Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 1,229 (click to see context) from:
%%
%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. Please add context before removing comments.
%%
[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inspector_gadget_ver2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:''[[TagLine The greatest hero ever assembled.]]'']]
''Inspector Gadget'' (1999) is a LiveActionAdaptation of the [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget namesake animated series]] from Walt Disney Pictures, directed by [[Film/CoolAsIce David Kellogg]] and starring Creator/MatthewBroderick, Creator/MichelleTrachtenberg, Creator/JoelyFisher and Creator/RupertEverett.
The movie opens with an origin story for the titular hero (Broderick). Originally a human security guard named John Brown, he dreams of one day being a respected police officer, though he is continually rejected due to his lack of experience. He also has designs on Brenda Bradford (Fisher), a scientist that works at the cybernetics lab he's employed for. After the lab creates a prototype for a computer chip that can control lifelike robotic limbs, Brown's life changes as CorruptCorporateExecutive Sanford Scolex (Everett) breaks into the lab, kills Brenda's father, and makes off with the prototype foot. When Brown pursues him, the resulting car chase ends with Scolex blowing up his car and leaving him with extensive tissue damage. In the aftermath, Scolex's left hand is crushed, leading to him getting a selection of cybernetic replacements. His favourite replacement [[RuleOfCool (because it looks cool)]] is a metallic crab-claw. He dubs himself "Claw." As for Brown, Brenda decides to make him the prototype for the "Gadget Program" and repairs his damaged body by converting him into a cyborg with numerous odd and zany functions--and his own talking wisecracking car the Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley). Now dubbed "Inspector Gadget," he realizes his dream of joining the police force - though his generally goofy and awkward nature and lack of control over his new hardware makes him something of a walking disaster area. Meanwhile, Scolex still has designs on the technology that created him, as he plans to use it to build an unstoppable robot army to take over the world...
It was successful enough for Disney to produce a direct-to-video sequel, ''Film/InspectorGadget2'' (2003), though none of the original cast returned (except for D.L. Hughley who reprised his role as the Gadgetmobile).
'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMlvnjwB5Zo Two Trailers and TV Spots]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkrHITdFlgU Trailer #3]].
----
!The film provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A-M]]
* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: Happens a few times to Gadget.
* ActorAllusion:
** Creator/MatthewBroderick as Robo-Gadget doing an impression of a [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} certain rampaging reptile]].
** "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}." Rupert Everett and Madonna are famously best friends in real life.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Penny is brunette in this movie, while she was blonde in the cartoon.
* AdaptationExpansion: We actually learn both Gadget and Claw's real names (okay, Claw's name was eventually revealed in the cartoon) and backstories, with the story of how they got their robotic add-ons taking up the better part of the first act.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Gadget is far more competent in the movie than in the cartoon, and doesn't rely entirely on Penny and Brain.
* AdaptationNameChange: In the original cartoon, Claw's birth name was [[spoiler:Edward Claw]]. Here, it's Sanford Scolex.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Granted, the original cartoon never really gave origin stories for Inspector Gadget and Dr. Claw to begin with, but this film chose to make John Brown's conversion into a cyborg have a connection with Sanford Scolex's hand getting crushed and having it replaced with a robotic claw. John Brown is injured in an accident caused by Scolex. However, the explosion also sends a bowling ball flying out of Brown's car and crushes Scolex's left hand as he is closing the sunroof. Yet another thing to note is that Brown was rebuilt as a cyborg as part of the Gadget Project and Scolex's interest in using the technology for his own ends was what caused Brown's accident in the first place.
* AdaptedOut: Dr. Claw was the leader of an international crime syndicate known as M.A.D. in the cartoon, but his evil organization is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he is aided by a thug named Sykes and a bumbling scientist named Kramer.
%%* AIIsACrapshoot: Robo-Gadget.
* AllThereInTheManual: Used InUniverse for a joke: the manual is at least two feet thick -- and it's just volume one.
* AlliterativeName: '''S'''anford '''S'''colex for Claw.
* AlternateContinuity: It is clearly not canon to the original cartoon because of the huge amount of differences from the source material.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Inspector Gadget apparently has gone berserk in the downtown Riverton area... reports indicate that he has already caused a major traffic accident, destroyed private property, and set fire to an elderly man's beard."
* ArtificialLimbs:
** Interestingly, in the film, Gadget takes some time to get used to them and even comments "it doesn't feel like me." Shortly after being activated, he accidentally extended his neck into the hospital ceiling.
** Also Dr. Claw's, well, claw.
* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: Lampshaded by Claw when he has Gadget at his mercy:
-->'''Claw''': COMPRENDE!?\\
'''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah. I comprende.\\
'''Claw''': No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I ''comprendo''. Yo ''comprendo''. [[GrammarNazi Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake! Pull out his NSA chip before he butchers another language]].
%%* AshFace
* AsideGlance: Gadget [[LamePunReaction reacting to his own bad pun]].
-->'''Gadget ('''to Robo-Gadget's [[AlasPoorYorick disembodied head]]'''):''' You should've quit while you were ahead.
* AuthorAppeal: The bizarrely hyper quick cuts and odd [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Big Lipped Alligator]] interludes seem to be a favorite of David Kellogg.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sanford Scolex.
* BetterThanNew: Brown was originally human. Then his body was busted and he was remade into a SuperSoldier.
* BigShutUp: Claw yells this to Kramer.
* BreakThemByTalking: [[LargeHam "Have a cocktail! Don't you know bad robots have more fun?"]]
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** The Gadgetmobile tells Gadget to buckle up, because "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the scene where Claw tells Gadget that he's been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons... and then looks directly into the camera, followed by Gadget doing the same thing, ''and then'' Kramer leans into the shot ''[[BetterThanABareBulb for no other purpose than to look into the camera as well]]''.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Most of Gadget's equipment and other related items bears a stylized "G"- presumably the symbol of the Gadget Program.
* CallBack: "Our relationship is strictly professional."
* TheCameo:
** A post-credits gag has [[{{Mooks}} Mook #1]] Sykes attending [[TropaholicsAnonymous Minions Anonymous]], where other attendees include "[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Hat Throwing Minion]]," "[[Series/FantasyIsland Minion Who Identifies Seafaring Aircraft]]," [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]], [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]], "[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Minion with Metallic Teeth]]," and Creator/MrT.
** Don Adams has a vocal cameo as the voice of Brain in mid-credits scene.
* CreatorCameo: Andy Heyward- head of Creator/DICEntertainment and one of the original series' co-creators- makes a cameo as a party guest, credited (appropriately enough) as "Mr. D.I.C.". He and his wife Evelyn (credited as "Trophy Bride") can be seen in the background when [[ItMakesSenseInContext the camera zooms onto Gagdet's tethered ear stuck onto a sculpture]].
* CharacterInTheLogo: The logo had Gadget's silhouette inside a gear.
* TheCheerleader: For [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders some reason]], [[TheDitz Robo-Brenda]] is this.
* ChekhovsGun: when Robo-Gadget is first activated, a close-up of him shows a tarantula in a plastic sphere in his body. During his fight with Inspector Gadget, he unleashes this tarantula as a weapon.
