Inspector Gadget (1999 film)

Inspector Gadget is a 1999 live-action film based on the popular animated series of the same name that aired from 1983 to 1986. It starred Matthew Broderick as the title character, along with Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, and Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny. Two new characters were introduced, Brenda Bradford (played by Joely Fisher) and the Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley).
This film was produced by Caravan Pictures, DIC Entertainment, and Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California with the iconic ice castle-like main tower of playing a central role. The film was a moderate financial hit. This was the last film produced by Caravan Pictures before it morphed into Spyglass Entertainment.
==Synopsis==
Based on the DIC cartoon, Officer John Brown is turned into the cybernetic superhero Inspector Gadget as he must solve a murder and theft and capture the notorious Dr. Claw.
==Plot==
John Brown is a security guard in Riverton who lives with his niece Penny and her dog Brain, and dreams of being a real life police officer. One night John is securing the parking lot of the Bradford Laboratory which is owned by his love interest Dr. Brenda Bradford and her father, Artemus. A scientist and businessman named Sandford Scolex and his henchman Sykes send machines to break into the lab, steal the Bradford's cyborg components and kill Artemus. John chases Scolex's limousine in his car but winds up flipping his car over by a trap from Scolex and orders the villain to step out of the limousine and surrender. Scolex does but throws an explosive cigar at John's car causing it to blow up and accidentally crushes his left hand with a bowling ball during the process.
The next day Brenda Bradford saves John's life by rebuilding in John Brown's body at the hospital making him the first cyborg Police Inspector for the Riverton Police Department known as Inspector Gadget. She also gives him the Gadgetmobile which both help Gadget capture two escaped prisoners. As time goes on, Gadget grows closer to Brenda, but she does not return her affections to him or seem aware that he likes her. Meanwhile Scolex has his second henchman Kramer (Andy Dick) build him a claw to replace his left hand and goes by the name Claw and when he learns that Gadget is getting promoted Police Inspector at a ceremony for capturing the thieves he attends and meets Brenda and asks her to come work for him to which she does, not knowing that he's the man who killed her father.
Gadget wants the case of Artemus' murder but Chief Quimby denies it to him because he's not a real police officer so Brown decides to take the case himself and finds a silver coin in the murder evidence which has SI on it and tries to figure out what it stands for. Meanwhile Scolex and his henchmen build a robot clone of Gadget called Robo Gadget who terrorizes the city and makes everyone think that he's the real Inspector. Soon Gadget realizes that SI stands for Scolex Industries and that Sandford Scolex is the one who murdered Artemus and rushes off to the Scolex building to tell Brenda, then he sneaks in to infiltrate the lab by finding the stolen foot but he is captured by Claw and his henchmen.
Claw removes the Neuron Synapse Amplifier chip that is the main source of Gadget's function, destroys it and has Gadget dumped in the junkyard. Meanwhile Brenda learns that Claw built a robot clone of her called Robo Brenda who reveals to her that Scolex stole the cyborg components and she realizes that Claw killed her father and rushes off to find Gadget.
Claw has Robo Gadget set fire in the city and scare people, but luckily, Gadget comes back to life in the junkyard and is rescued by Brenda and Penny. He manages to catch up to Scolex's limousine and fights RoboGadget on the streets. During the fight, Gadget pulls off his evil double's head and throws it into the water, leaving the rest of the body to wander the streets without a second thought. He then uses his Helicopter Hat to fly off and save Brenda who has been taken hostage by Claw.
The villain tries to escape with Brenda in his helicopter and kill Gadget, but the Inspector saves her and together they land into a pond nearby where they share a kiss.
Claw eventually comes down by parachute and lands in the Gadgetmobile where he is locked in a cage. The police arrive as do Penny and Sykes.
Penny tells Chief Quimby that Claw created an evil version of her uncle to destroy Riverton to which Sykes says is true and gives Quimby the robotic foot. Claw and Sykes are arrested and John is promoted a hero and in the end, shares a kiss with Brenda outside his house and the Gadgetmobile chases a Beetle Bug Car. During the credits it is shown that Robo Brenda became an aerobics instructor, Sykes gets free from prison and becomes a member of a group for minions, Robo Gadget's body is still moving on the streets without his head until finally bumping into the screen, Penny receives a communicator watch along with Brain wearing a translator collar and Gadgetmobile gets married to the Beetle Car. He also addresses the audience till the end of the credits.
