''The Nutty Professor'' (also known as '' The Nutty Professor: Facing the Fear'' and ''The Nutty Professor II'') is a 2008 computer-animated

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film. It is the sequel to the 1963 live-action Jerry Lewis 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 a 1886 Gothic 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 his old ...

'' 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 a ...

. The film is produced by

Rainmaker Entertainment Mainframe Studios is a Canadian computer animation company 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 ...

and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

and distributed by

Genius Products Genius Products (also known as Genius Entertainment) was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book about the ...

. Lewis reprises his role of Julius Kelp and produces the film.

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as an actor in the early 1990s at the age of five with his first televised appearance on ''Hom ...

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

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

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, '' Hero 108'' as Lin Chung, '' L ...

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 computer animation company 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 ...

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 references 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." 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 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