When Pants Attack

When Pants Attack
The title card for When Pants Attack.
Episode	1
Season	1
Airdate (US)	July 20, 2002 August 30, 2002 (Rerun)
Invention(s)	Micro-chip
Previous	Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Next	Normal Boy

When Pants Attack is the premiere episode of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.

Plot

The episode opens with Cindy's dog Humphrey standing on an empty street. Then, Jimmy enters the scene, walking past the dog in his robo-walker. Jimmy ignores him and walks past. Jimmy then starts a conversation with Carl, who is revealed to be sitting on top of Jimmy's Robo-walker. Carl asks why he is wearing protective equipment, to which Jimmy reminds him that he will be testing Jimmy’s new invention. Carl is still confused, so Jimmy then tells him that all of his questions will be answered once he hits the red button on the Robo-walker. Carl looks at the button and observes that the picture of a boy being ejected from a seat on the button looks similar to him.

Carl then presses the button and is ejected from his seat, as the picture depicted. When he is ejected, however, his pants are left behind, which Jimmy notices. Carl is shot into the sky in his tighty whities. When Jimmy points it out to his friend, however, he is reminded that he needs to pick up the pants he has left on the floor of his room and rushes to do so.

Despite his attempt to get home before his mother noticed the mess in his room, the scene immediately changes to show her scolding him for his messy room. She rhetorically asks how many times she has told him before to pick up his pants. Jimmy, however, gives her an answer, despite the question being rhetorical, by calling on Goddard. Goddard then counted up the amount of times that Jimmy had been asked to pick up his pants, which turned out to be "54 times to date". Judy then declares to Jimmy that she will no longer be lenient. Carl then lands in a tree by Jimmy's window. Carl says hi to Judy, and Judy greets Carl and appears to be oblivious to the fact that he is in his tighty whities. Judy continues scolding Jimmy, saying that he will not be allowed to go to the movies with his friends after school on the following day. Jimmy then complains that he has to go see the movie, but his mother refuses to change his punishment, even when he explains how he will be shunned from civilized society. His mother leaves his room, reminding him that "pants don't pick themselves up."

Jimmy standing in his messy room.

Jimmy then ponders his mother's statement, while Carl continues to look on. Jimmy then tells Carl that he thinks that his situation is "the beginning of a beautiful experiment". Jimmy also seems oblivious to Carl's tighty whities. Carl then falls from where he is perched, although Jimmy does not seem to notice.

The scene then changes to Jimmy working on a nanochip. He then explains to Carl, who had made it inside of Jimmy’s room, that with the nanochip installed in his pants, they will be able to put themselves away. Carl then starts talking about how he likes nanochips, as he seems to think that Jimmy said "nacho chip" rather than nanochip. Jimmy then corrects his friend, explaining that nanochips are microscopic super-computers capable of artificial intelligence. Carl then asks Jimmy why he doesn't just pick up the pants himself. Jimmy then explains that he is a scientist and that he has more important things to do. His friend then enthusiastically explains how picking up pants is “easy and fun.” Carl then continues to sing a song he made up to help him enjoy picking up his own pants. Jimmy looks on to his singing, shocked, before reminding Carl that "The Wonderful World of Llamas" is going to be on television soon. According to Carl, that night’s episode was "Bahama Llama". Carl then leaves Jimmy, still singing his song.

The camera then reveals Jimmy's father standing in the doorway, with his fingers in his ears, due to Carl's singing. Hugh then addresses Jimmy, saying that he wanted to have a discussion with him about Jimmy’s pant’s issue. He then begins telling his son that there was a time when he-himself-used to leave his pants on the floor. He continues the story by telling him that one day he picked the pants up and that the rest is history. Jimmy is shown to be deeply uninterested in his father's story, especially as his father continues to talk about the founding fathers of the United States and other famous figures in relation to not picking up pants. Hugh then said that he was glad to have cleared up that topic for his son and leaves. Jimmy then declares to Goddard that he will never pick up pants again.

The scene changes to show Jimmy explaining his new invention to his parents. He explains how he has installed the nanochip inside his pants’ pockets, and that they will now pick themselves up. His father is impressed and excited by the invention, while his mother seems worried and uncertain. Hugh believed that the positive outcome of the invention is due to his earlier talk with Jimmy. Jimmy then suggests that his punishment of not going to the movies could then be reconsidered, as his invention was able to pick up his pants. His mother complies, and recalls his punishment, much to Jimmy’s pleasure. His father then declares that they should have pie.

The camera then shows that, once Jimmy had fallen asleep, there was a bright light coming from his closet, and that there were sparks coming from his pants.