* ChekhovsSkill: Gadget puts the training he received from the guru to good use in the film's climax. His skill with a pen-gun ''would'' have counted as this in an earlier draft (at least if the novelization is anything to go by), but the relevant scene was either cut or not filmed at all.
* ChewingTheScenery: Coincidentally while Claw is screaming about eating brownies... [[ItMakesSenseInContext and waffles.]]
* ChubbyChaser: Brenda implies that she was one: she tells Scolex that "she liked him better fat."
* ComedicUnderwearExposure: From Gadget during his fight with Robo-Gadget. Thankfully, he's wearing boxers.
** Also from Scolex, who loses his briefs to Brain while escaping with Brenda.
* CoolCar: The Gadgetmobile. Now a 1960s Lincoln Continental, it can talk, it has a giant booster rocket and a ''Skittles compartment''.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Scolex/Claw, who will resort to ''cold-blooded murder'' to further his goals.
* CoveredInGunge: Used so much (toothpaste is the main example), you wonder if it's a private fetish on the part of a producer/director.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Double subverted. Claw ''does'' plan on selling the gadget technology so anyone with enough money can have an army of obedient SuperSoldiers but decided to send the first to terrorize the city 'and have some fun'.
* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:Brenda in the final act of the film.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: At least one person gets killed and another critically injured in a series of violent acts that set the plot in motion. Is there any wonder why the MPAA rated the film PG? (Aside from the accidental language, namely, "[[InnocentInnuendo obtaining the balls]]", and other innuendo, of course.)
* DelayedSafetyFeature: PlayedForLaughs when Gadget and Brenda fall off a skyscraper. He frantically tries to find the keyphrase for his parachute and eventually ends up with a ParasolParachute. They land safely, and then the actual parachute opens.
* DemotedToExtra: Penny; despite being the true hero of the original series and frequent appearances throughout the movie, she rarely plays a part in the main plot of the film until the actual climax, with most of the screentime going exclusively to Gadget, his love interest, or Dr. Claw.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The opening credits sequence.
* DestroyTheProductPlacement: An early scene has Sykes crash Scolex's car into a Yahoo! billboard. A "Yahoo!" jingle even plays during the scene.
* TheDitz: Inspector Gadget, but slightly less so than in the cartoon. The Mayor of Riverton also has shades of this.
* DreamSue: At the beginning of the movie, Gadget imagines himself as a super cop. Apparently this happens regularly, as pointed out by Penny.
* DullSurprise: "Dull" is stretching it a bit, but Brenda nonetheless reacts remarkably well at the appearance of her robotic lookalike, designed by the man who hired her. And this is all before she even finds out what he did to her father.
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Claw's reveal.
* EnormousEngine: The jet engine deployed by the Gadgetmobile.
--> '''Gadgetmobile:''' Better buckle up, Penny. This car's got only two speeds. 'Fast' and [[LudicrousSpeed 'Whoo! What was that?']]
* EvilIsHammy: You can tell Rupert Everett is having an absolute blast as Claw in the first film.
* EvilPlan: Acquiring Gadget Technology so he can sell it on the black market and acquiring his crush.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Scolex's tower, portrayed by the highly ornate One PPG Place in Pittsburgh.
* ExactWords: Gadget uses this tactic a couple of times while going undercover. It backfires on him the second time. Also, the "100 yards" business. Gadgetmobile himself falls victim to this with the word "citation".
* FauxAffablyEvil: Claw, who goes from suave and debonair to excessively hammy at the drop of a hat.
* {{Fingore}}: Claw has the fingers of his right hand crushed early in the first film.
* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Gadget doesn't think to use his iconic Gadget Copter to bypass Robo-Gadget's YouShallNotPass ploy on the bridge. Nor does he think to use it when Robo-Gadget has him clinging to one of the bridge's supports, a good 100 feet in the air, by his fingertips. The worst part is that, after Gadget has defeated Robo-Gadget and gotten back to ground level, what's the first thing he does? "Go-Go Gadget Copter!"
* ForTheEvulz: In revealing his evil plan, Claw seems quite eager to see the raw chaos that would be unleashed through his robotic warriors upon selling them to the highest bidders; Aside from exacting revenge on Gadget for the loss of his hand, he has no other deeply personal motivations for his crimes.
* GadgeteerGenius: Brenda and her father.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: DoubleEntendre is the preferred choice.
** "Hey, I have heat sensors. I know what you were thinking when she gave you that smile..."
** The film is one of few PG-rated movies to refer to testicles using a vulgar term, albeit accidentally--the guru was pointing to metal balls on the floor in front of him when he mentioned "obtaining the balls", but Gadget grabs ''his'' balls accidentally instead. The MPAA still rated the film for language because of it.
** When the newly operated on John Brown lands on top of Brenda Bradford, she starts talking about how all this was new to him, and he nods sheepishly in agreement. Brenda means having John having the added parts now and being Inspector Gadget, of course. However, given the position they are in, could John be assuming that Brenda meant, well, what two adults usually do in that position- and that he has not done it yet?
** Robo-Brenda, designed to resemble the woman Claw is obsessed with, is programmed to be a cheerleader.
* GrammarNazi: Scolex.
--> '''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah! I ''comprende!''
--> (Scolex winces in barely-controlled fury)
--> '''Scolex''': No, no, no. I ''comprend-o. Yo comprendo.'' Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake. Kramer, pull the NSA chip before he butchers another language!
* GratuitousItalian: Scolex often uses the Italian words "Arrivederci" and "Ciao".
** Also, the Brazilian dub uses this for the "comprende" dialogue quoted above, replacing it with "capisce"/"capisco".[[note]]If ''comprende'' was kept, the joke would fall flat because the word is only one letter away from its Portuguese equivalent (comprender = compreender)[[/note]]
* GroinAttack: John Brown AKA Inspector Gadget mistakenly does this to the guru while trying to train his new cybernetic body (he was blindfolded for some reason), after the guru tells him to focus on "obtaining the balls" -- as in the metal balls on the floor.
-->'''Guru''': Ungrip! Ungrip! Turn it off! TURN IT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!\\
'''Chief Quimby''': Well, I guess [[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan six million dollars]] doesn't buy what it used to.\\
'''Brenda''': Excuse me.\\
''[As hospital workers put the guru in an ambulance, with an ice pack on his crotch]''\\
'''Guru''': He is not a man, you know. He is a monster!
* HeartSymbol: Appears on Gadget's hat.
* HollywoodNerd: Gadget, Brenda.
* HookHand: Dr. Claw.
** "No no, just... Claw... one word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}".
** "Too bad [[Literature/PeterPan Hook]]'s already taken, huh?"
* HyperspaceArsenal: Inspector Gadget's robotic clone Robo-Gadget does this to scare a child that mistakes him for the real Gadget.
* IAmTheNoun: Gadget says "I am the Police."
* IdiosyncraticWipes: Scenes are transitioned with various technological things, like wireframe versions of Gadget's equipment or various mechanical objects.
* ImagineSpot: Done with thought balloons.
* ImGoingToDisneyWorld: Used by Claw and Gadgetmobile.
