Nickelodeon’s first CGI project, Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, will also be the first multimedia launch of a property by Nick, sending the title through feature film, TV and on-line development simultaneously.

The JNBG franchise will initially bow some time next year as a series of teaser interstitials on Nickelodeon, leading up to the film’s release in 2001 (in conjunction with an on-line game component), and ultimately finding a regular home as a series on the kids cable network in 2002. The feature is budgeted at US$25 million, while the series is pegged at US$450,000 per half-hour episode.

The project is part of a multiyear agreement with San Juan Capistrano, California-based O Entertainment, helmed by Steve Oedekerk (whose writing credits include Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and The Nutty Professor), and Dallas-based animation house DNA Productions.

Originally created by DNA’s John Davis, the pic will follow 10-year-old Jimmy (who is described as ‘part Jim Carrey, part Dennis the Menace’ by Nickelodeon president of film and TV entertainment Albie Hecht) as he tries to save the world along with his robot dog, Goddard, and best friend, Carl Wheezer. While the franchise will target Nick’s core eight- to 12-year-old audience most heavily, the CGI element is expected to lend it a broader voice that will appeal to the entire family.

Jimmy will be produced by Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon Movies, O Entertainment and DNA Productions. Paramount will distribute the feature.