''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' is an animated television series
spin-off of the 1983 series ''
Inspector Gadget
''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...
''. The series was a co-production between
Fox Kids Europe
Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play.
History ...
,
DIC Entertainment Corporation
DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...
, French animation studio
SIP Animation, French broadcaster
M6 Métropole Télévision, the British
Channel 5 and the Italian Mediatrade S.P.A.
The show was first screened at
MIPTV 2002.
''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' is currently a property of
WildBrain
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of childr ...
, which holds the rights to most of DIC's library.
Plot
Having been recruited by an elite international peacekeeping group called the World Organization of Mega Powers (WOMP), Lieutenant Gadget (promoted from his previous position of Inspector),
now fights crime with a pair of mechanical assistants called the Gadgetinis, small robot versions of Gadget who were created by Penny (due to Brain retiring from active duty)
and who are the unintended victims of Gadget's bumbling.
Characters
* Augustin Tamare/Lieutenant Gadget (voiced by
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
) – Now working for WOMP as a Lieutenant, Gadget is still the same cyborg he was in the 1983 series, except he has been upgraded with several new gadgets. He is usually blind to MAD's interference in missions or their presence, sometimes making it easier for them to continue with Dr. Claw's evil plans, but they are nearly always thwarted, usually by accident. Gadget's appearance is somewhat different from his original design, as his hat and coat are now dark grey, his gloves are yellow, his tie and pants are a brighter blue and looks a lot younger.
He also wears green sunglasses in most episodes.
* The Gadgetinis
(voiced by
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
) – Fidget (orange) and Digit (blue) are two small robots created by Penny who are miniature versions of Gadget. They frequently aid Gadget on his missions and each one has their own arsenal of hidden gadgets and devices, including video communicators in their chest-pieces. Penny created them after Brain retired due to a nervous breakdown. Fidget is the most easily spooked of the pair. He does things robots cannot do, such as feeling pain or sneeze, which Digit usually questions. Digit is the smarter, sarcastic, and more literal of the Gadgetinis. He often reminds Fidget that he is a robot when Fidget does something that robots can't do.
* Penny (voiced by
Tegan Moss
Tegan Moss (born February 7, 1985) is a Canadian actress appearing in film and television. She has been nominated for a Young Artist Award.
Biography
Moss was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has two brothers, Rory Moss, and actor Jes ...
) – Gadget's know-it-all 12-year-old niece is the creator of the Gadgetinis. Instead of secretly following Gadget, she contacts the Gadgetinis to offer advice and information from home. She usually does this from the attic, using her laptop computer and many other hi-tech tools, which replace her computer book and video watch. She also usually corrects Fidget about being a robot when he does something robots can't do, is less patient than she was in the original series, and has a bit of a short temper. Penny wears her hair in pigtails as she did in the original 1983 series.
* Colonel Nozzaire (voiced by Colin Murdock) – Colonel Nozzaire is a former member of the French Foreign Legion
and Gadget's new superior. Nozzaire hates Gadget and barely tolerates him, because he is extremely stupid, repeatedly hurts him and/or wrecks his office. Nozzaire constantly tries to partake in missions himself, only to get captured by M.A.D. or become badly injured as a result of Gadget's interference or incompetence.
* General Sir (voiced by
Alvin Sanders
Alvin Sanders is an American-Canadian voice actor and voice director. He currently sits on the Union of BC Performers executive board.
Filmography Animated Anime roles
*''Dragon Ball Z'' – Mr Popo, Additional Voices (1996–1997)
* '' Dragon B ...
) – The leader of WOMP, the General assigns missions to Gadget. He is completely oblivious to Gadget's incompetence and antics. General Sir favors Gadget over Nozzaire because he's kinder than Nozzaire.
* Doctor Claw (voiced by
Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...
) – Unlike the original series, viewers can actually see his legs and torso from time to time, his gauntlets are now gold with black joints and knuckles, and with the M.A.D. logo printed on them. Most of the time instead of banging his hand on his desk and hitting his cat, he scratches the arm of his chair when angered. In addition, he also has a brother named Doctor Thaw and a nephew named William who is Doctor Thaw's son.
* MAD Cat (vocal effects provided by Ellen Kennedy) – Doctor Claw's pet cat who now has a chair of his own.
* Maryland Claw (voiced by
Teryl Rothery
Teryl Rothery is a Canadian actress of stage, television, and film. She is best known for portraying Janet Fraiser in the TV series ''Stargate SG-1''. She co-starred as Grace Sherman in '' Cedar Cove'', and has had major roles as Muriel in ''Vi ...
) – Doctor Claw and Doctor Thaw's mother and William's grandmother. She first met Claw's father in jail, the same day Gadget's parents met. Maryland has higher authority over Claw, even going as far as to stop him in his evil deeds. Doctor Claw once had his M.A.D. agents turned invisible so that they could try to rob her house, apparently to get some childhood trophies from her. Like her son, only Maryland's right hand is seen. Though in the episode "Erasing Gadget," her face does appear when Gadget travels back in time.
* Ms. Miffet – Secretary of General Sir.
* Brain (voiced by
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
) – After years of Gadget repeatedly mistaking him for M.A.D. Agents and trying to apprehend him, Brain is now phobic and nervous when he hears Gadget's name and has taken refuge in a shack by a lake.
* Chief Quimby – Now he's an agent of WOMP working as General Sir's top informant of the Cryptic Intelligence Agency (a parody of the real-life
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, or CIA).