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Robo-Gadget, who isn't so much impersonating a police officer as he is downright smearing the police officer's good name by committing all sorts of crimes–and takes it so far that [[spoiler:Chief Quimby would've arrested the real Gadget had Penny and Sykes not revealed that detail about Claw's EvilPlan]].
* InNameOnly: Save for a few shared names and the fact that the main character has bionic implants, but otherwise bears little-to-no resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the 80s cartoon]].
* InspectorOblivious: He wouldn't be Inspector Gadget if he weren't. In his first day back on the job, he unwittingly helps two escaped convicts break into a Dodge Viper.
* InsultBackfire: Claw, when told he looked better fat.
-->'''Claw''': '''''BRING ON THE BROWNIES! WHEEL IN THE WAFFLES! I'M READY TO BINGE!'''''
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Gadget would like to say something heroic like 'in the name of justice' to activate his gadget abilities. Brenda says he could (thus fullfilling this trope) but it wouldn't activate the gadget abilities.
* IWorkAlone: Gadgetmobile says this... before promptly working with Gadget to stop some car thieves.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Quimby is an ObstructiveBureaucrat who refuses to let Gadget work on the Bradford case. However, he makes the very true point that, contrary to the name he was given, Gadget is ''not'' actually a police inspector, or even a trained officer. He is just a security guard turned into a publicity stunt that Quimby now has to put up with.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Although Quimby can be amoral towards Gadget, he's ultimately a good guy who's willing to help his friend wherever necessary.
* KickedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Artemus Bradford, courtesy of Scolex]].
* LamePunReaction: In addition to the instance between Gadget and [=RoboGadget=] (see AsideGlance above), there's this exchange between Scolex and Kramer.
-->'''Scolex:''' Now all I need is a dashing appellation.
-->'''Kramer:''' What's that? A hillbilly in a tuxedo?
-->'''Scolex:''' No, you idiot! It's a nickname.
* LargeHam:
** Rupert Everett as Claw, so very much.
** And Robo-Gadget. Who knew Matthew Broderick could be such a wonderful LargeHam?
* LeanAndMean: Claw hinmself, who as we find out was formerly a FatBastard.
* LogoJoke:
** The Walt Disney Pictures castle is completely mechanical at the beginning; in addition, the arc of light that draws itself behind said castle is replaced by the top half of a cog.
** The end credits has the walking man from the Caravan Pictures logo, forming his Gadget-Copter and flying off. Kind of a metaphor considering this is the last film from the company.
* LuckyTranslation: As lame as Gadget's "You should've quit while you were ahead" pun is, its Polish translation, taking advantage of a well-known if somewhat rarely used phrase that can be roughly rendered as "Dreams of a severed head" (meaning aspirations expressed long past deadline), is arguably pretty funny.
* MeaningfulName: A Scolex is the front end of a tapeworm.
* MaleGaze: As she retrieves his manual while explaining his mechanics, Brenda bends over with her butt in full view and this causes Gadget to [[ChivalrousPervert screech like a monkey]].
* MadScientist: Artemus and Brenda Bradford, whose company started Project Gadget, are heroic. Baxter, in the sequel, is more of a "mildly-eccentric scientist" in the employ of Riverton's police department.
* MayorPain: According to Mayor Wilson, Chief Quimby was calling her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sykes.
* MissionImpossibleCableDrop: Gadget does one in Scolex's lair when he tries to retrieve the stolen bionic foot.
* {{Mooks}}: Sykes and Kramer are Scolex's henchmen.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Gadgetmobile lets Gadget know the two men he helped break into a Dodge Viper (because he thought they had locked themselves out) were actually jailbreakers, he says, "Wait a minute!" before he and the Gadgetmobile go after them.
* MythologyGag: Scolex's very first appearance is set up almost ''exactly'' like how Claw typically appeared in the cartoon -- facing away from the camera (with only his arm and hand visible, and a fancy-looking ring on his finger), watching a screen, with his RightHandCat nearby. His voice is also very low and ominous, though not like the cartoon's almost-guttural voice.
** Scolex's skyscraper is shaped like a castle. In the cartoon, Claw's usual lair was in fact in a castle on a mountain somewhere. (Unusually, they didn't make the building appear like that-- PPG Place was designed like that already, which may explain why they chose Pittsburgh as a filming location.)
* MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat: The Gadgetmobile knows how John ''really'' feels about Dr. Bradford.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:N-Z]]
* NeverSayDie: Kramer's reaction to the mention of Scolex having nearly killed Gadget.
* NoFourthWall: "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the extremely awkward AsideGlance to the audience Scolex and Kramer make to the audience while mocking Gadget.
* NoodleImplements: Part of the rebuilding sequence involves a wheelbarrow of garden hoses.
** Where do you think the toothpaste comes from? Now, the Slinkies, Tinketoys and mousetraps on the other hand...
* NoodleIncident: Gadget mentions taking dance lessons at one point, but he's forced into some fancy footwork when Robo-Gadget fires at his feet before he can elaborate any further.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Penny's science teacher, as revealed in a deleted scene. He was certainly embarrassed when Penny busted him for stealing ice cream from the cafeteria, but he promised to let the principal know he was responsible right away, telling his students to concentrate on their studies as he left the classroom.
%%* OffhandBackhand
* OffWithHisHead: Claw to Kramer when ordering him to remove Gadget's chip (though he gives him points for at least locating the chip before fainting):
-->'''Claw''': Do it, or you'll be building yourself a new head.
* OhCrap:
** Artemis has a quick moment of terror when he realizes that Scolex is going to kill him.
** John utters "Oh, boy..." before Scolex's cigar explodes right near his Chevette. Barely an instant later, Scolex has one when the bowling ball crushes his hand.
** Gadget when he realizes that he unintentionally helped the jailbreakers get into the Dodge Viper so they can escape.
** Gadget has one when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping and when he encounters the robots that killed Artemis.
* OilSlick:
** Subverted by Gadget, whose oil slick actually sprays toothpaste.
** Played straight with Scolex's limo, complete with "oil slick" button on the dash.
* OnlyOneName: "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}."
* OverusedRunningGag: The gag of the hearts popping up on Gadget's hat showing he's in love happens several times.
* OwMyBodyPart: Sanford Scolex shrieks this as the bowling bowl crushes his left hand.
* PedalToTheMetalShot: Not a ''pedal,'' but pulling hard on the Gadgetmobile's "jet thruster release" handle has the same effect. Later on, Brenda slams down hard on the brake when they catch up to Claw's limo.
* ThePenIsMightier: During the climax, Gadget manages to thwart Claw's escape by throwing a pen into the latter's helicopter, hitting his claw hand and forcing it shut, crushing the chopper's control stick.
* PoliceAreUseless: The cops are completely helpless to stop Robo-Gadget's rampage across Riverton.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: When Penny [[YouAreNotAlone reaches out to Sykes]] near the end, prompting his HeelFaceTurn.
* ThePowerOfLove: Gadget is brought back to 'life' with a kiss.
