Gooby (2009)

20% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
30% of users liked it
(11,060 ratings)

Willy (Matthew Knight) has a unique concern regarding his family's new house: he firmly believes it's inhabited by malevolent space aliens. Luckily for Willy, his wish for a savior is fulfilled with the entrance of Gooby (voiced by Robbie Coltrane), a strange but lovable creature who appears more… More Willy (Matthew Knight) has a unique concern regarding his family's new house: he firmly believes it's inhabited by malevolent space aliens. Luckily for Willy, his wish for a savior is fulfilled with the entrance of Gooby (voiced by Robbie Coltrane), a strange but lovable creature who appears more anxious about the world's dangers than he is. As the unlikely pair become friends, Gooby helps Willy and his father reunite. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Wilson Coneybeare
Written By: Wilson Coneybeare
Genres: Kids & Family, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Apr 17, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Aug 11, 2009
Studio: Monterey Media

Critic Reviews

Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
Its lack of a compelling storyline and overreliance on so-so slapstick will limit its appeal to easily distracted preschoolers.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
If being innocuous were a crime, Gooby would cause Canada to reinstate the death penalty pronto.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
This should be, by all accounts, a horror movie. It is instead a Canadian family comedy. So, you know, same difference.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Entertaining for kids while slightly corny and silly for adults, but it's often harmless, bighearted and filled with inspirational messages about friendship, hope and the importance of family which everyone, young and old, can appreciate.
Loey Lockerby, Kansas City Star
Instead of inspiring children to be brave and loving, it will most likely send them cowering under the covers in terror. They've already got Chucky movies for that.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Jason C

I don't know if I've ever used the word pathetic to describe a movie, but I will here. This is the saddest thing. It didn't even make $4 million in theaters, making it in comparable to Glitter in that aspect. Nothing in this movie had personality. Nothing new, nothing… More
I don't know if I've ever used the word pathetic to describe a movie, but I will here. This is the saddest thing. It didn't even make $4 million in theaters, making it in comparable to Glitter in that aspect. Nothing in this movie had personality. Nothing new, nothing unique, nothing original, nothing likable about Gooby, the orange monster. I would say it's a made for TV quality movie, but that would be an insult to made for TV movies. The acting was bad enough. Matthew Knight was poorly cast and directed. He was a whiny kid all the way through the movie. Robbie Coltrane, Hagrid in Harry Potter movies, voices the pathetic creature and can't make Gooby any more interesting. Eugene Levy will take any role and does the exact same character every time. The only good thing about the cast is Ingrid Kavelaars. She's beautiful, if nothing more than an average actor, who is too good for Gooby because of her looks alone. I couldn't wait until she, the main characters mom, was on screen again. Absolutely beautiful. The writer/director has done nothing redeemable. Hopefully this is the nail in the coffin that keeps him from writing or directing again. Atrocious on both counts. It looked like he tried to juggle too many stories in one, and was successful on no level. Not one. The dialogue was horrible and nothing came together. Gooby wasn't even an interesting character. I could have made two small changes to the movie and made it that much better. Do not watch this movie. It is one of the signs of the Apocalypse, and no one needs to see that. There's no way I could imagine Gooby would be entertaining to children. The character isn't funny, there is nothing colorful about Gooby, and the story is as lame as can be.