The scene then changes to show Cindy standing outside of Lindbergh Elementary School, writing in a small notebook. Libby then walks up and greets her. Cindy then greets her friend and then reads aloud what she has written in her notebook: "Monday 7:59 am: No sign of Neutron." She then says she can begin to give her report in peace. Libby then calls her "one obsessed chick".

At this moment, Sheen walks up to Libby and Cindy, rhetorically asking them why that day was different than any other day. He then answers the questions, declaring that it was because he had a brand new Ultra Lord. Cindy then comments that he brings an Ultra Lord action figures to school every day. Sheen then corrects her, saying that the action figure that he had brought that day was “Ultra Lord action figure #3 with factory gender error.” He then presses the button on his action figure, and it says the phrase "Should I wear this dress to the prom?"

Then, as Carl is walking up to the three, Cindy declares that they should now welcome "geek number two, the static cling king". Carl - who had two socks stuck to his clothes - then reached the group and asked them to guess who had gotten to do his own laundry that morning. Cindy answers him, saying that he - Carl - had gotten to do his own laundry, and Carl declares her correct. Sheen the commented that he wished to have a balloon to stick to Carl. Sheen then attempts to touch the socks on his friend, but that static electricity shocks him.

At that moment, Jimmy, flies over the group, landing in front of them, with his jetpack. Cindy then accuses him of cutting herself and those behind her, in order to enter the school first. Jimmy ignores her and asks if any of them wanted a ride on his “new solar powered jetpack backpack.” Cindy then replies negatively, saying that she would rather eat a snail. The jet pack then flies out of Jimmy’s hand, and does several circles in the air above the schoolyard before returning and crashing in front of the group, much to Jimmy’s horror. Cindy then calls it "another Neutron special".

The scene then changes to the class beginning for the day. Mrs. Fowl asks is everyone had their reports ready. Cindy immediately answered that she had her report ready and declares that it will be the best, directing the second part of the comment at Jimmy. She is then shown giving her report, which was on Origami. She tells the class that she will be making the most difficult of all of the origami sculptures, a snow monkey. As she begins, Jimmy begins to correct her, saying that paper-folding originated in China. This makes Cindy angry, and she adds a new element to her description of what she will be making, and she does the same every time Jimmy mentions a new fact that she hadn’t. After they had gone back and forth several times, Mrs. Fowl is shown to be surprised, saying that she was unaware that Jimmy and Cindy were working together on the project, and Cindy replies that they weren't.

The camera then shows Jimmy’s pants beginning to act strangely, as sparks continue to come from them and they are causing him to stand up and move around. Jimmy then says that he "senses a disturbance in [his] pants". He then continues to move about the room due to the nanochip in his pants. Then, once the pants had made him arrive upside down in the doorway, the pants cease to act strangely, and he falls.

Cindy yelling at Jimmy due to his interruption of her report.

Cindy is then shown yelling at Jimmy outside of the school, presumably after school, with Carl and Sheen watching in the background. He tries to explain what happened, but as he does so, his pants begin to act strangely. This time, his pants also send a shockwave of some kind to Cindy, Sheen, and Carl’s pants also. Then, when all of their pants are acting strangely, Cindy tells Jimmy - as he is trying to revert the nanochip's control - that he has five seconds to explain what is happening. Jimmy then replies that it would take five hours, while he desperately attempts to fix the problem by disabling the nanochip. After a short period of time attempting to disable the nanochip, Jimmy tells his friends that everything is under control. But, just as he does so, his pants fall down revealing his underwear. Carl, Sheen, and Cindy - along with onlookers - begin to laugh at his misfortune. Seconds later, however, the same thing happens to Carl, Sheen, and Cindy. There pants are shown to be running away from them.

The four friends are left without pants, standing outside of the school. Carl, left in his tighty whities, comments that it may be the "most embarrassing day of [their] young lives". Sheen then says that, on the positive side, he could show them his "Ultra Lord" underwear. Cindy, left in her polka-dot panties then threatens Jimmy with the "wrath of Vortex". Jimmy says that he will take a "rain check" and tells Carl and Sheen to follow him to the lab. Cindy looks on angrily and upset as they leave her alone in her panties, asking what she is supposed to do. Carl responds by singing the folding and hanging song in his tighty whities.

Everyone's pants run away.

The scene then changes to Hugh feeding sushi to Judy in their living room. Carl, Sheen, and Jimmy then enter, to which Judy immediately addresses their lack of pants. Jimmy makes up that excuse that it is a "new fashion movement" to which Judy replies that they should go put on pants as it "looks ridiculous". Hugh finds the "fashion movement" acceptable, saying that all kids have crazy fashion fads. Hugh then begins talking about how one of the greatest memories of his youth was his bell bottom pants. He then declares that he "digs the no-pants look".

Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen are then shown in the lab, as Jimmy explains that, with Goddard watching the town from the sky, he can locate their pants. Due to his ability to follow the pants' whereabouts, he is able to make the assumption that his pants are seeking to control more pants. His theory is confirmed when the pants are seen entering the "House of Blue Pants", a store that contains over a million pairs of pants, according to Jimmy. Jimmy then realizes that if his pants have control over that many other pants, then the world may end up being ruled by pants.

The friends are then shown taking off in Jimmy's hovercar, after Jimmy declares that it is time to save the world. After a short while, the friends arrive near a park, where they find their pants. Carl then asks if he can play with his pants, but Jimmy replies negatively, saying that the pants are pure evil. Jimmy then says that the problem can be taken care of with the use of the "pant eliminator". He then uses his invention to capture the pants of Cindy, Carl and Sheen. Jimmy's pants, however, are able to escape and enter the "House of Blue Pants". The pants then block the doorway, causing Jimmy to not be able to open the doorway and stop the pants from gathering followers. Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen look on in horror-save Sheen, who seems untroubled-as the pants take control of millions of others. Cindy, still in her panties, then approached the group, declaring that she wanted her pants that moment or Jimmy would pay. Jimmy then told her that they had a bigger problem at the moment.

The pants are then shown in large groups, plotting to take control over the world. The group watches in horror, except Sheen, who compares it to Ultra Lord. Cindy then yells at Jimmy, telling him to do something about the problem. Jimmy then decides that he doesn’t have enough time to return to the lab, and that he would have to defeat the pants with what he already had on hand.

Cindy fights off pants

Meanwhile, Judy and Hugh notice the pants perching on top of buildings and telephone poles, and Judy compares it to "The Birds" while Hugh connects it to Jimmy's earlier invention. They then are shown with looks of horror at the idea that the ordeal is their son’s fault.

By this time, Jimmy is show walking out of "Lucky Joe's Cleaners" on his Robo-walker, taking several materials with him to defeat the pants, such as fabric softener. Jimmy is then shown defeating large groups of pants at a tie while Carl cowers in fear, Cindy attempts to help, and Sheen stay obvious to the situation until he is accidentally hit with fabric softener. While Jimmy is continuing to defeat pants, Carl comments to Cindy that Jimmy "does some pretty amazing things" but Cindy denies the possibility, saying that she could do the same if "her head was the size of Texas".

Meanwhile, Hugh is shown attempting to interrogate his own pants. Then, he is called over by Judy, who is watching the news. The Newscaster reports that the town’s only hope of stopping the pants invasion is "a small boy with a large head and an outrageously tall hair-do". Judy is shocked, and Hugh comments that the picture of Jimmy on the screen "looks familiar". Judy then declares that they are going downtown to get Jimmy.

The scene changes to show Jimmy worrying that his pants are growing stronger by the second and that he has run out of weapons. He then has a brain blast that tells him to use static cling to defeat his pants. He then uses a rug from "Rug World" to gather enough static cling to disable the nanochip in his pants. The onlookers then cheer, as that defeat all of the other pants that had been controlled by Jimmy’s pants.

Cindy then confronts Jimmy, seemingly kindly, telling him that he must think of himself as a big hero. He attempts to reply, but she cuts him off by yelling that it was his fault in the first place. She then says that she is watching him and walks away.

Cindy reminds Jimmy it was all his fault in the first place

Sheen then approaches Jimmy, saying that he was speechless and still using his Ultra Lord action figure. Carl then says that he missed his pants, which he now is wearing again. Jimmy is also wearing his pants again. Sheen then asks if they can go to the movies, and Jimmy agrees and begins to challenge them to run there when his parents show up.

Judy forbids Jimmy from going anywhere until he picks up all of the pants that are scattered around Retroville. The camera then pans out to show many pants scattered along the road and sidewalk. Jimmy then yells out "mom" in frustration and the episode ends.

Gallery

An artwork of When Pants Attack.

the most embarrassing moment of their short lives.