* ProductPlacement:
** YAHOOOOOO-OOO! ''That's right, Disney actually used the Yahoo yodel as the billboard falls on the limousine near the start of the film!''
** Gadget is featured on the cover of ''The Sharper Image'' catalog.
** The Gadgetmobile also dispenses Skittles and Coke products.
** One of the cars in the beginning belongs to ''Pennzoil''.
** [=McDonald's=].
** Claw calls Gadget "Roto-Rooter Man" upon hearing of his demotion.
** There is a Sony television at Sykes' room.
* RealityEnsues: Brown asks Chief Quimby when he'll be put on the big case. The chief assures him he has something for him to "cut [his] teeth on". Cut to a newspaper montage of Brown being a crossing guard and helping the sanitation department. Remember, Brown is a security guard who was rejected from the police academy early in the film, and is markedly incompetent even ''after'' being upgraded. In fact, it's the central joke of the character.
* RemakeCameo: Don Adams, the classic voice of Inspector Gadget in the original series, voices Brain in a brief credits scene.
* RepurposedPopSong: Youngstown's "I'll Be Your Everything," which existed before the film but still used a sample of the theme song for it's hook. A newer version was recorded for the movie, with more uses of the sample and lyrics alluding to the plot, as well as [[{{Bowdlerize}} some of the more suggestive lines removed]].
* ResearchInc: Bradford Labs
* {{Revenge}}: Inadvertent when presented onscreen, inverted when Gadget and Claw bring up that particular incident that "made" them:
-->'''Gadget''': I owe you one, Scolex. You blew up me ''and'' my Chevette. And I really liked that car!\\
'''Claw''': Well, you crushed my ''hand'', and I really liked that hand. ''So Go Go get over it.''
* TheReveal: Claw's face is fully seen by the audience all throughout the movie, as opposed to it being constantly obscured in the cartoon. In his first scene, it is ''barely'' concealed by the shadows before he emerges with it fully uncovered.
* RobotGirl: Robo-Brenda..!
%%* RobotNames
* RollerbladeGood: Gadget's shoes can inexplicably turn into rollerblades with tiny gas-powered motors attached. The sequel ditches this for an even more implausible scooter, which comes out of Gadget's shoe.
* ShotgunDance: "You know how to dance, don't you?"
* ShoutOut:
** The knob for the helmet voltage [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap goes up to 11]].
** Franchise/{{Godzilla}}; when Robo-Gadget is rampaging through the City, he imitates Godzilla with his shadow. The scene also had a Japanese man running away from Robo-gadget, while screaming that this is why he left Tokyo.
** Minion Kramer's hair is reminiscent of [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} another Kramer]].
** Mayor Wilson says that Chief Quimby calls her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
* SoftGlass: When Gadget tries to rollerblade his way out of the lab, Sykes lowers a glass door to prevent him from escaping. Despite shattering the glass, no visible injuries are present on Gadget.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Among other things, Gadget's hat-based rocket launcher, which blows up a car when Brenda arouses him; his head, when Brenda shows up to the gala; and his foot-based rocket launcher, in the final pre-closing credits scene.
* SwissArmyAppendage: Claw can take off his mechanical pincher-hand and replace it with cosmetic ones for different occasions. Claw only uses one of them once, much preferring the titular claw.
* TalkingApplianceSidekick: The Gadgetmobile.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When John pursues Scolex, Thelma says "This isn't going to end well."
* TooDumbToLive: Robo-Brenda, so much so that she actually flips herself off the ''roof of a skyscraper''.
* TranslatorCollar: Which they for some reason forgot about and had to re-invent for the second film.
* TropaholicsAnonymous: Sykes' minion support group seen during the credits.
* UncannyValley: Invoked for Robo-Gadget -- compared to the real Gadget, his skin is a bit more plastic-looking, his eyes are blank, his teeth are perfectly straight and aligned, his movements are stiff, and he has physical tics. It all acts as a tip-off this is ''not'' a real human being.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Robo-Gadget to the real Gadget.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Claw was captured, Sykes went to rehab... so what happened to Kramer?
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Averted. Unlike the original series' ambiguous location of Metro City, this one is set in the equally fictional city of Riverton, Ohio (though it's actually Pittsburgh- [[WildMassGuessing perhaps it's the Pittsburgh equivalent of an alternate universe?]]).
* AWizardDidIt
** Dog translator collar? Supercop cybernetics? Cybernetic control chip? Dr. Bradford and her father did it. Even Kramer's work is based on duplicating her work. It even turns out that Dr. Claw's whole reason for losing weight, getting rich, and being a supervillain was to find a way to impress her (he's fancied her since they went to boarding school together).
* WorstAid: In an early trailer, John flatlines during the transformation surgery. What do they do to revive him? Administer the most scientifically-proven medical treatment known to man: [[Film/TheAbyss The Miraculous Bitchslap of Life]].
* YoureInsane: Brenda say this to Claw near the end of the film. [[InsultBackfire He calmly agrees]].
* YouKilledMyFather: Quoted during the climax:
--> '''Claw''': So what's new?
--> '''Brenda''': Hel-LO, you killed my father!
[[/folder]]
----
%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. Please add context before removing comments.
%%
[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inspector_gadget_ver2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:''[[TagLine The greatest hero ever assembled.]]'']]
''Inspector Gadget'' (1999) is a LiveActionAdaptation of the [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget namesake animated series]] from Walt Disney Pictures, directed by [[Film/CoolAsIce David Kellogg]] and starring Creator/MatthewBroderick, Creator/MichelleTrachtenberg, Creator/JoelyFisher and Creator/RupertEverett.
The movie opens with an origin story for the titular hero (Broderick). Originally a human security guard named John Brown, he dreams of one day being a respected police officer, though he is continually rejected due to his lack of experience. He also has designs on Brenda Bradford (Fisher), a scientist that works at the cybernetics lab he's employed for. After the lab creates a prototype for a computer chip that can control lifelike robotic limbs, Brown's life changes as CorruptCorporateExecutive Sanford Scolex (Everett) breaks into the lab, kills Brenda's father, and makes off with the prototype foot. When Brown pursues him, the resulting car chase ends with Scolex blowing up his car and leaving him with extensive tissue damage. In the aftermath, Scolex's left hand is crushed, leading to him getting a selection of cybernetic replacements. His favourite replacement [[RuleOfCool (because it looks cool)]] is a metallic crab-claw. He dubs himself "Claw." As for Brown, Brenda decides to make him the prototype for the "Gadget Program" and repairs his damaged body by converting him into a cyborg with numerous odd and zany functions--and his own talking wisecracking car the Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley). Now dubbed "Inspector Gadget," he realizes his dream of joining the police force - though his generally goofy and awkward nature and lack of control over his new hardware makes him something of a walking disaster area. Meanwhile, Scolex still has designs on the technology that created him, as he plans to use it to build an unstoppable robot army to take over the world...
It was successful enough for Disney to produce a direct-to-video sequel, ''Film/InspectorGadget2'' (2003), though none of the original cast returned (except for D.L. Hughley who reprised his role as the Gadgetmobile).
'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMlvnjwB5Zo Two Trailers and TV Spots]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkrHITdFlgU Trailer #3]].