He uses self-destructing messages, much like
the previous series.
* Jools & Annie Tamare – Gadget's parents and Penny's Grandparents who first met each other by crashing their bicycles.
* Jeanette Sir – The General's daughter whom the lieutenant fell in love with.
Episodes
Production
The original creators of ''
Inspector Gadget
''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...
'' reunited for this series.
Andy Heyward
Andrew B. Heyward (born February 19, 1949) is the former Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, an animation production company. He is currently CEO of Genius Brands International.
Early life
Heyward was born in New York City, New York, the ...
initiated the concept and was one of the executive producers; Jean Chalopin created/developed the show and wrote or co-wrote every episode; while Bruno Bianchi designed the main characters as well as directing and producing the series. ''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' follows basically the same plot as the original series, with the clueless Gadget attempting to fight crime while Penny and her helpers do all the work and he takes full credit for it, when he had no idea what happened. Dr. Claw appears less frequently and there are new villains for the group to contend with. Each episode would be budgeted at approximately $400,000 per episode. Saban was originally intended to distribute internationally ''Gadget & the Gadgetinis''. There were also going to be more Gadgetinis as the show would progress.
While Brain and Chief Quimby are mainly absent from the show, they do appear in pictures in Gadget's house. Each also appears as a special guest in one episode. Brain appears in episode 36, ''No Brainer'', which reveals that, having been traumatized after years of pain while saving Gadget and Gadget mistaking him for M.A.D. Agents, he retired from crime-fighting to live in a riverside house, which only Penny knows about. The mere mention of the word "gadget" is enough to drive him frantic. Brain is also mentioned in the episode, ''Roverre''. Chief Quimby appears in episode 45, ''Super Boss Gadget''. They both appear on television in the episode, ''Too Many Gadgets''.
The French end credits to the series show a series of sketches of Penny going to visit Brain at his riverside home. The pair enjoy an emotional reunion.
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
continued as Gadget's voice, reprising his role from the ''
Sunday Movie Toon'', "Inspector Gadget's Last Case", as did
Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...
(Dr. Claw) and
Tegan Moss
Tegan Moss (born February 7, 1985) is a Canadian actress appearing in film and television. She has been nominated for a Young Artist Award.
Biography
Moss was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has two brothers, Rory Moss, and actor Jes ...
(Penny).
Jean-Michel Guirao composed the musical underscore, and the main title song for the English-speaking version was written and performed by Mike Piccirillo. However, the European and French theme songs for "Gadgetinis" were explicitly different: The French version's theme, composed by
Noam Kaniel
Noam Kaniel, also known as Noam, ( he, נועם קניאל; born August 18, 1962) is an Israeli musician, singer and composer, who has sold over 8 million records, and is known for composing or performing the theme songs of many animated series ...
and
David Vadant, sounded very close to
Shuki Levy
Shuki Levy ( he, שוקי לוי; born June 3, 1947) is an Israeli-American music composer and television producer. Levy's best known work is soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such as '' The Real Ghostbuster ...
and
Haim Saban
Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
's original ''Inspector Gadget'' theme, and was in fact based on the original series' theme song. (The French end credits for the show state: "Musique des génériques: Noam Kaniel, David Vadant, K.I.A. productions. D'après le "Thème de l'Inspecteur Gadget". Musique originale de Haim Saban et Shuki Levy.") The reason this was possible - even though DiC Entertainment (which owned ''Inspector Gadget'') no longer had the rights to Levy and Saban's theme music - is probably that ''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' was produced primarily by the French animation studio SIP Animation, which at the time of production was owned by Haim Saban.
Broadcast
The show was broadcast across various European countries on
Fox Kids starting in late 2002, and remained on some stations after the
Jetix rebranding.
*In the United Kingdom, the show aired on
Channel 5, who were one of the co-producers. They first aired the show in August 2002, a month before it aired in France on
M6.
*In the United States, the show was planned to air on
Fox Family; but since Fox Family Worldwide was purchased by Disney, it never did.
*In countries where the channel operated from, it also re-ran on
Jetix Play
Jetix Play (formerly Fox Kids Play) was a preschool entertainment brand, owned by Jetix Europe. The Jetix Play name was primarily used as a sister channel to Jetix in a small number of regions, such as Central and Eastern Europe, and Middle East ...
.
*The show was airing in Canada on
Family Channel.
Merchandise
An event was held at
Quick
Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed.
Quick may also refer to:
In business
* Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain
* Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear
* Quick (automobile) ...
restaurants in France in April 2003.
Video game
A video game called Inspector ''Gadget & The Gadgetinis'' was released for the
PlayStation 2 and PC in November 2004, developed by
Eko Software and published by
Hip Games, who had acquired the Inspector Gadget video game license after acquiring Light & Shadow Production in February of that year. It was first unveiled at
E3 2004, following an announcement on May 5, 2004,
only released in PAL regions, much like with
Mad Robots Invasion.
The game's gameplay was mostly criticized for its unoriginality, as well as the character designs and the music. The controls and the game's appeal to children received praise.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadget and The Gadgetinis
Inspector Gadget
2000s American animated television series
2002 American television series debuts
2003 American television series endings
2000s French animated television series
2002 French television series debuts
2003 French television series endings
American children's animated comic science fiction television series
American animated television spin-offs
English-language television shows
French children's animated comic science fiction television series
French animated television spin-offs
French-language television shows
Television series by DIC Entertainment
Cyborgs in television
Television series created by Jean Chalopin
Television series by Saban Entertainment