constructed beneath the Arctic ice shelf, and a base built into a large pine tree. The main headquarters of the Kids Next Door is a treehouse Moon Base. Kids follow their oath of protecting other kids as well as battling adulthood until the age of 13 when they are "decommissioned", a process of wiping their memories of any past KND activity and warping their minds. Such a practice has inevitably led to the creation of many KND villains who escaped decommissioning.
The practice of strict decommissioning at age 13 was later on revealed to be subject to exceptions: kids who have proved to be exceptional agents are offered the chance to carry on in KND as spies infiltrating the teen organization. Decommissioning has also proved reversible due to a "re-commissioning" module used four times in the series.
KND agents utilize a vast array of mechanical, electronic gadgets, weapons, and machinery, collectively referred to as 2x4 technology. The KND's 2x4 technology was originally conceived as being constructed from an assortment of objects, mostly including those that are found in common households; a theme their technology continued to adhere to. However, as the series progressed, the kind of objects their technology was constructed from became bigger, consisting of things such as large vehicles and small buildings. Not only that, but the complexity of their technology, such as their defensive weaponry and means of transportation, advanced to such absurd levels as to be considered science fiction, despite all of it still being constructed from nothing but said an assortment of objects. Some KND operatives also wear helmets, with some similar to kabuto or samurai helmets, an example being Supreme Leader Numbuh 362's helmet.

Storylines

The episodes are titularly presented as the missions of the members of Sector V in the Kids Next Door, denoted as "Operation:" followed by an acronym that can give viewers clues as to what each mission is about. Most episodes are divided into two parts, each a different mission, while some episodes consist of two directly linked parts with one mission. Usually the episodes have very little continuity with each other, although occasionally an episode will have a reference to at least one earlier episode and/or lead to consequences in later ones. Season Five's "Operation: O.U.T.B.R.E.A.K." is a direct continuation of another episode, and Season Six's "Operation: S.C.I.E.N.C.E." leads into "Operation: A.M.I.S.H." while another pair of Season Six episodes; "Operation: R.E.C.E.S.S." and "Operation: H.A.M.S.T.E.R.", occur simultaneously, the latter showing what sort of thing transpires while the team is away.
Stories in the earlier episodes were often about typical childhood problems, but magnified and exaggerated. As the series progressed, a more complex and continuous storyline developed. The final season revolved around a mysterious splinter cell within the KND itself observing Numbuh One for an unknown assignment, which was concluded in the series finale Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S.
The show frequently contains references to many films and other television series, especially in the later seasons, such as Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Planet of the Apes, Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings, Godzilla, The Terminator, Spider-Man, Dragon Ball Z, James Bond, Star Trek, Transformers, Harry Potter, Rambo, Alien, The Matrix, X-Men, Predator, RoboCop, Men in Black, Doctor Who, Indiana Jones, and ; with James Bond, Star Trek, and Star Wars being the most prominently referenced in the series.

Production

created a pilot episode, titled "Diseasy Does It", for another planned show, Kenny and the Chimp, which was to be produced by Hanna-Barbera. Among the planned recurring characters for Kenny and the Chimp was a group of rebellious children known as "Those Kids Next Door", who carried out their mischief from a house next to Kenny's home, and frequently caused trouble for him. The plot-line was then changed to focus on the group of kids alone, and later, the kids battling adulthood. In 2001, the show's pilot episode, "No P in the OOL", which was produced at Cartoon Network Studios, won a Cartoon Network viewer's poll, and as a result, Codename: Kids Next Door was greenlit to become a series, while Kenny and the Chimp was not greenlit by the channel. The character Professor XXXL, that appeared in "Diseasy Does It", became a recurring character in Codename: Kids Next Door after Kenny and the Chimp was not picked up for a series. Despite this, Kenny and Chimpy did make a cameo in "No P In The OOL".
The show was originally supposed to be titled the Kids Next Door, but "Codename" was added, when the crew discovered that a rival network, mainly the Fox Family Channel, developed a TV show titled Pigs Next Door. Codename: Kids Next Door was the most popular TV series produced at Curious Pictures, who previously did the work on Sheep in the Big City at Cartoon Network.