----
!The film provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A-M]]
* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: Happens a few times to Gadget.
* ActorAllusion:
** Creator/MatthewBroderick as Robo-Gadget doing an impression of a [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} certain rampaging reptile]].
** "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}." Rupert Everett and Madonna are famously best friends in real life.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Penny is brunette in this movie, while she was blonde in the cartoon.
* AdaptationExpansion: We actually learn both Gadget and Claw's real names (okay, Claw's name was eventually revealed in the cartoon) and backstories, with the story of how they got their robotic add-ons taking up the better part of the first act.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Gadget is far more competent in the movie than in the cartoon, and doesn't rely entirely on Penny and Brain.
* AdaptationNameChange: In the original cartoon, Claw's birth name was [[spoiler:Edward Claw]]. Here, it's Sanford Scolex.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Granted, the original cartoon never really gave origin stories for Inspector Gadget and Dr. Claw to begin with, but this film chose to make John Brown's conversion into a cyborg have a connection with Sanford Scolex's hand getting crushed and having it replaced with a robotic claw. John Brown is injured in an accident caused by Scolex. However, the explosion also sends a bowling ball flying out of Brown's car and crushes Scolex's left hand as he is closing the sunroof. Yet another thing to note is that Brown was rebuilt as a cyborg as part of the Gadget Project and Scolex's interest in using the technology for his own ends was what caused Brown's accident in the first place.
* AdaptedOut: Dr. Claw was the leader of an international crime syndicate known as M.A.D. in the cartoon, but his evil organization is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he is aided by a thug named Sykes and a bumbling scientist named Kramer.
%%* AIIsACrapshoot: Robo-Gadget.
* AllThereInTheManual: Used InUniverse for a joke: the manual is at least two feet thick -- and it's just volume one.
* AlliterativeName: '''S'''anford '''S'''colex for Claw.
* AlternateContinuity: It is clearly not canon to the original cartoon because of the huge amount of differences from the source material.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Inspector Gadget apparently has gone berserk in the downtown Riverton area... reports indicate that he has already caused a major traffic accident, destroyed private property, and set fire to an elderly man's beard."
* ArtificialLimbs:
** Interestingly, in the film, Gadget takes some time to get used to them and even comments "it doesn't feel like me." Shortly after being activated, he accidentally extended his neck into the hospital ceiling.
** Also Dr. Claw's, well, claw.
* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: Lampshaded by Claw when he has Gadget at his mercy:
-->'''Claw''': COMPRENDE!?\\
'''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah. I comprende.\\
'''Claw''': No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I ''comprendo''. Yo ''comprendo''. [[GrammarNazi Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake! Pull out his NSA chip before he butchers another language]].
%%* AshFace
* AsideGlance: Gadget [[LamePunReaction reacting to his own bad pun]].
-->'''Gadget ('''to Robo-Gadget's [[AlasPoorYorick disembodied head]]'''):''' You should've quit while you were ahead.
* AuthorAppeal: The bizarrely hyper quick cuts and odd [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Big Lipped Alligator]] interludes seem to be a favorite of David Kellogg.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sanford Scolex.
* BetterThanNew: Brown was originally human. Then his body was busted and he was remade into a SuperSoldier.
* BigShutUp: Claw yells this to Kramer.
* BreakThemByTalking: [[LargeHam "Have a cocktail! Don't you know bad robots have more fun?"]]
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** The Gadgetmobile tells Gadget to buckle up, because "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the scene where Claw tells Gadget that he's been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons... and then looks directly into the camera, followed by Gadget doing the same thing, ''and then'' Kramer leans into the shot ''[[BetterThanABareBulb for no other purpose than to look into the camera as well]]''.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Most of Gadget's equipment and other related items bears a stylized "G"- presumably the symbol of the Gadget Program.
* CallBack: "Our relationship is strictly professional."
* TheCameo:
** A post-credits gag has [[{{Mooks}} Mook #1]] Sykes attending [[TropaholicsAnonymous Minions Anonymous]], where other attendees include "[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Hat Throwing Minion]]," "[[Series/FantasyIsland Minion Who Identifies Seafaring Aircraft]]," [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]], [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]], "[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Minion with Metallic Teeth]]," and Creator/MrT.
** Don Adams has a vocal cameo as the voice of Brain in mid-credits scene.
* CreatorCameo: Andy Heyward- head of Creator/DICEntertainment and one of the original series' co-creators- makes a cameo as a party guest, credited (appropriately enough) as "Mr. D.I.C.". He and his wife Evelyn (credited as "Trophy Bride") can be seen in the background when [[ItMakesSenseInContext the camera zooms onto Gagdet's tethered ear stuck onto a sculpture]].
* CharacterInTheLogo: The logo had Gadget's silhouette inside a gear.
* TheCheerleader: For [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders some reason]], [[TheDitz Robo-Brenda]] is this.
* ChekhovsGun: when Robo-Gadget is first activated, a close-up of him shows a tarantula in a plastic sphere in his body. During his fight with Inspector Gadget, he unleashes this tarantula as a weapon.
* ChekhovsSkill: Gadget puts the training he received from the guru to good use in the film's climax. His skill with a pen-gun ''would'' have counted as this in an earlier draft (at least if the novelization is anything to go by), but the relevant scene was either cut or not filmed at all.
* ChewingTheScenery: Coincidentally while Claw is screaming about eating brownies... [[ItMakesSenseInContext and waffles.]]
* ChubbyChaser: Brenda implies that she was one: she tells Scolex that "she liked him better fat."
* ComedicUnderwearExposure: From Gadget during his fight with Robo-Gadget. Thankfully, he's wearing boxers.
** Also from Scolex, who loses his briefs to Brain while escaping with Brenda.
* CoolCar: The Gadgetmobile. Now a 1960s Lincoln Continental, it can talk, it has a giant booster rocket and a ''Skittles compartment''.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Scolex/Claw, who will resort to ''cold-blooded murder'' to further his goals.
* CoveredInGunge: Used so much (toothpaste is the main example), you wonder if it's a private fetish on the part of a producer/director.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Double subverted. Claw ''does'' plan on selling the gadget technology so anyone with enough money can have an army of obedient SuperSoldiers but decided to send the first to terrorize the city 'and have some fun'.
* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:Brenda in the final act of the film.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: At least one person gets killed and another critically injured in a series of violent acts that set the plot in motion. Is there any wonder why the MPAA rated the film PG? (Aside from the accidental language, namely, "[[InnocentInnuendo obtaining the balls]]", and other innuendo, of course.)
* DelayedSafetyFeature: PlayedForLaughs when Gadget and Brenda fall off a skyscraper. He frantically tries to find the keyphrase for his parachute and eventually ends up with a ParasolParachute. They land safely, and then the actual parachute opens.
* DemotedToExtra: Penny; despite being the true hero of the original series and frequent appearances throughout the movie, she rarely plays a part in the main plot of the film until the actual climax, with most of the screentime going exclusively to Gadget, his love interest, or Dr. Claw.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The opening credits sequence.
