Movie Info:
Writer: Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley
Director: Hoyt Yeatman
Cast: Bill Nighy, Sam Rockwell, Will Arnett, Jon Favreau, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage, Kelli Garner, Penélope Cruz, Tyler Patrick Jones, Steve Buscemi, Piper Mackenzie Harris
Rating: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: July 24, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $
I knew, as soon as I saw the commercials for G-Force that it was going to be stupid. You see, Disney has a few different styles of animation. First, there is Pixar, with movies that are always excellent and instantly become animated classics. Then there are the cool animated features that Disney actually took quite a bit of time to make, like The Princess and the Frog. Then there are these CGI flicks that seem to be made just for the amusement of today’s children with very little substance to them. G-Force is one of those films.
Yes, I guess talking guinea pigs are kind of cute. Making them superheroes seems a little ridiculous and though the cast appears to be decent, not even Jon Favreau can save a movie about a bunch of crazy rodents. I was bored to tears while watching this movie…but, I admit it. The kids loved this mindless, crazy little film. Have no doubts, your little ones will love it, but sadly I don’t think that Walt Disney had this drivel in mind when he was building his animated empire.
The thing I always liked about Disney was how family oriented their movies were. A mom could enjoy a Disney flick just as much as her kids. Heck, Dad and the Grandparents often were able to get in on the action, and enjoyed the film, as well. In the last decade or so, Disney has moved away from strictly family-friendly affairs and made movies that appeal more to kids, but make Mom and Dad want to slit their wrists if they have to watch these movies more than once. This makes me sad.
I grew up with Disney. I grew up watching Disney with my much older brother and my mom. It wasn’t a big deal that I was 5 and my brother was 14. He’d still watch it because he knew what a good movie was. Disney always had good movies back then. I don’t feel that way anymore. For example, my teenage son can only tolerate some of the Disney flicks that his five year old cousin wants to watch, but G-Force isn’t one of them. He was as bored as we were. Seriously, Jerry Bruckheimer. What were you thinking?
G-Force Plot
The FBI has trained an elite league of secret agents, all of which are animals. These animals have highly advanced weaponry and tools that allow them to perform their job well. One of the special forces is a group mainly made up of guinea pigs, that use a special earpiece, allowing them to speak to humans. The force is joined by a group of cockroaches who help them on their missions.
In the beginning of the film, we meet the team members. The team leader is Darwin (Sam Rockwell). Each of his crew has a specific specialty/function. The martial arts expert is Juarez (Penelope Cruz) and the weapons/transport guinea pig is Blaster (Tracy Morgan). Cyber technology is handled by Speckles (Nicolas Cage), and reconnaissance by a fly named Mooch (Dee Bradley Baker). Overseeing the team is Ben (Zach Galifinakis).
Ben decides to send them into Leonard Saber’s home. Saber is the owner of Saberling Technology and is an electronics mogul. He is also being watched by the FBI, and has been under their close supervision for several years. What they find is that Saber is up to no good and they have less than two days until his evil plan is set in motion. Unfortunately, Ben wasn’t supposed to send them on the mission and his boss is appalled that they went in without his permission or approval. This leads him to shut down the unit and order them all into a life of miserableness as animal experiment victims.
Luckily, they are all able to escape, intent on surviving and stopping Saber on their own. Along the way they meet additional animals including the piggy guinea pig, Hurley (Jon Favreau), a hamster, Bucky (Steve Buscemi), and three mice. With their new friends on their side, the team is sure they can stop Saber’s evil plan and get G-Force reinstated.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
G-Force is a kid’s movie so you can expect some lively graphics all around. Disney normally does not disappoint, making sure to offer excellent special effects and a flashy picture that kids will love. The black levels are strong, the colors are delightful, and the picture is crisp. Everything on those little animals stands out whether you like them or not. It’s hard to deny the good job that was done by the studio on this one. The biggest problem here, if anything, is over-saturation. Still, it is a little complaint in the scheme of things. Overall, there is little to complain about here and kids will definitely be happy with the result.
The audio is presented in a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. The audio is exactly what you would expect from a children’s movie. It’s not amazing audio, but it gets the job done for a kid’s movie and it’s passable in a general sense. Kids won’t have anything to complain about and I doubt most adults will like it enough to pick out the follies that are present (or not) in the audio. The dialogue is crisp and clean and the surround sound is active with background sounds and special effects noises of all kinds. In addition to English audio there are Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks and subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There is a fair amount of content available in the special features. The extras are split down the middle as far as high definition content goes. Some of it is standard and then there are a few special features that will fit in exclusively on Blu-ray. None of these really stood out as being amazing, in my own mind. Kids might like some of these though and some adults may find a few of these more interesting than the movie.
“Cine-Explore with Darwin, Blaster & Their Creator” – Why this movie has a picture-in-picture I am not quite sure. I highly doubt that most kids are going to appreciate, much less care that this is even on here. Yeatman shows up on the PiP to talk about the wonder that is his work and how he does it with a straight face, we will never know. Otherwise, you have the inner workings of G-force and a few of the guinea pigs coming around to toss out lines and annoy you a little more than they already did.
“G-Farce Bloopers and Flubs” – These are a small set of outtakes from the film. The actors are all in the sound booth, of course. This has some funny parts, but nothing incredibly laughable.
“Blaster’s Boot Camp” – Blaster (Morgan) is on the set to give kids the low down on how they can become agents for G-Force and the tools of the trade.
“G-Force Mastermind” – This is all about the inspiration behind the movie. Yeatman’s son, also named Hoyt Yeatman was the inspiration for this movie. Once Bruckheimer heard about it, he loved it and the rest is history. Amazing, right?
“Bruckheimer Animated” – The name kind of explains it all. This gives you a look at the CGI work done by Bruckheimer. It’s rather backpatting or else the purpose is to reaffirm that Bruckheimer has done CGI and this wasn’t his first attempt.
“Access Granted” – This gives you a trip into the animation lab. You get a tour of the department. It’s pretty general, but it’s obvious that they want to show you that a huge amount of work went into creating G-Force.
Things wrap up with six deleted scenes and a selection of music videos. The videos include Flo Rida’s “Jump,” “Go G-Force,” and Steve Rushton’s “Ready to Rock.”
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The greatest part of G-Force is the excellent visual quality and the decent audio track. I only wish that Bruckheimer and crew would have spent more time developing a story that wasn’t stupid. If you have little kids, you may want to get this, because this is only good if you want them to pass a little time and lose a few brain cells in the process. Otherwise, I recommend you pass this one up. It isn’t even worth the rent…not even in Blu-Ray.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: G-Force, Guinea Pig, Disney, Bruckheimer, Kids, Movie, CGI, Animation, Blu-ray Review, Movie Review
Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.
