Hi. I'm 21 years old, just finished a Computer Science Degree at Swansea University. Originally from...
Hi. I'm 21 years old, just finished a Computer Science Degree at Swansea University. Originally from Pembroke, South-West Wales, I've just moved to Bath in August.
Member since:19.04.2001
Reviews:61
Members who trust:9
As we all know, Inspector Gadget was a hit kids TV show some years ago. We all watched it, we all loved it (or at least I did), and eventually some years later Disney Studios made the film. Starring Matthew Broderick as Inspector Gadget, we see the story of how he become 'Gadget' from an ordinary human. For most film companies it would be hard to transform this TV show into a box office hit, but to Disney it was just a matter of course. And they did well. This TV to film conversion is probably one of the best that I have seen.
The story starts by looking at the life of John Brown (or Jack, or something like that), who is a security guard for a company working on making artificial limbs that can be moved by an external force. They also turn out to be the company who turn Brown into Gadget. Based on that alone, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it could be a very dull story line, but this is Disney so it almost certainly would never be
dull. Indeed it's not. There is of course the arch enemy, a competing company who is out to steel the limb (the bottom half of a leg and a foot). This is where the mayhem begins.
The rival company breaks into the Gadget company (sorry, I can't remember the actual names even though I only watched it last night. The rival company had the initials SI, so I'll use those…), that Brown is supposed to be securing. They do this by way of a full size remote-control van, which opens up to reveal several smaller remote-controlled vehicles that do the steeling, and one with a gun that kills the founder of the Gadget company. His daughter then takes over his role for the rest of the film. Brown, wanting to be a Police Officer, then jumps into his car, a blue Chevette, and chases the SI company, who are in a Limo. A huge crash is the result, and Browns car gets blown up.
The next we see of him he is a full body cast in the local hospital. It is then that the daughter of the Gadget companies decides that Brown is the ideal person to be turned into Inspector Gadget. So they operate on him, installing all the weird and wonderful gadgets and gizmos that make Inspector Gadget what he is.
Then he wakes up, and the mayhem happens. Obviously, with all these gadgets, thing are going to go wrong, and indeed they do. He then gets introduced to his new car, which is rather like Kit out of Knight Rider, but more modern and more Disney. OK, that’s enough about the plot, so what about the film?
As you would expect from Disney, this is a great film. Everything fit together, and doesn't get at all confusing. OK, it is a kids film, but in reality it's suitable for anyone with a 'Disney' sense of humour. It combines computer animation with hand-drawn animation (though very little of the latter) with live action. And it all works together nicely. OK, its completely unbelievable, after all, who has a cigarette lighter in their thumb and a helicopter in their hat? But that doesn't matter. It's Disney, and they're allowed to do that, because they don't make any claims about it trying to mimic reality in any way.
The acting is superb. Yes, it can get very wacky, and in some places seems a little childish, but just remember who the target audience is. There is no swearing of any sort, and very little violence. In fact, the only violence is mechanical, in the obligatory car chase. Why do all films seems to have a car chase in them? Maybe it's just the films that I watch!
It's a very short film, just and hour and a quarter including the credits. But that’s good. As the story line is so uncomplicated, to drag it out further would have been stupid. If you paid the full video price when it came out you might have felt cheated, but it always gives you the length of the film on the back of the box anyway so why are you complaining?
This is a great film. I watched it on the Disney Channel, on Sky Digital, but I did want to go and see it in the cinema, but it never got as far as my local cinema (they only showed one film a week, so hardly surprising). If you haven't watched it, watch it. Most people will like a Disney film like this, even if they don't love it. They just don't try anything too complicated, and so produce films that are bound to be hits.
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
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Strictly for kids, this 1999 live-action feature version of the popular cartoon series ... more
seems long even at 80 minutes. As a video, it's easier to take and appreciate for what works best in the story: the special effects. Matthew Broderick plays the secu...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Strictly for kids, this 1999 live-action feature version of the popular cartoon series ... more
seems long even at 80 minutes. As a video, it's easier to take and appreciate for what works best in the story: the special effects. Matthew Broderick plays the secu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Wowser! Disney's Inspector Gadget turbocharges to life in a wild and quirky adventure ... more
comedy with a thousand moving parts! During a daring rescue attempt John Brown (Matthew Broderick) a na'ƒ¯ve and clueless security guard experiences the wrat...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Inspector Gadget [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78522034.jpg "Inspector Gadget [DVD] [1999]")
Jul 23rd, 2001
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