Here it comes - by far the biggest news I've ever had to tell you about this reboot. A promotional video clip including
the full new intro sequence and theme song as well as
two minutes of an actual episode has
been released by DHX to Worldscreen.com! So get yourself over there and
watch it!
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| Screenshot from... you guessed it... the new intro! |
I'm working on sorting out my thoughts right now (and they are MANY! and they are MIXED!), but in the meantime, I just had to spread the word here. My commentary is on its way.
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| Screenshot from the episode "Game Over, Man" |
That intro was quite reminiscent of the original intro: the Gadget Siren bit at the start, Chief Quimby's appearance, the handcuff-bomb bit, and the series logo.
ReplyDeleteEven if they aren't pieces of paper anymore, it's good to see they're still doing the self-destructing messages. I hope Quimby will say "Why do I put up with him?!" at one point in the series.
The whole "going into space" bit does remind me quite a bit of "Focus on Gadget" and "M.A.D. in the Moon," only this time they're going in a spaceship version of the Gadgetmobile!
Still looks pretty interesting, and may be perhaps the most faithful to the original series of any spin-off!
Though the artwork is sort of different from the original classic, but to all the retro nerds and fans of the original series "which I'm both by the way".
ReplyDeleteYes I notice that the opening is different along with Gadget's HQ is hidden in a flower shop than a trash can.
The theme song sounds more like "Hall of The Mountain King" which the original song was based from and singing cross between a James Bond movie and Power Rangers.
Gadget's message's are holograms instead of paper.
The Gadgetmobile looks more modern.
Gadget's voice sounds more like Dan Aykroyd.
Penny's pants don't look the same as the original.
Brain looking more like a dog than a cartoon.
Dr. Claw has a nephew.
And the Chief looks more like Commissioner Gordon from Batman.
Honestly, gotta keep up with the times, if you don't like the changes, watch the classic and SHUT UP!
I'm very excited to see Gadget returning to the Television screens, it gives me hope that the future won't be so depressing and boring:)
I...I...I...I...I...I... I just want to go to DHX, and destroy all of their computers...
ReplyDeleteThe intro was alright, so was chief quimby and I do like it that you can see Gadget's eyebrows, but the rest is just not very good at all. Gadget's mannerisms seem childlike (he's a middle aged police inspector for goodness sakes) and his voice is weird. Brain looks weird and I haven't liked this art style choice from the get go, it just seems generic modern animation design, cg is never gonna be as good as hand drawn and it's just far too elastic. If you pause it in the intro during the copter bit he becomes nearly 12 feet long for a second. Why is the police scientist an ex game show host, I've never liked the thought of the gadgetmobile changing massively like that, and what's up with the super tiny wheels, why not keep the original gadgetmobile for a change? I think at anonymous' suggestion I'll stick the real original inspector gadget thank you.
I think that if they changed Gadget's voice, made him much less elastic, made his hat fit properly and brought back the original gadgetmobile and had the writing more like the original series it'd be much better.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts: This is REFRESHING. Gadget is less of a complete idiot and more of an eccentric. "I don't have a gun. I don't need a gun. I am Inspector Gadget...and this...is my _spoooon_."
ReplyDeleteIt's also clearer that he doesn't work for the local police, but for something like an investigative consulting firm (I have the show "Millennium" on the brain) that can tolerate someone like him.
The "mission projectors" make a fair amount of sense in that they would actually HAVE a self-destruct mechanism, and they work REALLY WELL at making short work of exposition. (They're also within the realm of current technology, even if the execution of them is outlandish.)
Lastly, whatever negatives show up in the final product, I don't care. There's so much doom and gloom in the real world that I long for the new show's bright colors and madcap physical humor.
This three minute clip completely illustrates the fact that the people making this show have ZERO concept about what Gadget is actually all about. I mean, look at how short his Jacket is! It's like a mini-skirt! What is it with clothing getting so short now-a-days? I can fully see Gadget's upper thighs, and frankly that's just unacceptable. The Gadget of my childhood would never be caught dead in something so revealing! Speaking of pants, why are Penny's blue? Her old green pants immediately spoke to her utilitarian character; but her new skinny jeans just make her look like some spoiled bourgeois kid. Green = good, blue = bad. It's literally a character assassination!
ReplyDeleteThen there's the animation, which from every last snippet I've seen (here and elsewhere) looks like it was done by a pack of mouth-breathing, inbred, computer illiterate dinks without a creative bone in their pale and gelatinous bodies. So far there hasn't been a scene that's convinced me the animators could find their way out of a wet paper bag. Disgusting. The whole thing just leaves me feeling:
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--b1uvYJ98--/omfmevleka4y2bmfn009.gif
Feeling safe behind your computer monitor?
