Inspector Gadget 2

Inspector Gadget 2 is a 2003 American live-action comedy film, released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD on March 11, 2003. The film is based on the 1983 cartoon series created by DIC Entertainment and is a sequel to the 1999 film, Inspector Gadget.

Inspector Gadget 2
American DVD cover
Directed byAlex Zamm
Produced by
  • Charles Hirschhorn
  • Peter M. Green
Written by
  • Alex Zamm
  • Ron Anderson
  • William Robertson
Based onInspector Gadget
by Andy Heyward
Jean Chalopin
Bruno Bianchi
Starring
Music byChris Hajian
CinematographyGeoffrey Wharton
Edited byJimmy Hill
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Home Entertainment
Release date
  • March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million[1]

Unlike the first film, Inspector Gadget 2 is considered a more faithful adaptation of the original animated series. The characters' personalities were altered to be more in line with their cartoon counterparts and Dr. Claw's face is never shown. Gadget and Claw are never referred to as "John Brown" and "Sanford Scolex", their respective civilian names from the first film (though Claw's communicator is still labeled as "Scolex Industries").

With the exception of D. L. Hughley, who returned as the voice of the Gadgetmobile, none of the actors from the 1999 film reprised their roles.

Plot

Inspector Gadget (French Stewart) and his Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley) are having problems in their line of work, mostly because of Gadget's overzealous nature and his paranoia about minor crimes committed by citizens.[2] Gadget is put on probation by an angry Chief Quimby (Mark Mitchell) after criminally charging Quimby's mother for going slightly above the speed limit on a mostly-deserted highway. At this time, Dr. Claw (Tony Martin) escapes from prison, seeking to get revenge against Gadget for putting him in prison and to restart his multi-million-dollar empire. Mayor Wilson (Sigrid Thornton) takes this opportunity to create G2 (Elaine Hendrix), a female Gadget-type robot that can function normally compared to the original Gadget, who not only was born a human but has been malfunctioning as of late. Gadget begins to fall in love with G2, though G2 does not reciprocate as she prefers to work alone, viewing him as a nuisance.

Dr. Claw begins a new plan to steal gold from the Federal Reserve. Gadget makes repeated attempts to stop Claw, but is continually foiled by his own bumbling and gadgetry glitches. Gadget's bumbling allows Dr. Claw's men to steal components for Claw's latest scheme and get away with it. Chief Quimby becomes increasingly frustrated and eventually fires Gadget, despite Gadget having enough evidence from scientists to prove that it wasn't his fault. When Penny (Caitlin Wachs) realizes that her uncle was fired and asks if there is anything she can do to help, Gadget tells her that she is still too young and to not get involved. Meanwhile, Dr. Claw's henchmen are now free to steal the rest of the components for Claw's scheme.

Penny decides to examine the evidence on her own and eventually finds Claw's hideout at an abandoned bowling factory in the outskirts of the city. She infiltrates the hideout, but Claw and his men capture her. Gadget gets a job as a limo driver. Claw activates a bowling pin containing laughing gas to keep the people busy as he steals a 50,000-karat ruby, however G2 is immune to the gas. In order to stop the robot, Claw uses a magnet to trap G2. Afterwards, Claw and his minions escape, but Gadget fails to recognize them. After G2's failure, Quimby is ordered by Mayor Wilson to deactivate the robot and end the Gadget program.

Feeling that G2 was scapegoated, and still in love with her, Inspector Gadget goes to the police department to reactivate G2. Brain (voiced by Jeff Glenn Bennett), having escaped Claw's men, tells them through a dog translation device that Claw has kidnapped Penny and has used the three stolen supplies (ionic fuel cells, a protoid laser, and a ruby) to build a super-weapon. Upon realizing that Claw is based in the bowling factory, Gadget finally connects the evidence Penny previously presented to him (the bowling shoe) and regrets not listening to her. Gadget asks G2 to help him save Penny and foil Claw's scheme, and G2 agrees.

The next day, Claw activates his machine, which was hidden in a truck. The weapon is a laser that freezes time in Riverton, allowing Claw and his minions to easily rob the Federal Reserve. Claw has plans to not only use the laser against Riverton, but also the entire world, so he can rob Fort Knox and a variety of other places. Both Gadgets manage to avoid the weapon's blast, and find Claw and his minions at the Federal Reserve.

At the treasury, Claw orders his minions to attack Gadget and G2 so he can get away. Gadget and G2 decide to switch chips in order to make Gadget work perfectly, leaving G2 to deal with the glitches but to still successfully capture Claw's hired goons. Gadget chases after Claw, who is escaping in an ice cream truck, but Claw drops Penny off the truck with explosives attached to her. After saving Penny's life from an explosion, Gadget and Penny reunite with G2 and the Gadgetmobile. At a bridge, Gadget stops Claw's truck with a puddle of bubble gum. Claw's minions try to escape, but get stuck in the smear of bubble gum and are arrested. When Gadget orders Claw to put his hand (and claw) up, Claw gets away in a rocket-like escape pod, proclaiming: "You may have won this round, but I'll get you next time, Gadget!" After Claw escapes, Gadget, Penny and G2 go to Claw's laser to unfreeze Riverton. Both Gadget and G2 are congratulated by Mayor Wilson and Chief Quimby (who happily rehires Gadget). After the meeting, Gadget and G2 share a kiss outside the city hall. In the process, fireworks emerge from Gadget's hat. A firecracker lands right near Quimby and Wilson and the fuse burns out. After a few seconds, it explodes, causing both Wilson and Quimby to angrily yell out Gadget's name, closing the film.

Cast

Production

The film was shot entirely in and around Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Filming locations included the Queensland University of Technology Gardens Point Campus, Queensland Parliament House, University of Queensland St Lucia Campus, South Bank Parklands Beach, Toowong Village, Anglican Church Grammar School and the William Jolly Bridge.

Reception

The film received lukewarm reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating 40%, based on five reviews, an improvement over the first film.[3]

Joe Leydon of Variety gave the film a negative review.[4] Radio Times gave the film a two out of five stars.[5] Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars, saying, "Silly sequel has cartoonish violence, stereotyping."[6]

References
  1. "Inspector Gadget 2 (2003) (V) - Box office / business". IMDb.
  2. "Disney Is Reviving The 'Inspector Gadget' Franchise". Sciencefiction.com. 2019-10-07. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-11-04. Even though the film wasn’t a huge hit, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel, ‘Inspector Gadget 2’, in 2003. D. L. Hughley, who voiced the Gadgetmobile in the first movie, returned, but he was the only returning cast member. French Stewart (‘3rd Rock From the Sun’) replaced Broderick.
  3. "Inspector Gadget 2". rottentomatoes.com. 11 March 2003.
  4. https://www.variety.com/2003/film/reviews/inspector-gadget-2-2-1200542577/amp/
  5. https://www.radiotimes.com/film/sjxw/inspector-gadget-2/
  6. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/inspector-gadget-2
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