Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
"G-Force": Born From A Child's Imagination

The director of “that guinea pig movie” out in theaters in a few weeks – Walt Disney’s “G-Force” – recently had an interview with What They Play. While the conversation was mainly in promotion of the movie’s video game, it was this bit that caught my eye:

Where did the original idea for G-Force come from?

Hoyt Yeatman: Believe it or not, my son was in preschool and the classroom got a pet guinea pig. The kids drew straws, and my son, for whatever reason, won, and he got to name the guinea pig “Cute Guy.” Then each weekend, a student was able to take home the guinea pig. So it was Mike’s turn; my son’s name is Mike. He brought it home, and on the kitchen table we had Cute Guy, and he was telling me this little story of how he would wear a G.I. Joe army helmet and a backpack and was this little agent running around, and a light bulb just went on.

If you’ve gotten a chance to see one of the movie’s trailers, then I think you can instantly recognize how its premise just had to have originated from a kid. It’s hard to have a hamster or guinea pig when you’re a kid and not imagine them in this kind of high-flying adventure. (And it gets even worse once your teacher reads the class Beverly Cleary’s “The Mouse and the Motorycle” in the 2nd grade.)

Jul 22, 2009 :: Tagged under: , :: #