In between 1987 and 1990 (in between the ages of 5 and 8), "Inspector Gadget" was one TV show I couldn't miss. It was a crucial show to my childhood. I was actually pretty open-minded when I saw the trailers and commercials and stuff for the movie. When I found out it was going to premiere on the Starz channel, I sat and watched, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then I got up, left, and came back in time to see the ending credits. I was just dumbfounded. There were SO MANY things WRONG with this movie:
1. Chief Quimby. In the cartoon, he would give Gadget his assignment, usually by popping up in the most bizarre of places (akin to "Get Smart's" Agent 13). Once Gadget got his assignment, he'd toss the paper back to the chief. Of course, EVERY assignment ended with "This Message Will Self Destruct," and when Gadget tossed the paper back at Quimby, KA-BLAM!!!! Usually when the assignment blew up in the chief's face, he'd lose it. And that was about the only time you'd see Quimby lose it in the cartoon. In the movie, the chief was more uptight, and very bitter, and I think there were times where he HATED Gadget! By the end of the episode of the original cartoon, he would always praise Gadget for a job well done (not realizing it had been Penny and Brain that did the legwork).
2. Matthew Broderick is definitely not a believable Gadget. Gadget is supposed to be a bumbling fool, and incompetent. Broderick's portrayal kind of made him a little smarter than usual, but not very bumbling.
3. Inspector Gadget Meets Knight Rider! Seriously, they turned the Gadget Mobile into a car that talked. Like KITT on "Knight Rider." In the original cartoon, IT NEVER TALKED!!!! Was that trip REALLY necessary?
4. Penny and Brain, or rather lack thereof. They're my favorite characters from the original show, and the fact that they were barely in this ticked me off big time. That, and Penny in the cartoon is a 10/11 year old blond girl in pigtails. In the movie, she's a brunette tween. I seem to remember at one point she was using the Top Secret Gadget phone to take a personal call from a friend. Penny and Brain are the ones who are supposed to solve the case. Such was not the situation in this movie.
5. I didn't like Gadget's love interest in this for some reason. I don't know why, she just rubbed me the wrong way.
6. This last one was the biggest, and the thing that REALLY ground my gears over this movie. Why, why, WHY did they cast Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw?! And what was with the name "Claw?" It was always DOCTOR CLAW in the cartoon! Everett looked too young to be Dr. Claw, and above all: they showed his face throughout the whole picture! That is just wrong! You're NOT supposed to SEE Dr. Claw's face, people!!!!!
Seriously, this movie made me wonder something: Did they even WATCH the original cartoon before they made this?
1. Chief Quimby. In the cartoon, he would give Gadget his assignment, usually by popping up in the most bizarre of places (akin to "Get Smart's" Agent 13). Once Gadget got his assignment, he'd toss the paper back to the chief. Of course, EVERY assignment ended with "This Message Will Self Destruct," and when Gadget tossed the paper back at Quimby, KA-BLAM!!!! Usually when the assignment blew up in the chief's face, he'd lose it. And that was about the only time you'd see Quimby lose it in the cartoon. In the movie, the chief was more uptight, and very bitter, and I think there were times where he HATED Gadget! By the end of the episode of the original cartoon, he would always praise Gadget for a job well done (not realizing it had been Penny and Brain that did the legwork).
2. Matthew Broderick is definitely not a believable Gadget. Gadget is supposed to be a bumbling fool, and incompetent. Broderick's portrayal kind of made him a little smarter than usual, but not very bumbling.
3. Inspector Gadget Meets Knight Rider! Seriously, they turned the Gadget Mobile into a car that talked. Like KITT on "Knight Rider." In the original cartoon, IT NEVER TALKED!!!! Was that trip REALLY necessary?
4. Penny and Brain, or rather lack thereof. They're my favorite characters from the original show, and the fact that they were barely in this ticked me off big time. That, and Penny in the cartoon is a 10/11 year old blond girl in pigtails. In the movie, she's a brunette tween. I seem to remember at one point she was using the Top Secret Gadget phone to take a personal call from a friend. Penny and Brain are the ones who are supposed to solve the case. Such was not the situation in this movie.
5. I didn't like Gadget's love interest in this for some reason. I don't know why, she just rubbed me the wrong way.
6. This last one was the biggest, and the thing that REALLY ground my gears over this movie. Why, why, WHY did they cast Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw?! And what was with the name "Claw?" It was always DOCTOR CLAW in the cartoon! Everett looked too young to be Dr. Claw, and above all: they showed his face throughout the whole picture! That is just wrong! You're NOT supposed to SEE Dr. Claw's face, people!!!!!
Seriously, this movie made me wonder something: Did they even WATCH the original cartoon before they made this?