: Go Go Go, Gadget, you are the craziest cartoon character ever, that I like!

Old Joe

When I think of my childhood heroes, I immediately think of what a legend ‘Inspector Gadget' was. With all of his amazing Gadgets, he really was a bumbling fool, who with the help of his niece and pet dog, gets to be the world's greatest  police detective. I am certain that this is one of the greatest cartoon's the world has ever seen.

The world needs a stop to crime, and to do so they need the world's greatest police detective. So after he gets the mission of Chief Quimby, ‘Inspector Gadget' goes to save the day. He is fighting against the forces of MAD and their leader, Dr. Claw. While Gadget is on the case, the real crime fighters are his niece Penny, who does the true detective work, while his pet dog Brain, helps save Gadget from MAD and sometimes even himself.


Again I am looking at series that was on TV, so I am going to try and not be so critical of it, rather be thankful that we had such a show. Whoever was the masterminds behind this cartoon deserve a great amount of praise, as it is brilliant to have a man with great gadgets, but with no intelligence to put them to good use. Instead he has a niece and pet dog to help stop Dr Claw and MAD from being a world leader in crime. While I know Gadget is a complete idiot, he is also extremely funny to watch. Stuff up his driving in the Gadget Mobile, losing his helicopter blades or his not-so-trusty umbrella, it certain entertains, (well did for this kid anyway).

I now want to take a look at the characters and talent used in the voice-overs of this truly remarkable cartoon:

Inspector Gadget: The voice of the good inspector belongs to acting legend Don Adams. Don was perfectly suited to the role, from his days as the police detective Maxwell Smart on the TV show `Get Smart'. In fact the resemblance that his character on the TV show and in the cartoon is so close, that it is no wonder he was chosen for the voice of Inspector Gadget. When I come to think about it, I can not think of anyone else voice would have matched the bumbling character of ‘the world's greatest police detective'.

Penny: The person who really saves the day, Penny was voiced by Cree Summers. She did a good job as Penny. Without Penny I am sure MAD and Dr Claw would have been more successful in their pursuits of crime and misdemeanors.

Dr Claw/Brain/ MAD Cat: The voice-overs of all these characters was taken on by Frank Weller. He did a remarkable job in all of them. Claw is a menacing character, who needed a truly sinister voice, and Frank had such a voice. Taking on the additional characters of Brain and MAD cat, to this man would have been a breeze. Brain is again another character, that without him, it would have been curtains for Gadget.

Chief Quimby: This character was voiced by Maurice LaMarche, who did a good job as the Chief. Yet I am not so sure I would want to be the boss of the great ‘Inspector Gadget', as all of his assignments seem to ‘blowup in his face'.

Can I say one thing about all the voice-over talents. They have truly had wonderful careers, with them all doing a huge amount of work, either on screen or behind the microphone. They were all good choices as voice-overs for Inspector Gadget.

Now I would would like to say what my favourite Gadget Episodes are: Race To The Finish, The Japanese Connection, Down On The Farm, Quimby Exchange. Look many of the Gadget episodes are brilliant, but these four standout to me.

In 1999, the world got to see this cartoon character, come to life, as Walt Disney finally had the rights to the movie ‘Inspector Gadget'. Now from where I sit, I found the movie to not be what I wanted Inspector Gadget to be. It was not as funny as the cartoon was, though it did try to be. For me Inspector Gadget will forever remain a cartoon legend until till I die. While I am now in my mid 20's, would you believe I can still sit and watch Gadget strut his stuff and not be in the slightest bit bored. In fact he sometimes brings out a laugh that I know I need. Inspector Gadget you still have a fan here!

score /10

Old Joe 24 June 2002

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0198849/