Review of Gooby (2009) by Sara W — 31 Aug 2009

This is a very odd movie, from beginning to end. From the start, there's a big disconnect between the voice & the character of Gooby. With Gooby being a man in a suit, how were they unable to get Robbie Coltrane to just climb into the suit? When the voice doesn't match the face, things can only go downhill from there.

Matthew Knight happens to be a talented young actor, as the boy who owns Gooby, but I think his talents are wasted in this role. Gooby is supposed to be the star, and I could not look past the suit to see the character he was portraying - partly because of the way his eyes are painted on in-expressively.

The film has a small amount of quirkiness, notably the fact that Gooby retains his "cleaning instructions" tag sewn into his side, but other than that, there's really nothing to recommend.

I think kids and adults will be more freaked out by this large stuffed creature than happy to see him.