Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made

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In a world where imaginary friends co-exist with humans, Timmy Failure is an 11-year-old living in Portland, Oregon with his single mother Patty. Timmy runs Total Failure Inc alongside his own personal detective agency, and "solves" cases. Much of Timmy's adventures revolve around himself traveling with his polar bear partner Total (implied to be the result of his father walking out on him and his mother) across the city looking for cases and outwitting the " Russians" (actually just bearded hipsters). Among his small social group are his best friend, Charles "Rollo" Tookus, a former member of Total Failure Inc., who quit after a mission gone awry, and Molly Moskins, a perky and optimistic girl who has a crush on Timmy. Timmy considers his arch-enemy a girl named Corrina Corrina, who is actually very friendly to him and appears oblivious to his animosity towards her, though it is implied to be due to him having repressed feelings for her. Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 4, 2019. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, [14] and was released on Disney+ on February 7, 2020. [15] It was released on digital retail platforms on September 26, 2023.

I know Timmy probably has ADHD, it was hinted at many times, but the author painted a picture of a rude, disrepectful, bullying, over the top destructive (I'm talking taking a car and crashing it into a house... almost killing someone destructive, not an I found my mom's box of paperclips and bent all of them out of shape destructive) child with zero redeeming characteristics. That's not a very good representation of children with ADHD. There are now seven books in the series which is a must for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Barry Loser or Tom Gates, and all readers aged 8 and upwards who love silly stories. The comic adventures of Timmy and Total are riotous but also surprisingly poignant and may bring a tear to your eye. Scott, Mike (June 9, 2017). "Disney's 'Timmy Failure' movie planning to shoot in Louisiana". The Times-Picayune . Retrieved July 22, 2018. You know how all books are not for all readers and some books work SO MUCH BETTER when read aloud? Yeah, this was definitely the case with the particular book and myself. I was all ready to throw in the towel because quite honestly, I couldn't believe what I was reading. I get it is for a much younger audience than I, but I read a fairly large amount of Children's Fiction and even Picture Books, so the fact that this one was giving me fits was enough to aggravate. HOWEVER, in my exasperated state, I tried reading several passages aloud to illustrate the absurdity of what was happening...and you know what? It. Changed. EVERYTHING. I'm not saying I'm a diehard Timmy fan now, because yeah...I'll leave that to the fandoms, however I could appreciate the humor, the jokes, the ridiculous nature of some situations and the whole investigation into the missing candy THAT much better with all my gesturing, vocal variations, and moments of acting out. So why yes, not all books are for all readers, if you've a kiddo in the house that likes to use their imagination, and you happen to have a few moments to spare to enhance the adventure, I highly suggest a read aloud session with this book! On July 31, 2018, it was announced that Ophelia Lovibond had been cast in the role of Patty Failure. [12] On January 24, 2019, it was reported that Craig Robinson had been cast in the film. [13] Release [ edit ]Sundance Film Festival (December 4, 2019). "Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made". Archived from the original on December 15, 2019 . Retrieved December 23, 2019. But i was reduced to jelly when our hero was filling out a standardized test form so that the dots made the shape of his name (last year he made mountains). The difference was that this year they were being graded in a group:

I'm a BIG FAN of the Timmy Failure series, and when I saw this one at the library, I was excited to read it. Giggly and hilarious. The best kids’ books are written for everyone with new discoveries found each re-read, with each child that you can read it to, or with. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made - Movie Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. February 7, 2020 . Retrieved November 21, 2020. Well, if this one's going to show up with a blurb from Jeff Kinney on the cover, let's start the comparisons. If you know any fans of Wimpy Kid, they read it like I watch Arrested Development. Over and over and over again. Sometimes they read the same book again and again. Sometimes they start from the beginning and go through the series. Hey, if you're forced to read for 20 minutes a night, might as well enjoy it, right? We fall in love with stories that are greater than the sum of their parts.Timmy Failure is an idiot. That's the only way I know to describe him. He thinks he's a genius, but he is oblivious to what is going on around him. He fancies himself a detective but misses clues a 4-year-old would catch. He's also mean to his friend Rollo ("the rotund boy"), mean to his classmate who clearly has a crush on him, and he's mean to his other classmate, Corrina Corrina, who has enough problems on her own with her emotionally absent father. He's not very respectful of his mother or his teacher. He just seems to think he's the smartest and really has no time for anyone who doesn't think that, too.

Whether his pet polar bear Total is real or not, a la Calvin & Hobbes, I couldn't say. He didn't add a whole lot to the story, but I did enjoy seeing him steal Staci the polar bear's beach ball. In the course of any of this have I actually mentioned that the book is guffaw-worthy? Laugh-out-loud funny? Look, any book where the main character reasons that since the name “Chang” is the most common in the world he should automatically fill it in on all his test papers because the odds would be with him has my interest. Add in the fact that you’ve titles of chapters with names like, “You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile” (well played, Pastis) and visual moments where Timmy is holding a box of rice krispie treats above his head ala Say Anything. Clearly this is adult humor, but when he hits it on the kid level (which is all the time) the readers will be rolling. Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then the different branches of arithmetic -- Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.”

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Lodge, Guy (January 26, 2020). " 'Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made': Film Review". Variety . Retrieved January 27, 2020. Timmy Failure has a great imagination and uses it to create a detective agency and solve the crimes in his town. He uses his detective skills to find out who stole his favorite shirt and from there he solves all crimes he comes across. Timmy is so famous there are multiple books about his life and even a movie! Now, Timmy gives us an inside look at to how he became the greatest detective in the world. Your average 8-12 year old (the suggested age group for this book) wouldn’t get the references of most of the chapter titles:

Then there was all the adult puns and wording, "Those inclined toward generous interpretation might say it's a goddess rising from the sea. Or Adam touching the hand of God," which also showcases the horrible punctuation in this book. For a while I was thinking this was intended as an adult parody of an MG early reader chapter book (like Diary of a Wimpy Kid) because there was so much adult humor, but no, it's an early reader chapter book according to the publisher. Stephan Pastis has mentioned another essential character in the books, a polar bear called Total. He assists Timmy Failure in carrying out the investigations. As Timmy Failure and Total are the main partners of his detective agency, it eventually gets the name Total Failure, Inc. A number of other essential characters created by author Pastis for this series include Rollo Tookus, Aunt Colander, Molly Moskins, Doorman Dave, Emilio, Tom John John, etc. The settings of the plots take place in Key West, Florida and Cuba, and several other places in the country. All the novels of the series are widely successful. They have received praises from several prominent critics, fellow authors, and a large number of readers throughout the world. Stephan Pastis was also praised for his magnificent writing skills and character development. The series’ success made him well known author of children’s books and established him in the ranks of prominent writers. He looks forward to add several more titles in this series and develop other novel series as well.Turnquist, Kristi (June 26, 2018). "Disney movie shooting in Portland to hold casting call for extras". OregonLive.com . Retrieved July 22, 2018. And speaking of the car crash... there were no consequences for Timmy, in fact the police gave him chocolate milk and a tour of the police station. I may be wrong - but the Jeffersons? Peanuts? Petula Clark? Many decades ago. Those are there for the Older Readers.