The titular detective was also DiC's mascot for many years, most notably providing the EasyPlay DVD tutorials in that position.
#Inpector gadget. artoon series#
There was also a spin-off series called Gadget Boy & Heather which shares little in common with Inspector Gadget but bionic implants, and also a more faithful spin-off called Gadget and the Gadgetinis. The first film was Darker and Edgier and barely resembled the series the second, while more faithful, was even more derided than the first. The titular detective made his big-screen debut in 1999, played by Matthew Broderick a direct-to-video sequel starring French Stewart followed in 2003. Maurice LaMarche also made a Live-Action appearance as Gadget on The Super Mario Bros.
Gadget stayed on in syndication well into the 1990s before being largely retired. Gadget could also sometimes stop Claw himself through his buffoonery, or even show more isolated moments of competence if the plot required it.Ī total of 86 episodes were produced by DiC Entertainment for syndication between 19, though the 1992 Christmas Special Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas shares many similarities with season 2 in art style, cast, and script, and could be seen as the series finale. For example, sometimes Penny makes friends with other kids who help her out with her investigations. Indeed, Penny's role in the cartoon's plot is so vital that the show actually works pretty well if you remove Gadget himself from it and focus only on Penny.ĭespite its many varied locales and plots, the show was Strictly Formula, using the above-mentioned plot elements in literally every single episode, albeit sometimes with creative variations. Gadget would invariably mistake these assassins for helpful allies and would always assume the disguised Brain was an enemy agent. Penny and Brain never took credit for their work, leading others to regard Gadget as a brilliant detective, and several comical attempts on his life were made by MAD assassins. She would oftentimes get captured and either imprisoned or tied up, and require rescue, or manage to escape on her own. Penny would have many close scrapes and exciting adventures of her own. The duo would solve the case behind the scenes using Penny's high-tech "computer book" (a laptop before such a thing was invented which could receive data seventeen years before wi-fi became a consumer technology) while Gadget's gadgets would send him careering about the landscape like Remington Steele on roller-skates. Much of the actual detective work of the series was performed by Gadget's niece, Penny, and the family dog Brain, who was a master of disguise. Claw, a (mostly) never-seen Big Bad who ended each episode defeated, declaring he'd get Gadget the next time. Pulling the strings of the MAD cabal was the nefarious Dr. Later on in the series veteran voice actor Maurice LaMarche would take over the role of Gadget. Chief Quimby would contact Gadget on a built-in telephone and arrange a meeting, giving Gadget his intelligence on a self-destructing sheet of paper.
Also carried over from the live-action show was the manner in which Gadget received his orders from his superiors.
Gadget also had a laser built into his finger, but never used it to actually blast any living thing.Īctor Don Adams provided Inspector Gadget's voice, and much of the inspiration for the character was drawn from Adams' live-action portrayal of bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in Get Smart. Among the most prominent were his telescoping arms, spring loaded legs, inflatable trench coat and a hat that contained a helicopter propeller that allowed him to fly. His namesake body was loaded with an assortment of non-lethal slapstick crime-fighting tools that he could activate by saying aloud "Go-Go Gadget." and then naming the tool he wanted to use. A light-hearted mix of The Six Million Dollar Man (sort of), Get Smart (heavily) and The Pink Panther, Inspector Gadget was an animated crime-fighting cyborg police detective who traveled the world "solving" crimes.