Grace Randolph
Beyond the Trailer
Bolt and Inspector Gadget: An Homage...or Rip-Off?!
While watching the trailer for Disney's BOLT, I could help but notice a certain similarity to another cartoon: DIC Entertainment's INSPECTOR GADGET! Now sure, lots of kids have dogs, but you have to admit a mystery-solving girl paired with an intelligent dog is a unique situation. And then, there's the names:
INSPECTOR GADGET had Penny and Brain, BOLT has Penny and Bolt.
I can't imagine someone at Disney didn't catch that these similar characters have identical names, so if it is a rip-off it's either brash or sloppy. And if it's an homage why not milk it for all the publicity it's worth?
The main issue here - to me - is why Hollywood refuses to come up with new ideas, bastardizing original ideas in the process.
Because this is a much larger argument, let's contain it to BOLT vs. INSPECTOR GADGET. The original INSPECTOR GADGET ran from 1983 to 1986 to great success, then reached the big screen in 1999 - which most fans agree was a step down for the franchise. Nevertheless a direct to video sequel was made in 2003 and was so bad that the series was put back on the shelf.
Who made those two live action movies? Disney. Years later, clearly someone at Disney thought the Penny and Brain dynamic was interesting enough to warrant its own movie. Why would Disney choose to cannibalize its own property, which it torpedoed in the first place, rather than repairing a beloved series? And if there was something keeping Disney from using the Penny and Brain characters, well then surely there's room in the world for two distinct heroines and their dogs, right?
New ideas are what audiences respond to, and that's why BOLT's Rhino the Hampster steals the movie! :)
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