Codename: Kids Next Door

Codename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and ended on January 21, 2008, after six years.

The series came about as the result of a viewer's poll by Cartoon Network (The Big Pick). It briefly aired on Miguzi at 4:00 p.m. Reruns aired on Boomerang between 2016-2017, and again from 2018-2019. Afterwards, the show moved to the Boomerang SVOD service (where most episodes were split to single 11-minute segments) and hasn't been seen on linear TV since. In December 2021, one time return this show, because Christmas specials.

Broadcast as two episodes per half-hour (except for a few half-hour episodes), the central characters of the series are five ten-year-olds who operate from their treehouse against the tyranny of adults and teenagers. The central characters make up what is known as Sector V of a worldwide organization called the Kids Next Door.

Overview
The show revolves around the main home operatives of Sector V — Numbuh One (Nigel Uno), Numbuh Two (Hoagie P. Gilligan, Jr.), Numbuh Three (Kuki Sanban), Numbuh Four (Wallabee Beatles), Numbuh Five (Abigail Lincoln), and Numbuh Six Point One (Ken "Kenny" Uno). Their mission is to fight crimes against kids, such as homework and flossing, committed by adults, senior citizens, teenagers, and other "evil" children. They make up what is known as Sector V of a worldwide organization called the Kids Next Door. The main villains are the Delightful Children From Down The Lane and Father.

Characters
Main Protagonists: Secondary characters: Villains:
 * Nigel Uno/Numbuh One
 * Hogarth "Hogie" Gilligan Jr./Numbuh Two
 * Kuki Sanban/Numbuh Three
 * Wallabee "Wally" Beetles/Numbuh Four
 * Abigail "Abby" Lincoln/Numbuh Five
 * Tommy Gilligan Jr.
 * Sushi Sanban
 * Numbuh 86
 * The Delightful Children from Down the Lane
 * Father
 * Stickybeard
 * Toiletnator
 * Professor XXXL
 * Mr. Boss
 * Knightbrace
 * Common Cold
 * Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb

Production
Warburton created a pilot episode for another show, Kenny and the Chimp. Originally, there was a group of children who called themselves "The Kids Next Door" among the recurring characters, and would often get Kenny into trouble. 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", won a Cartoon Network viewer's poll, and as a result, Codename: Kids Next Door was greenlit to become a series.

Video games
Two video games based on the series were released: Numbuh 1-5, Father, Stickybeard, and Toiletnator were NPCs in the Cartoon Network MMO online game, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.
 * Operation S.O.D.A. for GameBoy Advance (2004)
 * Operation V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. for Playstation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox (2005)

Numbuh 1 and Father were playable characters in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion for Nintendo 3DS. Numbuh Two and Stickybeard were assists characters, while Numbuh 4 became one in the home console version.

Numbuh 5 appears as a non-playable boardwalk customer in a later update in the 2018 mobile game, Cartoon Network: Match Land.

Numbuh 2's flying helmet and Numbuh 86's helmet appear as a wardrobe in the mobile game, Kleptocats: Cartoon Network.

Appearances in other projects

 * In The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode, Sickly Sweet, there was a scene where Grim is watching Codename: Kids Next Door. In the TV movie, Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure, Numbuh 3 appears as Grim's replacement. Numbuh 2 appears as cardboard in the special, Billy and Mandy Moon the Moon, which was the fifth and final chapter of Cartoon Network Invaded.
 * In the MAD segment, Once Upon a Toon, Numbuh 1 appears as one of the Cartoon Network characters who forgot their identity.
 * The Delightful Children from Down the Lane were reviewed in the Villainous episode, The Lost Cases of the Treehouse. It uses footage from episodes of Codename: Kids Next Door.
 * Numbuh 5 made a cameo appearance in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, Crossover Nexus, where she appears as one of the Cartoon Network heroes that were summoned and defeated by Strike.
 * Codename: Kids Next Door was mentioned in the Craig of the Creek episode, Kelsey the Elder.

Home Media
Two DVD releases of the series were made: Sooper Huggest Missions: File One and Sooper Huggest Missions: File Two.

All 6 seasons are available on iTunes and Amazon Prime.

The series was released on the Boomerang streaming service on May 2019.

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 Tom Warburton and storyboarded by Guy Moore. The following year, "Operation: L.I.C.O.R.I.C.E." won the Festival's Collideascope Award for Television Animation for Children. Then, after that, the episode "Operation: K.E.N.N.Y." was nominated for the Colideascope Award for Television Animation for Children, becoming the second episode to be nominated.

Broadcast

 * Cartoon Network (2002-08; 2009-14)
 * Kids' WB (2004)
 * Boomerang (2015, 2016-2017; 2018-2019)

Trivia

 * In the opening theme of the episodes, Numbuh 4's Musket's nozzle alters from when he is shooting mustard to when he jumps into position.
 * The intro is a combination parody of the classic Mission Impossible and James Bond intros.

Possible Sequel or Spin-Off
On March 19, 2015, a video was posted on YouTube of what appears to be an animatic of a new series featuring Numbuh 1, Numbuh 6.1, Chad (Numbuh 274), and the Galactic KND, entitled Galactic: Kids Next Door. It was later revealed to be an attempt to try to get the series approved with help from fans.

On April 1, 2015, a petition was started on Change.org to make G:KND a real series. Many fans signed the petition, including creator Tom Warburton and Numbuh 4's voice actor Dee Bradley Baker. The next day, a fan-made Facebook page was created to advertise that a G:KND series was still possible.

On June 1, 2015, Warburton revealed that the idea of a G:KND started since the end of the original series along a Cartoon Network executive, but any came in fruition, so he wrote a script.

Eighteen days later, Warburton revealed that Cartoon Network had rejected the G:KND and have plans for continuing the Codename: Kids Next Door franchise, but he is confident to get the sequel approved in the future.

In April 2016, Warburton stated that Cartoon Network didn't greenlight the G:KND, but he also said that the petition could serve to convince them in the future. In September 2016, the original video released by Warburton was re-animated by Rat Animation, retaining the original voice acting but given a full animation style, versus a stop-motion and black and white animation style used in the original video. Also, Rat Animation has shown its support saying Warburton that if the first episode of the sequel is written, they would animate it. The petition ended with over 95,000 supporters.

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