Characters

Main characters

There are six seasons, each with 13 episodes, adding up to 78 episodes altogether. There have been two TV movies, the first taking place between the second and third episodes of season 6, and the second at the end of season 6, which served as the series finale.

Reception

Awards and nominations

In 2005, the series won the Best Television Series for Children Award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival for "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E.", which was written by Mr. Warburton and Mo Willems and storyboarded by Guy Moore and Quack Leard.
The following year, "Operation: L.I.C.O.R.I.C.E." won the Festival's Collideascope Award for Television Animation for Children.

Broadcast

Home media

Two DVDs in two volumes were released of the series, totaling sixteen episodes by Warner Home Video. The entire series is available on digital purchase in six seasons. On May 30, 2019, the entire series, with the exception of the "Operation: Z.E.R.O." TV movie, was added to the Boomerang streaming service and its VRV channel.

In other series or works

On an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy entitled "Sickly Sweet", a scene depicts Grim watching Codename: Kids Next Door. Also, in Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure, Numbuh Three makes a cameo as Grim's replacement. Also, in the MAD episode "Taking Nemo / Once Upon a Toon", Numbuh One cameos as one of the cartoon characters who has forgotten his identity. The show was also referenced in the New Boyz song "Tough Kids." In the 2004 film Sideways, the show is playing on Miles' mother's television set. Numbuh 5 made a cameo in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus".

Publications

Stories featuring the Kids Next Door have been featured in the comic series Cartoon Cartoons, Cartoon Network Block Party, and Cartoon Network Action Pack. The characters are also featured in the books 2x4 Technology Handbook and Sooper Secrets and Boomerang Bloopers, both by Alison Wilgus.

Trading cards

A was launched by Wizards of the Coast in July 2005.

Video games

Two video games were released for the series: ' in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance and ' in 2005 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Several browser games were also released on the Cartoon Network website. The MMORPG style game Operation: B.E.S.T. was playable for a brief time in 2005, but was shut down shortly thereafter.
In ', Numbuhs One through Five, and villains Father, Toiletnator, and Stickybeard appear as non-playable characters. KNDefense armor and 2x4 Tech weapons are available for players, Sector V's treehouse can be explored, and KND S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s can be used for transport. In ', Father and Numbuh 1 are playable, Sector V Treehouse and the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. are arenas, and Numbuh 2 and Stickybeard are assist characters. In the console versions, Toiletnator is a playable character, Numbuh 4 is an assist character, and KND Moonbase is an arena.

Possible revival and possible spin-off

On January 31, 2008, during a Q&A session on LiveJournal, when Tom Warburton was asked if "Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S." was in fact the true finale of Codename: KND, Warburton said that it was not necessarily meant to be the finale, stating that a revival could be made in the future.
Warburton had unsuccessfully pitched a Galactic: Kids Next Door spin-off several times to Cartoon Network executives, and at one point he considered to make a TV movie as a pilot for the potential spin-off series. Following having any response, Warburton eventually decided to create a pitch that would be distributed over the internet pseudonymously in order to try and get the series approved with help from fans. Warburton wrote the script and collaborated with others who had worked on the series to produce an animatic-style pitch. On March 19, 2015, a video was posted on YouTube of what appears to be an animatic of a darker sequel series featuring Numbuh 1 and the Galactic KND, entitled Galactic: Kids Next Door. On April 1, 2015, a fan-made petition was started on Change.org to make G:KND a real series, which was also signed by Warburton himself and by voice actor Dee Bradley Baker. Rat Animation also showed interest in the project. Warburton later noted that the executives at Cartoon Network had noticed the response but were not interested in a continuation to KND, though he remained confident to get the sequel approved in the future.