Having decided to get back into Disney+ recently, I noticed a certain category appearing in the app that seemed kind of interesting despite the cringeworthy name: Throwbacks. This category being full of older Disney films from the VHS and early DVD days in which their films were made more for the market outside of the cinema. I have had a bit of fun going through this category lately as I rediscover the films from my childhood, falling for Disney's manipulation over my nostalgia! I've rediscovered films I loved and hated, but either way completely forgot ever existed, falling down deep into the rabbit hole of now looking forward to discovering these films again and seeing the actors of yesteryear that were once the forefront of Hollywood. Not to fail to also admit that I have found it quite fun to see how many of these truly are just terrible or whether any remotely manage to hold up all these days later; especially given many of these are considered family films for a wider demographic. That said, I recently saw "My Favourite Martian" and that definitely had a fair share of more adult themes!
There's something unique and very much enjoyable about these bad older Disney films. Perhaps their simplicity and shorter runtimes that came with just a more relaxed era of Hollywood and filmmaking. Either riddled with cheap, early special effects or none at all. But a fair share of unique filmmaking techniques and styles that added their own appeal to the stories and films somehow. It's a genuine case of they just don't make them like they used to; as Hollywood's agendas have shifted and it's pursuit to make big money on every possible title results in an industry very cautious of risk. And it's in these older films where there is plenty of risk, albeit with significantly smaller budgets and ambitions. But is that a bad thing? I don't think so. These films, including Inspector Gadget, are bad films but simple and enjoyable still. They do what they need to and then move on; not trying to become franchise hits every time, and still very much oriented around unique, very personality-driven narratives.
Inspector Gadget
Following in that structure of simple narratives, Inspector Gadget is a film that is mostly surrounding itself with the exploration of the creation of Inspector Gadget. With comedic elements around the character growth that comes from the unfortunate events that led to our protagonist, played by Matthew Broderick, become a machine capable of pretty much anything. Being an incompetent but very ambitious security guard and wanting to pursue something greater in the place force, but just constantly getting rejected and not really having the intelligence and experience to be a detective. For a while we see this ambition, family structure, and wholesomeness that follows him despite this more idiotic nature he holds. And it's his own curiosity and ambition to pursue something greater that leads to him becoming incredibly injured, with the only way to survive him being to turn him into some militarised prototype.
Those of us with some interest in the cyberpunk and neo-noir genre will instantly find connections to this theme with the hit film of RoboCop, in which a cop gets hurt on the job and on the brink of death, only saved by capitalistic intentions to turn man into an unstoppable force by combining him with machine. Though for a more comedic film for the whole family, this change seems sudden and somewhat lighthearted, fully of comedic moments rather than the reality in which this protagonist is no longer human, and has been forcefully turned into a weapon for another's agenda. Even Inspector Gadget can be a bit dark, it seems! Though these comedic moments in the film break the film and its more darker undertones up and take us out of any ideas that what we are seeing is actually quite grim. I noticed frequent jokes that broke the fourth wall which were sometimes done quite well. A joke about how someone may have been watching too many cartoons, only for the characters in the frame to stop what they're and look into the camera; only for a character in the camera's spot to appear after and seem confused over what that was all about.
As you can tell, this isn't a film that really takes itself seriously. And this is of course very evident. Particularly in the editing style that seems the film changing scenes via creative transitions. Bubbles that appear and us into the next scene. Opening up to display a character looking again into the camera. Or jumps between locations and additional events that slowly fold the film's broader narrative and challenges. But this comes a bit later into the film's runtime. The whole villain and Gadget attempting to save the day stuff comes within the last 30 minutes of the film's 120 minute runtime. With the rest of the film just being the ways in which Inspector Gadget completely fails to be remotely useful to anyone. Discovering his gadgets and tools while not actually accomplishing anything with them. Mostly just failing and never really triumphing with them. It was actually quite nice to see given we are so used to the structure of modern superhero films in which characters only briefly fail before suddenly becoming masters. This failure to accomplish much with these gadgets extends into the character of Gadget himself, showing his lack of confidence and experience in anything that's hands-on. His failures are very much on-brand for the character we are introduced to, so it all makes sense. This of course does actually mean that his moments of brief accomplishments do actually feel both deserved and justified. Where there is actual character growth that has been earned and rewarded.
I truthfully expected much worse of the film, but don't get me wrong here, it most definitely is a bad film. But one that has its own decent qualities that make it fun. It came at a time in which Disney actually had some soul to it still, where such silly films like this were not considered too risky and instead were given a chance. Fun for a wide range of ages with the characters and jokes the film holds. While again, I do admit it's a bad film, I can't help but appreciate that this film, and many like it, were allowed to exist. There's much to appreciate about these films that do something different, even if it seems cheap or just not that great as the years go on. It feels like a film rather than a mere product; which it still is! But that's the difference between today and back then: the films still being advertisements didn't mean they didn't stand out well on their own. Perhaps some this is nostalgia speaking, perhaps some of this praise stems from being a filmmaker. Or just perhaps some of these compliments are just a result of an exhausted film fan that can't help but feel the magic of big names has been lost over the years.
Regardless of the reasoning, Inspector Gadget felt a bit dated in parts. With the music, editing, and story. It is everything today isn't, and that can't be considered a negative. Being different is good.
