G-Force (2009) ***

By Rebecca Stewart

Cast: Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage (voice), Sam Rockwell (voice), Jon Favreau (voice), Penelope Cruz (voice), Steve Buscemi (voice), Tracy Morgan (voice)
Writing Credits: The Wibberleys, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Tim Firth
Classification: Australia TBC | US PG | UK PG
Run time: 89 minutes
Directed by: Hoyt Yeatman

Disney have never been good at appealing to adults, and G-Force is no exception. While children will be thoroughly entertained by talking guinea pigs, car chases and the occasional fart gag, the adults can tolerate the hour and a half long timeframe while appreciating how far three dimensional movie making has come.

With scattered funny lines, G-Force combines live action with 3-D computer animation, and follows the tale of FBI agent hopefuls - three talking guinea pigs, helped by a fly, a mole and their two human handlers. The specially trained group of tiny heroes are out to stop a diabolical billionaire planning on taking over the world.

But Walt Disney know kids, and G-Force is a great kids movie. While adults may find it difficult to relate to the furry heroes and feel both their pain and joy, younger viewers will enjoy following the ups and downs of their small heroes. And, for both older and younger viewers, the final revelation of the mysterious billionaire and his reasons for taking over the world keeps the story interesting to the very end.

For adult viewers, the traditional Walt Disney “happily ever after” formula is not unexpected, but the journey to the end will have young viewers laughing and gasping the whole way through.

This is producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s first experiment with 3-D animation, though he is no stranger to Disney - he was one of the men behind the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Academy Award® winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman takes on his first full length feature as director.

Yeatman does a brilliant job bringing together the vocal talents of Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz and Tracy Morgan as the FBI hopefuls along with Nicolas Cage as their high-tech guru. The cast is rounded off with Bill Nighy as appliance mogul Saber, Will Arnett as FBI non-believer Kip Killian and Zach Galifianakis as the kind-hearted, nerdy handler of the furry secret agents.

While adults may only smile or giggle slightly at the shenanigans of the furry secret agents’ quest, they will gasp along with the younger viewers at the 3-D effects. While the team of five writers may have been too much to keep some funny in (for older viewers anyway), there are enough jokes for younger viewers to make the film worthwhile.

For some good holiday fun, take the kiddies along for a fun few hours out.

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