DeleteOf course they are. The pussy doesn't have the balls to actually say it to the faces of any of the people he claims to know oh-so much about. Prick.
DeleteWoah, woah, woah! Guys! I think everyone should settle down! Or! Or... settle things with a round of SSB! 1 life, no items.
DeleteYou sad string of nameless cowards.
DeleteWhen is the review coming?
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I can get it out. I'm still working on it. (My days right now are quite busy, which is why I'm not gonna make an exact prediction.)
DeleteSurprised nobody's commented on Claw's sharper dress sense (he's no longer wearing black!)...
ReplyDelete"watch the classic and SHUT UP!"
ReplyDeleteOh, bugger off! It's the likes of you that entertainment quality keeps going downhill. No matter what they do, to you it's always awesome and then you tell others to shut up?! You have no critical thought and you just wanna lick boots.
By the way, we have confirmation that Brian Drummond is NOT Doctor Claw in this series.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/BrianDrummondVO/status/527703932496527360
And thank god for that! :D (Nothing personal against Brian, but I can't stand his Doctor Claw voice.) Thanks for the info. :)
DeleteOf course, it still doesn't tell us who it might be.
DeleteTrue. No way of knowing if the new voice will be better. But I'm hoping.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6RAZ2mXWRQ&t=0m49s
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) I found that clip a little while back myself, but I have really been low on time for blogging lately. Will hopefully do a post on this soon.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMy view of this has softened quite a bit now, I think it was just the shock of the difference from the original. Some of the animation in that new DHX clip was quite good. Only a couple of things I'm still dead against, the new gadget mobile, the original is the best, always will be. Gadget doesn't need a jetpack, it just seems too bulky and unnecessary when he's got his copter, don't know if you noticed but he's now got a teleporter in his pinky, don't like that, and finally the gameshow host scientist, gonna be muting it whenever he's talking. Wonder what Dr. Claw sounds like.
DeleteSTUFF I LIKE:
ReplyDelete• First of all I'm happy they're doing a Gadget re-boot.
• I am delighted that they seem to have kept the show's original format
• I like the art style of the characters
• Glad that they have retained the original characters without changing anything too much or making Penny a great deal older.
• I am not going to grumble about what seems to be Claw's "son". It might be far better than having unnamed agents every week.
• Gadget's face is perfect, with good expressions. Arguably, it's even better than the original! Getting the face right is crucial to him being funny, and I can definitely imagine laughing at this guy.
• The faces of Penny and Quimby are also spot on.
• Happy that the title sequence draws heavily from the original title sequence
• Gadget's voice is different from Don Adams but the difference doesn't bother me.
• I like the "Flick" (scientist) character. Strangely, his voice reminds me of Frank Welker, and even the new Gadget's voice reminds of Frank Welker! (Maybe everything just reminds me of Frank Welker?)
STUFF I DON'T LIKE:
Delete• Above all, I am very, very disappointed about the theme music. They have scrapped Shuki Levy's original theme (which was a perfect and outstanding theme tune). Instead, they have based the tune on Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" which is a totally unrelated (and inferior) piece of music. It always really bugs me when these two pieces of music are confused. Shuki Levy is a genius and his amazing theme tune deserves to be retained. (The theme for the 1999 movie was done by academy-award nominated composer John Debney. He didn't change the theme one bit, acknowledging in an interview that the original theme was too goo to change.)
• Sorry but Brain looks ugly to me. I can see that they have tried to make him more "dog-like" which was a good idea; however somehow he is no longer cute or endearing. He just looks weird and not friendly.
• Frankly I think the Gadgetmobile looks stupid. The Gadgetmobile was always a really cool car (in both modes) and I wished I could own one. I don't think I would be seen dead in that thing :D
• This theme tune is very light-hearted and feels like the show is "just a bit of fun", not taking itself very seriously. The original theme made you pay attention and gave the impression there was real danger, adventure, and something very important at stake. Are viewers going to really care about these characters at all? IMHO, comedy is not funny unless it's based on a serious dramatic "foundation". To me, this theme tune says: "just another light-hearted cartoon". It lacks dramatic energy. And I don't like the rock style.
• I like the backdrops, but for me the colors seem a little too heavy, vivid, and cold (especially those shown in the title sequence). The original show used soft, warm, beautiful, natural colours to make the characters stand out and draw the eye to center frame. This sequence has lots of vivid and dark colors and the palette often looks haphazard and clashing, rather than beautiful. There are a lot of cold blues and it often looks kind of cold in hue rather than warm. The sky looks very cold indeed!
• One problem I have with 3D models is that they often look like they don't have any weight and are made out of paper. These models suffer from that, in my eyes. Some of the animation looks a little jerky, weightless and unnatural (in my opinion).
