Inspector Gadget

"The greatest hero ever assembled."

1999 1h 18m EN

💀

4.5

SKIP

🥫

20%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

4.2

IMDB

★4.5TMDB · 1,376🥫20%Rotten Tomatoes●36Metacritic★4.2IMDB · 53,285

ActionAdventureComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

John Brown is a bumbling but well-intentioned security guard who is badly injured in an explosion planned by an evil mastermind. He is taken to a laboratory, where Brenda, a leading robotics surgeon, replaces his damaged limbs with state-of-the-art gadgets and tools. Named "Inspector Gadget" by the press, John -- along with his niece, Penny, and her trusty dog, Brain -- uses his new powers to discover who was behind the explosion.

“The greatest hero ever assembled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Matthew Broderick
Inspector Gadget / Robogadget / John Brown
Rupert Everett
Sanford Scolex
Joely Fisher
Brenda / Robobrenda
Michelle Trachtenberg
Penny
Andy Dick
Kramer
Cheri Oteri
Mayor Wilson
Mike Hagerty
Sikes
Dabney Coleman
Chief Quimby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Kellogg
Writers: Kerry Ehrin, Zak Penn, Kerry Ehrin
Languages: English, Norwegian, French, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Norwegian, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Inspector Gadget Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

269+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Kellogg, shot by Adam Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Kellogg directs. Adam Greenberg behind the camera. John Debney scores. Gerald B. Greenberg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Norwegian, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
327 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Norwegian, French, Spanish.
5Part of the "Inspector Gadget Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6269+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by David Kellogg, shot by Adam Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Gerald B. Greenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Matthew Broderick and Rupert Everett and Joely Fisher carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "The greatest hero ever assembled.".
12IMDB entry: tt0141369 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 11 themes, including "police", "detective", "superhero", "gadget".

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Greenberg
Original score: John Debney
Editing: Gerald B. Greenberg
Production design: Leslie Dilley
Costume design: Mary E. Vogt
Makeup / hair: Susan Schuler-Page
VFX supervisor: Richard R. Hoover
Sound: Lon Bender
Stunt coordinator: Gregg Smrz
Runtime: 78 min · 1h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $75,000,000
Box office: $134,403,112
Return: 179% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Inspector Gadget (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 20% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 36/100
IMDB rating: 4.2/10 · 53,285 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 win & 13 nominations total

Part of

Inspector Gadget Collection

Inspector Gadget is a detective whose body has been implanted with bionic organs that give him diverse abilities such as elongating limbs, an inflatable coat, and a helicopter hat. His main enemy is an evil and mysterious Doctor, the leader of a criminal organization. Gadget is assisted, without his knowledge, by his niece Keren and his dog "Brain". Inspector Gadget is based on the animated series called "Detective Sense".

Also by

David Kellogg

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-10-10
★ 7/10
Another one rated too low, I assume that is due to it - so I read - not being "faithful" to the original television series. I have never watched that so I couldn't judge it in those terms, but as a film I enjoyed it I won't lie. 'Inspector Gadget' is very silly but self-aware, in a similar vein to 'Looney Tunes: Back in Action' and 'The Cat in the Hat'. I enjoyed those two films and, while this isn't as good as those, I liked this enough. I probably wont ever rewatch, but I can see younger audiences finding enjoyment with it. There aren't, admittedly, any super noteworthy performances here, but that's not to say Matthew Broderick & Co. are bad in this - they give what's necessary. There's a few interesting cameos in there, too. There are a couple of fairly amusing moments, but it's the dumbness that I think they do well - it's stupid and they know it. Like those other films I mentioned earlier, you're gonna annoy a lot of people by doing that so I can see why this gets hate - I don't think 44% is fair though, but each to their own of course.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-11-12
★ 3/10
A film that entertains without marveling, and that can frustrate fans of the cartoon. Inspector Gadget was an amazing cartoon, but it had a brief stint on Portuguese television. I remember him, and I really enjoyed seeing him, but I don't remember seeing him much longer than four or five years. Despite this, it was one of the cartoons that I was most interested in as a child. The live-action movie we have here, however, doesn't do it justice... which doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. Plain and simple, the film is what it is: a piece of entertainment full of weaknesses. Designed to appeal to children and teenagers, I have serious doubts about the film's ability to appeal to adults, particularly fans of the original cartoon. It's not a bad movie, it's minimally funny and has some effective comic material, but most of the time it fails to make you laugh. Also, the film has bad dialogue and the script is quite poor and poorly written. So poorly written that I'm afraid of spoiling it if I say too much, so I'll limit myself to saying that the film follows the creation of Inspector Gadget and the birth of his archenemy, Claw. The cast is one of the most redeeming qualities of this film. Even with a basic story and very weak material on hand, each actor did the best they could, and I'm pretty sure they all tried to put in the effort and be professional. However, some did better than others. Rupert Everett, for example, makes the most of his charisma and steals our attention whenever he appears, with well-placed, sarcastic humour. Matthew Broderick doesn't do poorly in this job either, but he seems to find much more difficulties with his character. Joely Fisher is attractive but has little to do. Mike Hagerty and Michelle Trachtenberg are relegated to the shadows most of the time. Disney invested some money in the film, and it shows in the quantity and quality of the visual effects and CGI used. Gadget is very similar to the original, with the same clothes and the most striking gadgets from the cartoon, as well as the problems, confusions and breakdowns that have always characterized the character. The sets and filming locations help and do their part, as does the soundtrack, which contains a new version of the old cartoon theme song.