* DestroyTheProductPlacement: An early scene has Sykes crash Scolex's car into a Yahoo! billboard. A "Yahoo!" jingle even plays during the scene.
* TheDitz: Inspector Gadget, but slightly less so than in the cartoon. The Mayor of Riverton also has shades of this.
* DreamSue: At the beginning of the movie, Gadget imagines himself as a super cop. Apparently this happens regularly, as pointed out by Penny.
* DullSurprise: "Dull" is stretching it a bit, but Brenda nonetheless reacts remarkably well at the appearance of her robotic lookalike, designed by the man who hired her. And this is all before she even finds out what he did to her father.
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Claw's reveal.
* EnormousEngine: The jet engine deployed by the Gadgetmobile.
--> '''Gadgetmobile:''' Better buckle up, Penny. This car's got only two speeds. 'Fast' and [[LudicrousSpeed 'Whoo! What was that?']]
* EvilIsHammy: You can tell Rupert Everett is having an absolute blast as Claw in the first film.
* EvilPlan: Acquiring Gadget Technology so he can sell it on the black market and acquiring his crush.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Scolex's tower, portrayed by the highly ornate One PPG Place in Pittsburgh.
* ExactWords: Gadget uses this tactic a couple of times while going undercover. It backfires on him the second time. Also, the "100 yards" business. Gadgetmobile himself falls victim to this with the word "citation".
* FauxAffablyEvil: Claw, who goes from suave and debonair to excessively hammy at the drop of a hat.
* {{Fingore}}: Claw has the fingers of his right hand crushed early in the first film.
* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Gadget doesn't think to use his iconic Gadget Copter to bypass Robo-Gadget's YouShallNotPass ploy on the bridge. Nor does he think to use it when Robo-Gadget has him clinging to one of the bridge's supports, a good 100 feet in the air, by his fingertips. The worst part is that, after Gadget has defeated Robo-Gadget and gotten back to ground level, what's the first thing he does? "Go-Go Gadget Copter!"
* ForTheEvulz: In revealing his evil plan, Claw seems quite eager to see the raw chaos that would be unleashed through his robotic warriors upon selling them to the highest bidders; Aside from exacting revenge on Gadget for the loss of his hand, he has no other deeply personal motivations for his crimes.
* GadgeteerGenius: Brenda and her father.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: DoubleEntendre is the preferred choice.
** "Hey, I have heat sensors. I know what you were thinking when she gave you that smile..."
** The film is one of few PG-rated movies to refer to testicles using a vulgar term, albeit accidentally--the guru was pointing to metal balls on the floor in front of him when he mentioned "obtaining the balls", but Gadget grabs ''his'' balls accidentally instead. The MPAA still rated the film for language because of it.
** When the newly operated on John Brown lands on top of Brenda Bradford, she starts talking about how all this was new to him, and he nods sheepishly in agreement. Brenda means having John having the added parts now and being Inspector Gadget, of course. However, given the position they are in, could John be assuming that Brenda meant, well, what two adults usually do in that position- and that he has not done it yet?
** Robo-Brenda, designed to resemble the woman Claw is obsessed with, is programmed to be a cheerleader.
* GrammarNazi: Scolex.
--> '''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah! I ''comprende!''
--> (Scolex winces in barely-controlled fury)
--> '''Scolex''': No, no, no. I ''comprend-o. Yo comprendo.'' Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake. Kramer, pull the NSA chip before he butchers another language!
* GratuitousItalian: Scolex often uses the Italian words "Arrivederci" and "Ciao".
** Also, the Brazilian dub uses this for the "comprende" dialogue quoted above, replacing it with "capisce"/"capisco".[[note]]If ''comprende'' was kept, the joke would fall flat because the word is only one letter away from its Portuguese equivalent (comprender = compreender)[[/note]]
* GroinAttack: John Brown AKA Inspector Gadget mistakenly does this to the guru while trying to train his new cybernetic body (he was blindfolded for some reason), after the guru tells him to focus on "obtaining the balls" -- as in the metal balls on the floor.
-->'''Guru''': Ungrip! Ungrip! Turn it off! TURN IT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!\\
'''Chief Quimby''': Well, I guess [[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan six million dollars]] doesn't buy what it used to.\\
'''Brenda''': Excuse me.\\
''[As hospital workers put the guru in an ambulance, with an ice pack on his crotch]''\\
'''Guru''': He is not a man, you know. He is a monster!
* HeartSymbol: Appears on Gadget's hat.
* HollywoodNerd: Gadget, Brenda.
* HookHand: Dr. Claw.
** "No no, just... Claw... one word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}".
** "Too bad [[Literature/PeterPan Hook]]'s already taken, huh?"
* HyperspaceArsenal: Inspector Gadget's robotic clone Robo-Gadget does this to scare a child that mistakes him for the real Gadget.
* IAmTheNoun: Gadget says "I am the Police."
* IdiosyncraticWipes: Scenes are transitioned with various technological things, like wireframe versions of Gadget's equipment or various mechanical objects.
* ImagineSpot: Done with thought balloons.
* ImGoingToDisneyWorld: Used by Claw and Gadgetmobile.
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Robo-Gadget, who isn't so much impersonating a police officer as he is downright smearing the police officer's good name by committing all sorts of crimes–and takes it so far that [[spoiler:Chief Quimby would've arrested the real Gadget had Penny and Sykes not revealed that detail about Claw's EvilPlan]].
* InNameOnly: Save for a few shared names and the fact that the main character has bionic implants, but otherwise bears little-to-no resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the 80s cartoon]].
* InspectorOblivious: He wouldn't be Inspector Gadget if he weren't. In his first day back on the job, he unwittingly helps two escaped convicts break into a Dodge Viper.
* InsultBackfire: Claw, when told he looked better fat.
-->'''Claw''': '''''BRING ON THE BROWNIES! WHEEL IN THE WAFFLES! I'M READY TO BINGE!'''''
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Gadget would like to say something heroic like 'in the name of justice' to activate his gadget abilities. Brenda says he could (thus fullfilling this trope) but it wouldn't activate the gadget abilities.
* IWorkAlone: Gadgetmobile says this... before promptly working with Gadget to stop some car thieves.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Quimby is an ObstructiveBureaucrat who refuses to let Gadget work on the Bradford case. However, he makes the very true point that, contrary to the name he was given, Gadget is ''not'' actually a police inspector, or even a trained officer. He is just a security guard turned into a publicity stunt that Quimby now has to put up with.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Although Quimby can be amoral towards Gadget, he's ultimately a good guy who's willing to help his friend wherever necessary.
* KickedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Artemus Bradford, courtesy of Scolex]].
* LamePunReaction: In addition to the instance between Gadget and [=RoboGadget=] (see AsideGlance above), there's this exchange between Scolex and Kramer.
-->'''Scolex:''' Now all I need is a dashing appellation.
-->'''Kramer:''' What's that? A hillbilly in a tuxedo?
-->'''Scolex:''' No, you idiot! It's a nickname.
* LargeHam:
** Rupert Everett as Claw, so very much.
** And Robo-Gadget. Who knew Matthew Broderick could be such a wonderful LargeHam?
* LeanAndMean: Claw hinmself, who as we find out was formerly a FatBastard.
