Re-Animated

Jimmy gains the ability to see cartoon characters after receiving a brain transplant from Milt Appleday, the creator of the Gollyworld cartoons. During a class trip to Gollyworld, Jimmy is struck by Crocco's Train and rushed to an on-site hospital where Milt's brain is transplanted into his head. He survives the operation with his personality intact, but awakens able to perceive Appleday's animated characters as real beings walking through the world.

Jimmy becomes president after Robin helps him realize that Sonny Appleday had been sabotaging the cartoon characters' popularity with his own poor ideas, souring audience affection. With the park's mascot Golly Gopher believing Jimmy could restore the studio's fame, and with access to Milt's creative genius through his transplanted brain, Jimmy is hired to replace Sonny and uses his new creativity to generate instant popularity for the characters.

Earlier in the park, Jimmy was shut out from attractions and seen as an outsider, making his rise to leadership unexpected.

Sonny wants to remove Milt Appleday's brain from Jimmy's head because he wants to reclaim control of his father's legacy and the family business. After being replaced as president of Appleday Pictures by Jimmy, Sonny infiltrates the Roberts home and schemes to extract the brain, believing that taking back his father's brain will restore his position and power.

Sonny was first seen frantically trying to retrieve the frozen brain in Tux's Arctic Adventure before Jimmy's accident.

Sonny devises a plan to modify Crocco's Train with dangerous mechanisms designed to decapitate Jimmy. He loudly boasts about this plan, and Jimmy's alien sister Yancy overhears the danger, which prevents the assassination attempt from succeeding. The train is the same ride that originally knocked Jimmy unconscious during the class trip.

Jimmy was previously struck by Crocco's Train at the beginning of the story, making this a deliberate targeting of the same ride.

Robin warns Jimmy that the cartoon characters are taking advantage of him and that he's being exploited. She tries to tell him that the world of Appleday Pictures is using him for his creative abilities rather than genuinely caring about him as a person. Jimmy initially dismisses her warning and focuses on his television debut instead of heeding her concerns.

Robin helped Jimmy discover that Sonny had sabotaged the characters' popularity, showing she has insight into the cartoon world's inner workings.

During his television debut, Jimmy tells Golly Gopher that being president hasn't given him what he truly wanted. Golly scolds him for being a pushover who prioritizes popularity over real friendship. Realizing Robin was right all along, that the cartoons were taking advantage of him, Jimmy denounces his position on-air to defend those closest to him, choosing friendship over fame.

Earlier, Jimmy had become immensely popular but was neglecting school, family, and friends as he poured himself into his role.

After Sonny ties Robin to the train tracks, Golly Gopher temporarily transforms Jimmy into a heroic cartoon knight in shining armor, a gesture that embodies the fantasy world Jimmy has become entangled with. Jimmy climbs aboard Crocco's Train, destroys the engine, and saves Robin from danger. The transformation gives him the cartoon-logic powers needed to survive the dangerous rescue.

Golly had challenged Jimmy to stand up for real friendship over mere popularity, setting up Jimmy's heroic choice.

After Jimmy destroys the engine and saves Robin, Yancy (Jimmy's alien sister) teleports Sonny back home to keep him safe and prevent further harm. She then teleports herself away as well. In the mid-credits scene, Sonny attempts to extract Jimmy's brain using a crane-like device but misses his mark, leaving his intentions unresolved but comedic.

Yancy had earlier overheard Sonny boasting about his plan to modify Crocco's Train, establishing her role as Jimmy's protector.

Sonny was trying to retrieve his father's frozen brain from Tux's Arctic Adventure because he wanted to gain access to Milt Appleday's creative genius and use it to reclaim control of the family business. When Jimmy accidentally encounters Sonny in the ride, Sonny is panicked and frantic, suggesting he was acting secretly and urgently to obtain the brain before anyone could stop him.

Sonny's desperation to get the brain establishes his greedy motives early in the film.

After becoming president of Appleday Pictures, Jimmy becomes immensely popular but neglects his school, family, and friends. He pours all his energy into his role at Appleday Pictures, leaving little time for the people who cared about him. This neglect is what allows Sonny's schemes to unfold and eventually leads Jimmy to realize that fame hasn't given him what he truly wanted, genuine connection.

Initially, Jimmy was a bullied outsider at Gollyworld with few friends, making his rise to fame a double-edged sword.