Inspector Gadget 2

It’s bizarre watching a movie that was shot in your hometown. The sets and backgrounds tend to overpower the film somewhat as you seek out places you recognise and forget to watch the movie.

However, with Inspector Gadget 2 I found I could keep an eye on both as the plot was pretty simple to keep up with. And even in spite of myself, I enjoyed the film to some degree. Add to that the veritable plethora of local acting talent and at every turn you have a film worth watching; provided you weren’t asking too much to begin with.

It’s easy to sneer at a production made directly for video/DVD, and one that has few original cast members or even plot devices. But in this production the attention to detail has been handled well in a return to the true Inspector Gadget of the original cartoon series. The computer animation, while not always so cutting edge, is nevertheless effective in adding to the fun feeling of the storyline and the surreality of a man with robotic gadgets inside him.

"I’ll get you next time, Gadget!"

Things have been quiet in sunny Brisbane, erm, Riverton, since Inspector Gadget (French Stewart) put Claw (Tony Martin) and his cronies into lockdown. Which is lucky, because Gadget has been experiencing some severe glitches in his cybernetic makeup. To compound matters, the newest Gadget has been released; G2 (Elaine Hendrix), and she is superior in every way to the suddenly outmoded Inspector Gadget. Worse yet, Claw has escaped from Riverton Prison and is planning something diabolical, leaving just enough tantalising clues for Gadget’s niece, Penny (Caitlin Wachs), and her trusty dog Brain (Bryan Brown) to become involved.

When Gadget is finally thrown out of the police force for incompetence, and G2 is now principal Gadget in the program, Gadget decides to crack the case to prove he’s not entirely useless. However, Claw and his cronies seem set to triumph and the two Gadgets must unite to stop them robbing the Federal Reserve.

Sure, there’s nothing unusual about the script. In fact, it seems to have arrived straight outta Cliché College, but that’s okay. The film is quite disarming in itself and will no doubt find just as many little fans as its predecessor did.

Made recently right here on our sunny streets, the film looks quite perfect. No artefacts, blacks are natural, shadow detail good and flesh tones are fine. The CG animation is mostly very nice, including an absolutely awesome opening credits sequence that has to be seen to be believed.

The colour palette is quite vibrant, with myriad pastels and brighter hues assailing us in nearly every frame. A lot of the CG stuff is very colourful as well, lending the cartoony feel to the film the first one kinda missed. Some very nice visual and special effects have been created here that come up looking a treat on DVD, especially some ‘bullet time’ shots in the final quarter. The Matrix has so much to answer for...

Only English in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, which sounds nice and clear without anything unwanted bullying for attention. The dialogue is all well spoken, with Stewart opting to sound like the cartoon in his rather Don Adams approach to Gadget’s voice. This he manages well enough, while Hendrix as G2 delivers a robotic voice more suitable to her entirely robot character. Or acting ability.

Sound effects are naturally comical, with a series of well mixed animal barnyard noises doing the barking for a couple of dogs occasionally (it’s part of the story). The gadgets and such are well effected as well, contributing once more to the cartoony feeling the director has no doubt gone for. The musical score to the film was created by Chris Hajian and is well suited to the overall atmosphere, keeping the theme light and colourful, despite moments of darker outlook.

Here’s where the extra value of the disc really shines. Being such an easily lauded film, they seem to have gone all out to show off the very technical approach they took to the movie and it’s quite effective in garnering credibility.

Firstly, Bruce Spence (!) narrates the Illustrated Gadget, a quick study of various regions of both Gadgets. Mildly interesting, but the kids will like it more than I did.

Then comes the Gadget Training Simulator Game in which we solve various problems with the Gadgetmobile. This is, without doubt, the most indepth interactive game I've yet seen on a DVD and has a decent replay value compared to most games. There is a ‘virtual prize’ at the end for those who make it all the way through training without getting shot by another recruit.

31:59 of Behind the Scenes: The Gadgets Behind Gadget’s Gadgets follows and features 13 separate mini featurettes about various tricks of the trade utilised for the production. Happily they have a play-all feature and, surprisingly, this is the highlight of the extras in being very informative. Thankfully, not all of the special effects were computer generated.

Deleted Scenes come next and these feature an optional director commentary. This is better with the commentary as it helps put the scenes into their true context. The deleted scenes go for 10:35 all up and are well worth the visit.

Outtakes follow and are the usual jiggery-pokery japery and run for 2:52. This is followed by the audio commentary which features director Alex Zamm, French Stewart and Elaine Hendrix. This is full of useful information and those gathered seem to truly enjoy each other’s company, but Stewart sounds like he’s on the phone from LA or something. He was very staticky and far away, but his comments do relate specifically to those of the others. Nice, all the same, but Stewart will require a little volume.

The music only track follows and is a little boring showing the film with just music. Why do they do this? I’m betting DVD padding is the answer. On the subject, a music video of Rose Falcon singing Up, Up, Up and featuring some footage from the film is next. Usual teen appeal here, with kids jumping on the bed and pretending to be rock stars. And being right in the camera looking coy too. Yawn.

Finally, a split-screen 1:50 storyboard to film comparison jets in. This is fairly good with both running parallel and isn’t overlong and boring as it features the dramatic bridge conclusion of the film, including special effects shots.

A very large bag of stuff to keep the kids amused for hours, no doubt. Good value too.

Being thanked for my help in the making of this film is the highlight of my showbiz career, without doubt (right at the end of the credits, they thank the people of the City of Brisbane and that includes me!). Anyway, the film is good fun and features a wide variety of local actors all having some serious fun with their roles. They include Bruce Spence, Sigrid Thornton, Mark Mitchell and Tony Martin, plus even Mungo McKay from the recent splatterfest Undead. Some of the nicer locations include The Story and William Jolly Bridges, Brisbane City Hall, the Botanical Gardens, Southbank and Kangaroo Point and I can say I’ve been to all of them, so there!

Ignoring the irritating product placement (for a certain multinational hamburger chain) and the tiny occasions of poor continuity, the kids will get a kick out of this one. It’s even watchable for parents with some more adult gags slipped in, but on the whole is just silly fun for anyone not wanting to do any Brain work (Geddit?).

...oh, and the Bryan Brown thing was a joke of course. He actually plays a tree.