Inspector Gadget (PG)
Not nearly as good as the TV show.
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Movie details
- Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
- Directed By: David Kellogg
- Cast: Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher
- Running Time: 78 minutes
- Release Date: 07/23/1999
- Video/DVD Release Date: 06/03/2003
- Genre: Family and Kids
- MPAA Rating: PG
- MPAA Explanation: whacky violence/action, language and innuendo
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie has commercial tie-ins, non-stop cartoon violence, and possible bad role models for children. Kids may want to imitate the evil RoboGadget, which scares a little boy by demanding money and threatening him with knives and other weapons. RoboGadget also burns down the town after yelling, "I'm going to kick some butt!"
Families can talk about how this movie compares to the 1980s TV series on which it is based. Why do you think Penny, Gadget's young neice, is a great role model for little girls?
Families can talk about how this movie compares to the 1980s TV series on which it is based. Why do you think Penny, Gadget's young neice, is a great role model for little girls?
Message
Social Behavior:
One race-related joke. An Asian man, running from RoboGadget, screams "This is why I left Tokyo!" Conversely, Penny, Gadget's young neice, is a great role model for little girls.
Consumerism:
The movie boasts blatant commercial plugs for Disney as well as Coca-Cola, Skittles, and M&Ms candy.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Violence
There are lots of battles between the good and evil Gadget, featuring limbs being ripped out and a disembodied talking head.
Sex
No sex per se, but there does seem to be an undue emphasis on leering innuendoes.
Language
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Michael Scheinfeld
INSPECTOR GADGET, Disney's frenetic version of the popular 1980s cartoon, stars Matthew Broderick as the bumbling cyborg cop. This live action adventure begins with explosion that injures a security guard. Pretty scientist Brenda (Joely Fisher) rebuilds the injured guard using high-tech gadgets. With his new abilities and new name, Inspector Gadget takes on his first case -- trying to find out who was responsible for the explosion that nearly killed him.
Is it any good?
Despite some amusing special effects, the movie is shrill and charmless, featuring (attempted) comical violence and innuendoes inappropriate for young children. Only the renowned Disney marketing and merchandising machine could have turned a movie as routine and uninspired as Inspector Gadget into a $100 million blockbuster. At a slight 78 minutes (including 10 minutes of closing credits), it's both not enough and way too much, featuring a tissue-thin plot and a cacophonous barrage of hyper-kinetic special effects. Gadget is a virtual human Swiss Army Knife and some of the effects derived from that concept are amusing the first time, but after about the 30th time they become tiresome and desperate. Gadget fully earns its PG rating, featuring non-stop cartoon violence, and some smarmy sexual innuendo, and jokey pop-culture references that will go over the heads of most kids. The movie also boasts blatant commercial plugs for Disney as well as Coca-Cola, Skittles, and M&Ms candy. Skip this one, especially if you have a hyperactive child to begin with, and catch an episode of the old cartoon series instead.
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Parents and kids say
All Reviews
There are 3 reviews.
Posted on 08/30/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12
Great effects for a 1999 movie!
Adult Reviews
There are 1 reviews.
Kids Reviews
There are 2 reviews.
Posted on 08/30/07 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 12
Great effects for a 1999 movie!
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