G-Force

Jerry Bruckheimer makes a play for the under-10s with G-Force – about the only demographic he hasn’t yet completely conquered – in another venture with Walt Disney, which knows this market best.

It’s a scaled-down-for-tots action adventure, framed somewhat gratuitously in 3D from a screenplay generated by the National Treasure team about a SWAT-like force of CG guinea pigs. And a mole. And a few cockroaches. A quick caveat: while kids may squeal in delight, gangs of realistically-rendered 3D cockroaches are not necessarily something parents want to pay to see.

It’s a shame that the heart of the story doesn’t beat strongly enough to match the visual invention onscreen.

After the fresh breeze that lifted Up and Ice Age 3, G-Force feels like a more calculated, cynical effort. An all-star voice cast – led by Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell – has been drafted in to portray the remarkably-lifelike pigs, while the film comes replete with the type of knowing humour which supposedly appeals to parents (“don’t drop a pellet” says one guinea pig, while the other marvels at the villain’s “$6,000-suit, $50,000 watch, and….size 36 Hanes tighty-whiteys.”).

G-Force wears its inspiration on its sleeve (Transformers, Babe, Toy Story, box office), but the marketing power of Bruckheimer/Disney can never be discounted and there’s certainly a gap in the market as Ice Age cools off which G-Force could partially fill. Whether it will do better business for pet shops than Disney remains to be seen; a film franchise seems unlikely, but a TV series could be ideal.