==Cast==
*Matthew Broderick as John Brown (Inspector Gadget) and RoboGadget
*Rupert Everett as Sandford Scolex (Dr. Claw)
*Joely Fisher as Dr. Brenda Bradford and Robo Brenda
*Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny
*Mike Hagerty as Sykes
*Andy Dick as Kramer
*René Auberjonois as Dr. Artemus Bradford
*D.L. Hughley as Gadgetmobile (voice)
*Dabney Coleman as Chief Quimby
*Cheri Oteri as Mayor Wilson
*Frances Bay as Thelma
*J.P. Manoux as the Mayor's Sycophantic Assistant
*Brian George as the Guru
*Richard Penn as Fantastic Doctor
*Sonya Eddy as Hospital Secretary
*Andy Heyward as Mr. D.I.C.
*Don Adams as Brain (voice)
*Mr. T as Himself
*Richard Kiel as "Famous Bad Guy with Silver Teeth"
*Richard Lee-Sung as "Famous Villain with Deadly Hat"
*Bobby Bell as "Famous Identifier of Sea Planes"
*Hank Barrera as "Famous Native American Sidekick"
*Jesse Yoshimura as "Bane of the Bumbling, Idiotic Yet Curiously Successful French Detective's Existence"
*John Kim as "Son Before Second Son"
*Keith Morrison as "Famous Assistant to Dr. Frankensomething"
==Reception==
The film received generally negative reviews from critics and viewers alike, with many people criticizing the differences from the original cartoon series and the use of real products in the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a score of 21%, based on 62 reviews, with the consensus reading: "Despite an abundance of eyecandy, the film doesn't amount to much." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 36 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.
Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times stated that it "wastes a lot of good talent". In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert said that fans were angered when Dr. Claw reveals himself in the movie.
Despite the negative reception from critics, the film was a moderate box office success with a worldwide gross of $134.4 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million. It made $75.9 million in its first four weeks. In the UK, it grossed just over 7 million.
==Sequel==
A sequel titled Inspector Gadget 2 was released on March 11, 2003, starring French Stewart as Inspector Gadget. Only D.L. Hughley reprised his role from the first film.
==Videos==
Inspector Gadget (1999) Original Pre-Cut Trailer|Teaser Trailer
Inspector Gadget (1999) Theatrical Trailer (RARE)|Theatrical Trailer
Inspector Gadget (1999), 35mm film trailer, open matte, re-scan|Theatrical Trailer (Uncut version)
Inspector Gadget (1999) italian trailer|International Trailer (Italian)
Inspector Gadget|Final Trailer
Inspector Gadget 1 - Behind the Scenes Preview|Behind the scenes video
==Gallery==
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==Trivia==
*This movie is dedicated to production designer Michael A. White, as it was his final film he worked on. He also served as a production designer for other Disney owned films Crimson Tide, The Rock, and Armageddon.
*This is the fourth Disney movie to be based on a non-Disney TV series, the first three being George of the Jungle, Mr. Magoo, and My Favorite Martian. The next would be Underdog.
**But in this case, the company who owned the Inspector Gadget IP, DIC Entertainment, were at the time owned by Disney through a limited partnership.
*This was the final movie to have a LaserDisc release by Walt Disney Home Video in the United States.
**In Japan and Europe, however, these honors go to The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and A Bug's Life respectively.
*The original teaser trailer premiered before A Bug's Life and later appeared on the VHS release of Mighty Joe Young.
*It is unknown when the 1:15 trailer, used for most advertising on videocassettes, premiered, but a slightly cut-down version was shown with some screenings of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and later used as the "now on video" version of the trailer.
*The final theatrical trailer premiered before Doug's 1st Movie.
*This film marked Don Adams' final appearance in a voice role before his retirement in 2000, and six years before his death in 2005.
*The original Inspector Gadget cartoon was indirectly affiliated with Saban Entertainment, this live action movie was released by Disney, and Saban's flagship property, Power Rangers, had Disney era entries.
*This film, along with The Jerky Boys: The Movie, are the only two films to feature an altered version of the Caravan Pictures logo. After the credits, the logo plays as usual, but the walking man suddenly spouts a copter from his had, similar to Inspector Gadget himself, and flies away into the distance. This iteration is ironic and fitting, as this would be the last film produced by Caravan Pictures before getting absorbed into Spyglass Entertainment.
*When Sykes is sleeping on the job, a TV next to him is playing a clip from The Simpsons of Homer Simpson sleeping. When the alarm sounds, a clip of Homer waking up is shown. 20 years later, Disney would purchase Fox, resulting in them owning the television series.
*Steven Spielberg was a fan of the cartoon and considered producing the film adaptation. His choices for Gadget were Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. The Farrelly Brothers were also considered to direct with Jim Carrey as their pick for the title role.
==External links==
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Category:Disney films
Category:1999 films
Category:Live-action films
Category:Films based on television shows
Category:Films
Category:Inspector Gadget
Category:PG-rated films