* LogoJoke:
** The Walt Disney Pictures castle is completely mechanical at the beginning; in addition, the arc of light that draws itself behind said castle is replaced by the top half of a cog.
** The end credits has the walking man from the Caravan Pictures logo, forming his Gadget-Copter and flying off. Kind of a metaphor considering this is the last film from the company.
* LuckyTranslation: As lame as Gadget's "You should've quit while you were ahead" pun is, its Polish translation, taking advantage of a well-known if somewhat rarely used phrase that can be roughly rendered as "Dreams of a severed head" (meaning aspirations expressed long past deadline), is arguably pretty funny.
* MeaningfulName: A Scolex is the front end of a tapeworm.
* MaleGaze: As she retrieves his manual while explaining his mechanics, Brenda bends over with her butt in full view and this causes Gadget to [[ChivalrousPervert screech like a monkey]].
* MadScientist: Artemus and Brenda Bradford, whose company started Project Gadget, are heroic. Baxter, in the sequel, is more of a "mildly-eccentric scientist" in the employ of Riverton's police department.
* MayorPain: According to Mayor Wilson, Chief Quimby was calling her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sykes.
* MissionImpossibleCableDrop: Gadget does one in Scolex's lair when he tries to retrieve the stolen bionic foot.
* {{Mooks}}: Sykes and Kramer are Scolex's henchmen.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Gadgetmobile lets Gadget know the two men he helped break into a Dodge Viper (because he thought they had locked themselves out) were actually jailbreakers, he says, "Wait a minute!" before he and the Gadgetmobile go after them.
* MythologyGag: Scolex's very first appearance is set up almost ''exactly'' like how Claw typically appeared in the cartoon -- facing away from the camera (with only his arm and hand visible, and a fancy-looking ring on his finger), watching a screen, with his RightHandCat nearby. His voice is also very low and ominous, though not like the cartoon's almost-guttural voice.
** Scolex's skyscraper is shaped like a castle. In the cartoon, Claw's usual lair was in fact in a castle on a mountain somewhere. (Unusually, they didn't make the building appear like that-- PPG Place was designed like that already, which may explain why they chose Pittsburgh as a filming location.)
* MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat: The Gadgetmobile knows how John ''really'' feels about Dr. Bradford.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:N-Z]]
* NeverSayDie: Kramer's reaction to the mention of Scolex having nearly killed Gadget.
* NoFourthWall: "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the extremely awkward AsideGlance to the audience Scolex and Kramer make to the audience while mocking Gadget.
* NoodleImplements: Part of the rebuilding sequence involves a wheelbarrow of garden hoses.
** Where do you think the toothpaste comes from? Now, the Slinkies, Tinketoys and mousetraps on the other hand...
* NoodleIncident: Gadget mentions taking dance lessons at one point, but he's forced into some fancy footwork when Robo-Gadget fires at his feet before he can elaborate any further.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Penny's science teacher, as revealed in a deleted scene. He was certainly embarrassed when Penny busted him for stealing ice cream from the cafeteria, but he promised to let the principal know he was responsible right away, telling his students to concentrate on their studies as he left the classroom.
%%* OffhandBackhand
* OffWithHisHead: Claw to Kramer when ordering him to remove Gadget's chip (though he gives him points for at least locating the chip before fainting):
-->'''Claw''': Do it, or you'll be building yourself a new head.
* OhCrap:
** Artemis has a quick moment of terror when he realizes that Scolex is going to kill him.
** John utters "Oh, boy..." before Scolex's cigar explodes right near his Chevette. Barely an instant later, Scolex has one when the bowling ball crushes his hand.
** Gadget when he realizes that he unintentionally helped the jailbreakers get into the Dodge Viper so they can escape.
** Gadget has one when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping and when he encounters the robots that killed Artemis.
* OilSlick:
** Subverted by Gadget, whose oil slick actually sprays toothpaste.
** Played straight with Scolex's limo, complete with "oil slick" button on the dash.
* OnlyOneName: "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}."
* OverusedRunningGag: The gag of the hearts popping up on Gadget's hat showing he's in love happens several times.
* OwMyBodyPart: Sanford Scolex shrieks this as the bowling bowl crushes his left hand.
* PedalToTheMetalShot: Not a ''pedal,'' but pulling hard on the Gadgetmobile's "jet thruster release" handle has the same effect. Later on, Brenda slams down hard on the brake when they catch up to Claw's limo.
* ThePenIsMightier: During the climax, Gadget manages to thwart Claw's escape by throwing a pen into the latter's helicopter, hitting his claw hand and forcing it shut, crushing the chopper's control stick.
* PoliceAreUseless: The cops are completely helpless to stop Robo-Gadget's rampage across Riverton.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: When Penny [[YouAreNotAlone reaches out to Sykes]] near the end, prompting his HeelFaceTurn.
* ThePowerOfLove: Gadget is brought back to 'life' with a kiss.
* ProductPlacement:
** YAHOOOOOO-OOO! ''That's right, Disney actually used the Yahoo yodel as the billboard falls on the limousine near the start of the film!''
** Gadget is featured on the cover of ''The Sharper Image'' catalog.
** The Gadgetmobile also dispenses Skittles and Coke products.
** One of the cars in the beginning belongs to ''Pennzoil''.
** [=McDonald's=].
** Claw calls Gadget "Roto-Rooter Man" upon hearing of his demotion.
** There is a Sony television at Sykes' room.
* RealityEnsues: Brown asks Chief Quimby when he'll be put on the big case. The chief assures him he has something for him to "cut [his] teeth on". Cut to a newspaper montage of Brown being a crossing guard and helping the sanitation department. Remember, Brown is a security guard who was rejected from the police academy early in the film, and is markedly incompetent even ''after'' being upgraded. In fact, it's the central joke of the character.
* RemakeCameo: Don Adams, the classic voice of Inspector Gadget in the original series, voices Brain in a brief credits scene.
* RepurposedPopSong: Youngstown's "I'll Be Your Everything," which existed before the film but still used a sample of the theme song for it's hook. A newer version was recorded for the movie, with more uses of the sample and lyrics alluding to the plot, as well as [[{{Bowdlerize}} some of the more suggestive lines removed]].
* ResearchInc: Bradford Labs
* {{Revenge}}: Inadvertent when presented onscreen, inverted when Gadget and Claw bring up that particular incident that "made" them:
-->'''Gadget''': I owe you one, Scolex. You blew up me ''and'' my Chevette. And I really liked that car!\\
'''Claw''': Well, you crushed my ''hand'', and I really liked that hand. ''So Go Go get over it.''
* TheReveal: Claw's face is fully seen by the audience all throughout the movie, as opposed to it being constantly obscured in the cartoon. In his first scene, it is ''barely'' concealed by the shadows before he emerges with it fully uncovered.
* RobotGirl: Robo-Brenda..!
%%* RobotNames
* RollerbladeGood: Gadget's shoes can inexplicably turn into rollerblades with tiny gas-powered motors attached. The sequel ditches this for an even more implausible scooter, which comes out of Gadget's shoe.
