''The Nutty Professor'' (fully titled as '' The Nutty Professor 2: Facing the Fear'') is a 2008 animated

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy film. It is the sequel to the 1963 live-action

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

comedy of the same name and based on the story ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between ...

'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

. The film is produced by

Rainmaker Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian animation studio owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and John Gra ...

and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...

and distributed by Genius Products. Lewis reprises his role of Julius Kelp and produces the film.

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

provides the voice of Harold Kelp, Julius' grandson. The film was released direct-to-video on November 25, 2008.

Plot

Harold Kelp is a young inventor. He is frequently attacked in his visions by his fear, which takes the form of a group of burly dodgeball players as well as a black monster. After encountering an angry mob involved in his bad inventions, Harold is informed by his robot assistant, Robin that he will be sent away to a science academy where his grandfather, Julius Kelp has taken up a duty as Professor. Upon his arrival, Harold befriends a duo of misfits, Zeke and Ned who welcomes him into their dorm, has a run in with a bully named Brad and meets a beautiful girl named Polly McGregor whom he becomes enamoured with. Wanting to impress Polly, Harold gets his hands on his grandfather's secret elixir, the Secrets of Love, which he believes will help him win her affection. He drinks it, unleashing his cooler, hipper alter ego Jack, who causes mischief. Jack starts out popular with the students, but his behavior and ego get out of hand. Also, because of Jack, Harold is failing classes. When he learns of Harold's problem, Julius transforms into Buddy Love to teach Harold to be himself. Later on, Harold's fear is accidentally brought to life by one of Julius' inventions, but he manages to defeat it by facing it. Jack says good-bye to Harold and disappears into him, leaving Harold to share a kiss with Polly.

Voice cast

as Harold Kelp/Jack *

as Prof. Julius Kelp/Buddy Love * Tabitha St. Germain as Robin *

Britt Irvin Brittney Elizabeth Irvin (born November 10, 1984) is a Canadian actress who has also done voiceover work for Ocean Productions. Irvin is best known for playing Katie in '' Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular'' and its sequel '' Scary Godmothe ...

as Polly McGregor * Logan McPherson as Zeke/Waiter/Fear/Ned *

Andrew Francis Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, '' Monster Rancher'' as Genki, '' ...

as Brad/Tad *

Brian Drummond Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...

as Dean Von Wu * Danielle Lewis as Suzy Perkins

Production

On August 8, 2006,

Mainframe Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian animation studio owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and John Gr ...

announced

acquired the rights to produce an animated version of ''The Nutty Professor'', which was distributed direct-to-video by Genius Products Inc. The film was produced under the working title ''The Nutty Professor 2: Facing the Fear''. There are several homages to the original film, including the place where Zeke and Ned perform, called "The Pit." In the original film, the nightclub is called "The Purple Pit". While under his Buddy Love alias, Julius compares Harold's School life to a 63

Cutlass Supreme The Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is a mid-size car produced by Oldsmobile between 1966 and 1997. It was positioned as a premium offering at the top of the Cutlass range. It began as a trim package, developed its own roofline, and rose during the ...

, the 63 is a reference to the year 1963 in which the original film was released. The cast includes Danielle Lewis, the daughter of Jerry Lewis, who cameos as the voice of Harold's neighbor, Suzy Perkins.

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave it a rating of 2/5, saying "Parents need to know that ''The Nutty Professor'' -- also called ''The Nutty Professor II: Facing the Fear'' -- doesn't have much to do with the Jerry Lewis classic, even though Lewis does provide the voice of Harold's grandfather. There's lots of bullying, and Harold becomes addicted to the chemical formula he develops. The film is less about facing fear than being overwhelmed by terrifying situations -- stick to the original if you're looking for a good movie for kids."

References

External links