phyllis jeanne somerville played penny in inspector gadget the movie.
who played penny in inspector gadget the movie?
phyllis jeanne somerville
inspector gadget (also known as inspector gadget: the movie and the real inspector gadget in the working title) is a 1999 american science fiction action comedy film directed by david kellogg and written by kerry ehrin and zak penn from a story by ehrin and dana olsen. loosely based on the 1983 animated television series of the same name, the film stars matthew broderick as the title character, rupert everett as dr. claw, michelle trachtenberg as penny and dabney coleman as chief quimby. three new characters were introduced such as dr. brenda bradford (played by joely fisher), mayor wilson (played by cheri oteri) and the gadgetmobile (voiced by d. l. hughley). the film tells the story of how inspector gadget and dr. claw came to be. it was filmed in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, baton rouge, louisiana and los angeles, california with the ice castle-like main tower of pittsburgh's ppg place playing a central role.
inspector gadget (film)
the titular character of the series, inspector gadget, is both a police inspector and a cyborg. gadget is dressed in a mackintosh raincoat and trilby hat. when he uses the phrase "go-go gadget", various "useful bionic gadgets" are activated and emerge from underneath his coat and hat. the gadgets are built into his body, and often malfunction. inspector gadget is a bionic man with enhancements attached to his body. the original television series gave no background for him. the spin-off television series "gadget boy & heather" (1995-1998) gives an origin story for him. in this version, gadget was conceived as a bionic child who has the mind of an adult detective. his bionic enhancements are creations of myron dabble, an inventor who lives in switzerland. the various hidden appliances within gadget render him a cyborg equivalent of a swiss army knife, a multi-tool. the enhancements were intended to grant him status as a "super sleuth". his body has been upgraded, but his intellect has received no equivalent enhancements. inspector gadget has access to many different weapons and gadgets, but seems to lack in intellect. he habitually blunders his way through cases, in a style similar to inspector clouseau. terry rowan describes gadget as "clumsy" and "dimwitted". despite his advanced equipment, gadget is clueless and incompetent. he constantly faces obstacles and perils, but manages to survive by either his own good luck or covert help by penny and brain. the car which inspector gadget drives is a matra murena. inspector gadget's boss is chief quimby. inspector gadget is covertly assisted by his niece penny, who is typically the person who actually solves their cases. penny is a master of investigation and technology. her main technological devices are a computer in the form of a book, and a wristwatch that is actually a device with multiple uses. she secretly monitors her uncle's activities and intervenes to help him. she foils the plans of m.a.d. due to the secrecy of her activities, she never receives credit for them and only her dog is aware of them. penny herself is assisted by her pet dog brain. brain has human-level intellect and is bipedal. brain is often tasked with keeping inspector gadget safe and uses various disguises. the second season of the series also introduced an actual sidekick for inspector gadget, called corporal capeman. the main opponents to gadget and his supporting cast are the members of the evil organization m.a.d. gadget's archenemy is dr. claw, the leader of the organization. dr. claw serves mostly as an unseen character. typically only his hands and arms are visible. his hands are covered by gauntlets. dr. claw is depicted sitting in front of a computer terminal, from where he monitors the developments of his various schemes. his headquarters are located at an old castle. niall richardson and adam locks, cultural studies scholars, cite inspector gadget as an example of the "physical cyborg" concept. these types of characters are part man, and part machine. the concept was popularized by cinema and television. the writers cite as other examples of this type steve austin, darth vader, iron man, and robocop.
inspector gadget (1983 tv series)