Guinea Pigs Gone Wild

This Jerry Bruckheimer guy isn't so bad. First, he gives us "CSI". Then he gives us "Eleventh Hour" (though I'm really peeved CBS didn't have the good sense to renew it for a second season, in spite of it attracting millions of viewers a week).

Now, Bruckheimer gives us...guinea pigs.

Watching TV tonight, I saw the first promo for "G-Force," a 3-D animated movie featuring the voices of Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz, Oscar-winning actor Nicholas Cage, award-winning comedian Tracy Morgan, and others.

The movie's tagline is "Gadgets. Gizmos. Guinea Pigs." Think James Bond meets Disney digital animation. The guinea pigs work for the government, and are armed to their plump rumps with high-tech spy equipment to help save the world. (Okay, so as with the plot lines of a lot of children's books and movies, all adults need to just suspend disbelief, tap into their inner child, go with the flow, and have a couple of hours of fun.) The G-Force trailer promises a colorful, fun, imaginative romp just in time for school summer vacations (the movie hits theaters July 24). The clandestine espionage team includes Darwin (the leader, who looks kind of like our Minerva), Blaster (a weapons expert), Juarez (a martial arts expert), and Mooch (the recon expert). The team also has the help of a mole (who is the computer expert...someone clearly having some fun with the stereotype of computer geeks), a cranky and territorial hamster, and a "peanut gallery" of helpful mice.

Like most guinea pig lovers, I'm delighted to see our little friends featured prominently in two theatrical releases in a 12-month period (the last one was "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler. I sort of agree with the folks over at Teaser Trailer (where I found the copy of the movie poster above), one of whom wrote:

I think some movies should never be released… G-Force, the latest Disney movie directed by Hoyt Yeatman, is one of those. Not because because it’s bad, not at all, but rather because I expect my kids to ask for their own team of rodents at home after watching this movie…There is no denying that those rodents are cute though...Fortunately we’ve got a cat at home, so still have an excuse for vetoing the adoption of any guinea pig!

(Kudos to Teaser Trailer for saying "adoption" instead of "purchase"!)

We can only hope that if there's a surge in kids asking their parents for guinea pigs as a result of this movie, the parents will all do their research before bringing any critters home. Otherwise, when the novelty wears off (which, sadly, it too often does), rescues everywhere are going to have their hands full with surrenders.

Comments

[bath mate]

it really very good.
I love it !
I like it !
thanks :)- .

Bathmate

[Whitney]

Ginger --

Very well said! BRAVO!

Speaking of guinea pigs in Hollywood, have you ever read "Charlie Hits It Big"? (http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Hits-Big-Deborah-Blumenthal/dp/0060563532/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244687261&sr=1-1)

[Ginger aka Beethoven]

It's about time one of us made it to Hollywood.
However, I too wonder how many parents would just give in when their kids wanted to 'get one'.
You don't just 'get one', ie one of us guinea pigs, we come with a lifetime commitment (though we don't live as long as most humans, cats or dogs combined).
There are enough homeless guinea pigs out there already.

Thanks for posting this.