• Brain doesn't seem to be doing much. Classic Brain was always full of life, always fooling around in the background and getting involved. This Brain isn't reacting to anything that's going on at all, he's just sitting there motionless like a piece of background scenery.
• They've completely changed Penny's character! (Why do re-boots always do this?) Penny used to be a totally sincere and sweet character and she (almost) never used sarcasm. This new Penny however seems smarmy, sarcastic and slightly "tough". Presumably this new Penny is still highly intelligent? If so, her great intelligence has to be matched with an equal amount of humility and respect towards her uncle—she should never be condescending or bratty, or people won't like her. This character constantly stands with her hand on her hip, it makes her look cocky; this is nothing like the soft and feminine Penny we know and love. This is a radically different character, with a totally different nature and voice. This girl seems more like a troublemaker than the original good-girl Penny. I really do not like this Penny one bit.
MORE STUFF I DON'T LIKE:
Delete• Quimby's voice is OK but it's a little lacking in authority. Quimby is suppoed to be a totally serious, no-nonsense, seasoned professional; a man of power and authority. This makes it all the more funny when contrasted with how idiotic Gadget is, and how he keeps getting blown up. But if Quimby is too "friendly" then it's not funny.
• In my humble opinion there is some weird direction/storyboarding going on. Here's one example: Quimby pops up out of the popcorn. At this point you might expect a close-up shot of the popcorn, or a medium close up of Quimby talking. What do they show? As soon as Quimby pops up, they cut away to a mid shot of Gadget, Penny and Brain which excludes Quimby! This is just weird. Another example is after Flick has shown Gadget his equipment, Gadget says "great work professor" and then just walks out of frame, before it cuts to a shot of them all with their seatbelts on in the Gadgetmobile. Seems like a clumsy way to jump over the passage of time. I would have expected a cut away to a wide shot, or close-up of him turning the key, or a pan towards the car, and then to see the final stage of gadget getting in the car/putting his belt on as if to indicate what has just happened.
• I don't like the background music. Shuki Levy's music was really enjoyable to listen to, with great pieces of background music that made the whole experience fun to watch. This music, however, just seems like bland, generic background music. It's well-produced, but sadly there is no "music" to speak of, just background sounds to punctuate the action. It's the kind of soundtrack you'd expect during the comedy scene of a film—except that this no doubt runs all the way through the entire episode which I would imagine would be tiresome.
• There is some good animation, but there's too much quick, zippy animation. It's OK for funny/action scenes, but if Gadget is always zipping around at lightning speeds it makes him seem less human. And you can't laugh at a man if you don't believe he's a real person.
• To me, despite being an idiot and a goofball, Gadget is supposed to be a mature adult who acts his age. I don't like to see Gadget watching TV with his legs crossed like a teenager. I also think it's unfortunate that he has a very low-down armchair which makes him look more like one of those teenagers who sits on low-down things. It's a little demeaning. I think part of the reason Gadget is funny is because he has self-respect and believes he is a mature adult, which makes it funny when he acts like an idiot.
All my criticisms are said with respect and not intended to be rude about the new production but I am just expressing my honest opinion and perhaps someone involved may find it helpful. It's a franchise I really care about which is why I make a fuss. I kind of wish I could write, direct, animate, voice, and score this show myself :) Perhaps I am as deluded as Gadget! :) LOL
Of all my criticisms, my three biggest problems are: the cocky Penny, the non-cute Brain, and the theme tune which is too light-hearted and totally disregards Shuki Levy's original tune.?
Hi, and thank you for your in-depth comments/analysis. :) I think your observations are very interesting, and I actually personally agree with many of them. Not all of them, though... some things I directly disagree with, like the part about Gadget's face (I don't dislike the new facial design, but the charm of the original one blows it out of the water for me). But hey, that's what makes for interesting debate. We don't have to agree on everything.
DeleteSince I'm still working on a commentary for this (believe it or not; yes, really), it feels a little redundant jumping into an in-depth discussion of my thoughts here, so I'll refrain from that for now. Still, I appreciate the comments; and feel free to ramble on if you have more thoughts, on stuff you see here or in other posts.
I'll point out one thing, though: the character you assume to be Dr Claw's "son" is actually his nephew, named Talon, a different word for 'claw'. Since you didn't know that, I assume you might be relatively new to this blog (Talon has been mentioned in many press releases which I've reported about since the summer of 2013)... and if so, welcome to the site. ;) Myself, I'm sceptical towards giving Claw relatives of any sort; since it can easily become distracting from his mystery, and risk making him more laughable than intimidating... but I'll wait and see how they handle it.