Carl, Sheen, and Cindy first noticing they are in their pants are gone

People laughing at Jimmy's underwear

Quotes

• Jimmy: Aw, but Mom! It's the new science fiction, kung fu, action, buddy-comedy sequel to last summer's box office smash based off an old TV show we've never heard of! I have to see it!
• Hugh: What about Luke Skywalker? I tell you, the force was with that guy's pants!
• Sheen: Hey, guys! Why is today like no other day, you ask? Hm, hm, hm? Because I've brought a new Ultralord action figurrrrrrrrrrr-'*breathes*'-rrrrrrrrre!
• Cindy: You bring one of those every day, UltraLoser.
• Sheen: Well, well, Miss Maiden of Wrongness, evidentially you are not aware that this is the new Ultra Lord Action Figure Number Three with Factory Gender Error! '*presses the button*'
• Ultralord: *in a teenybopper's voice* Um, like, should I wear this dress to the prom?
• Cindy: Origami, the ancient art of Japanese paper folding. I will be making the most difficult of all origami sculptures, a snow monkey.
• Jimmy: Actually, paper folding originated in China...
• Cindy: riding a flying dragon...
• Jimmy: in the second ..
• Cindy: while drinking tea...
• Jimmy: and was brought to Japan...
• Cindy: on a ladder...
• Jimmy: in the sixth century.
• Cindy: *yelling* in December!
• Miss Fowl: Cindy, I didn't know you and Jimmy were doing your report together.
• Cindy: *yelling* We're not!

Hugh and Judy are sitting in the dining room flirting. Hugh holds sushi on his fork and is playing with it up Judy's arm.

• Hugh: How about a little kissy for a little fishy? (They both laugh flirtatiously) Well I was a fishy, but now I am more of a raw slice of fish flesh. Better hurry! Slowly the bateria will set in and I will be unfit to touch let alone kiss! (This totally ruins the moment for Judy and she deeply sighs in annoyance and rolls her eyes)

After Jimmy tells Carl and Sheen that his pants are heading toward the House of Blue Pants:

• Carl: Oh I love that place! It use to be the House of Blue Laderhosen but of course that appeals to a very small market.

• Carl: Hey Jimmy! Can I go play with my pants?
• Jimmy: No, no, no Carl! Your pants may look playful now but deep down in their pockets they're pure evil!
• Sheen: Oh no! I left some gum in my pants pocket. Is it evil too? If I chew it later will I be evil? IF I BLOW A BUBBLE WILL IT BE AN EVIL BUBBLE!!!!
• Carl:Uh, Jimmy! I know you're kinda busy, but, uh...HELP!!!

Watch Episode

Trivia

• This episode is the only time in the franchise where Sheen's mom is mentioned. Not counting the movie's PC video game. 
• This is one of the three episodes not included on iTunes or Hulu. 
• Starting with this episode, Cindy now wears a green halter, khaki pants, a single ponytail and her eyelids are now grayish-purple, Jimmy has jeans and sneakers, Carl no longer wears suspenders and Sheen's sleeves are lighter. 
• Go, Jimmy Jimmy, a song from the movie plays in this episode. 
• Jimmy's voice becomes deeper and more clear starting with this episode. 
• Carl and Sheen's underwear are first shown in this episode.
• This and The N-Men are the only episodes where Cindy's panties are exposed.
• It's revealed that Cindy wears pink panties with red polka-dots.
• This is the only episode of the series to have a regular title card.
• Jimmy states in this episode that he is right 89.23% of the time.
• While Libby appears at the start of the episode on the school steps, she is not seen again in the episode.
• The Ultra Lord with factory gender error figure relates to a prank made by Barbie Liberation Organization in 1993, in which voice chips for a Talking Barbie doll were switched with those for a Talking G.I. Joe figure.
• This episode is almost like Night of the Dolphin because the dolphins attack too.
• When Jimmy fires fabric softener, they make the sound when photon torpedoes are fired in Star Trek: The Original Series.
• Hugh mentioned Luke Skywalker.
• Judy mentions Alfred Hitcock's movie The Birds.
• Jimmy's battle with his pants is a parody of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (complete with sound alike music).
• When Carl uses signs to talk is a reference to Looney Tunes.
• This is the first time we see Sheen's underwear. The next time we see his undies will be 40 episodes later in Monster Hunt.

Goofs

• When Sheen says "The pants are attacking!", the captions say "The pants were attacking!"
• During Jimmy's Brain Blast in this episode, it shows Sheen touching Carl and getting zapped with static electricity. It is unknown how he had this image in his head, as he was not there at the time that Sheen attempted to touch Carl earlier in the episode.
• Carl starts singing "Folding and Hanging" with the hanger in his hand and walks out of the room with nothing.
• In the movie, Jimmy had an invention that dressed and undressed Jimmy and put his clothes away for him which he probably built so he wouldn't have to pick up his clothes himself again.
• When the screen cuts to first show Carl, Sheen, and Cindy in their underwear, Cindy's top is clipping through her panties.