Inspector Gadget
A Kindler, Gentler Robocop

As a fan of the original "Inspector Gadget" cartoon in the '80s, I went to see the new Disney movie hoping for a bit of nostalgia. While the translation from cartoon to live-action is well done, the off-beat humor of the original seems to have been lost in a movie that caters to a younger audience.

In the live-action version of the cartoon crimefighter, the signature voice of Don Adams is replaced by the young boyish good looks of Matthew Broderick. Broderick plays a security guard named John Brown who - after nearly losing his life in the pursuit of some bad guys - is rebuilt with "gadget" technology. In short, he is a part Robocop, part Six Million Dollar Man, but instead of armor plating or bionic speed, his body is capable of producing a wide variety of gizmos - everything from screwdrivers to propellers - to help in the pursuit of crimefighting.

The story of Inspector Gadget revolves around his love interest Brenda (Joely Fisher from television's "Ellen") whose scientist-father was killed for his research. (Of course, this being a children's movie, the actual violence is offscreen and only vague references alert the audience that he has died.) The perpetrator of the crime is Claw (Rupert Everett, A Midsummer Night's Dream), an evil corporate type, so named for the claw-like appendage that has replaced his left hand.

Michelle Trachtenberg (Harriet the Spy) gives Gadget an enormous amount of help in his detective work, as his young niece Penny. Along with her beagle, Brain, she follows Gadget and assists in keeping him on the right track. Nevertheless, I remember more irony in the cartoon as Penny and Brain solved the cases from behind the scenes. Gadget, like a high-tech Chaplin, would stumble through each case and accidently bag the bad guy. This sillyness, which I enjoyed in the cartoon, is missing here. Gadget becomes a real - if still novice - hero.

Yet, Brenda, despite the fact that she is an accomplished scientist and co-creator of the gadget technology, acts as nothing more than a damsel in distress for most of the movie. Because of this, it's nice to see Penny playing a positive role that young girls can look up to.

Making the Inspector's robotic appendages appear real is the biggest challenge in creating a live-action version of Inspector Gadget. The majority of the effects are quite convincing, with a blend of computer animation and some great acting on Broderick's part. While the finger gizmos (like the lighter, for instance) were obviously extracted from fake hands, the stretching robotic arms and legs were seamless.

For the most part, the characters in Inspector Gadget are easily defined. The good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad. Gadget believes in justice above all, and secretly pines for his fair Brenda. Likewise, the supporting characters are very thinly defined, from a photo-opportunistic mayor (Cheri Oteri), to a reluctant and prejudiced police chief (Dabney Coleman), to Claw's witless minions (Michael G. Hagerty and Andy Dick).

Inspector Gadget is clearly a kids movie, and with only one or two small exceptions it doesn't play to the adults. Disney has a good track record for keeping adults as well as children entertained, but in this case the "over four-foot tall" market seems to have been ignored. Even as a fan of the old cartoon, I found myself squirming in anticipation of the inevitable ending.

MY RATING: 5 out of 10.

RATED: PG
RUN TIME: 78 min.