* ShotgunDance: "You know how to dance, don't you?"
* ShoutOut:
** The knob for the helmet voltage [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap goes up to 11]].
** Franchise/{{Godzilla}}; when Robo-Gadget is rampaging through the City, he imitates Godzilla with his shadow. The scene also had a Japanese man running away from Robo-gadget, while screaming that this is why he left Tokyo.
** Minion Kramer's hair is reminiscent of [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} another Kramer]].
** Mayor Wilson says that Chief Quimby calls her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
* SoftGlass: When Gadget tries to rollerblade his way out of the lab, Sykes lowers a glass door to prevent him from escaping. Despite shattering the glass, no visible injuries are present on Gadget.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Among other things, Gadget's hat-based rocket launcher, which blows up a car when Brenda arouses him; his head, when Brenda shows up to the gala; and his foot-based rocket launcher, in the final pre-closing credits scene.
* SwissArmyAppendage: Claw can take off his mechanical pincher-hand and replace it with cosmetic ones for different occasions. Claw only uses one of them once, much preferring the titular claw.
* TalkingApplianceSidekick: The Gadgetmobile.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When John pursues Scolex, Thelma says "This isn't going to end well."
* TooDumbToLive: Robo-Brenda, so much so that she actually flips herself off the ''roof of a skyscraper''.
* TranslatorCollar: Which they for some reason forgot about and had to re-invent for the second film.
* TropaholicsAnonymous: Sykes' minion support group seen during the credits.
* UncannyValley: Invoked for Robo-Gadget -- compared to the real Gadget, his skin is a bit more plastic-looking, his eyes are blank, his teeth are perfectly straight and aligned, his movements are stiff, and he has physical tics. It all acts as a tip-off this is ''not'' a real human being.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Robo-Gadget to the real Gadget.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Claw was captured, Sykes went to rehab... so what happened to Kramer?
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Averted. Unlike the original series' ambiguous location of Metro City, this one is set in the equally fictional city of Riverton, Ohio (though it's actually Pittsburgh- [[WildMassGuessing perhaps it's the Pittsburgh equivalent of an alternate universe?]]).
* AWizardDidIt
** Dog translator collar? Supercop cybernetics? Cybernetic control chip? Dr. Bradford and her father did it. Even Kramer's work is based on duplicating her work. It even turns out that Dr. Claw's whole reason for losing weight, getting rich, and being a supervillain was to find a way to impress her (he's fancied her since they went to boarding school together).
* WorstAid: In an early trailer, John flatlines during the transformation surgery. What do they do to revive him? Administer the most scientifically-proven medical treatment known to man: [[Film/TheAbyss The Miraculous Bitchslap of Life]].
* YoureInsane: Brenda say this to Claw near the end of the film. [[InsultBackfire He calmly agrees]].
* YouKilledMyFather: Quoted during the climax:
--> '''Claw''': So what's new?
--> '''Brenda''': Hel-LO, you killed my father!
[[/folder]]
----
to:
%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. Please add context before removing comments.
%%
[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inspector_gadget_ver2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:''[[TagLine The greatest hero ever assembled.]]'']]
''Inspector Gadget'' (1999) is a LiveActionAdaptation of the [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget namesake animated series]] from Walt Disney Pictures, directed by [[Film/CoolAsIce David Kellogg]] and starring Creator/MatthewBroderick, Creator/MichelleTrachtenberg, Creator/JoelyFisher and Creator/RupertEverett.
The movie opens with an origin story for the titular hero (Broderick). Originally a human security guard named John Brown, he dreams of one day being a respected police officer, though he is continually rejected due to his lack of experience. He also has designs on Brenda Bradford (Fisher), a scientist that works at the cybernetics lab he's employed for. After the lab creates a prototype for a computer chip that can control lifelike robotic limbs, Brown's life changes as CorruptCorporateExecutive Sanford Scolex (Everett) breaks into the lab, kills Brenda's father, and makes off with the prototype foot. When Brown pursues him, the resulting car chase ends with Scolex blowing up his car and leaving him with extensive tissue damage. In the aftermath, Scolex's left hand is crushed, leading to him getting a selection of cybernetic replacements. His favourite replacement [[RuleOfCool (because it looks cool)]] is a metallic crab-claw. He dubs himself "Claw." As for Brown, Brenda decides to make him the prototype for the "Gadget Program" and repairs his damaged body by converting him into a cyborg with numerous odd and zany functions--and his own talking wisecracking car the Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley). Now dubbed "Inspector Gadget," he realizes his dream of joining the police force - though his generally goofy and awkward nature and lack of control over his new hardware makes him something of a walking disaster area. Meanwhile, Scolex still has designs on the technology that created him, as he plans to use it to build an unstoppable robot army to take over the world...
It was successful enough for Disney to produce a direct-to-video sequel, ''Film/InspectorGadget2'' (2003), though none of the original cast returned (except for D.L. Hughley who reprised his role as the Gadgetmobile).
'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMlvnjwB5Zo Two Trailers and TV Spots]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkrHITdFlgU Trailer #3]].
----
!The film provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A-M]]
* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: Happens a few times to Gadget.
* ActorAllusion:
** Creator/MatthewBroderick as Robo-Gadget doing an impression of a [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} certain rampaging reptile]].
** "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}." Rupert Everett and Madonna are famously best friends in real life.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Penny is brunette in this movie, while she was blonde in the cartoon.
* AdaptationExpansion: We actually learn both Gadget and Claw's real names (okay, Claw's name was eventually revealed in the cartoon) and backstories, with the story of how they got their robotic add-ons taking up the better part of the first act.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Gadget is far more competent in the movie than in the cartoon, and doesn't rely entirely on Penny and Brain.
* AdaptationNameChange: In the original cartoon, Claw's birth name was [[spoiler:Edward Claw]]. Here, it's Sanford Scolex.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Granted, the original cartoon never really gave origin stories for Inspector Gadget and Dr. Claw to begin with, but this film chose to make John Brown's conversion into a cyborg have a connection with Sanford Scolex's hand getting crushed and having it replaced with a robotic claw. John Brown is injured in an accident caused by Scolex. However, the explosion also sends a bowling ball flying out of Brown's car and crushes Scolex's left hand as he is closing the sunroof. Yet another thing to note is that Brown was rebuilt as a cyborg as part of the Gadget Project and Scolex's interest in using the technology for his own ends was what caused Brown's accident in the first place.
* AdaptedOut: Dr. Claw was the leader of an international crime syndicate known as M.A.D. in the cartoon, but his evil organization is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he is aided by a thug named Sykes and a bumbling scientist named Kramer.
%%* AIIsACrapshoot: Robo-Gadget.
* AllThereInTheManual: Used InUniverse for a joke: the manual is at least two feet thick -- and it's just volume one.
* AlliterativeName: '''S'''anford '''S'''colex for Claw.
* AlternateContinuity: It is clearly not canon to the original cartoon because of the huge amount of differences from the source material.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Inspector Gadget apparently has gone berserk in the downtown Riverton area... reports indicate that he has already caused a major traffic accident, destroyed private property, and set fire to an elderly man's beard."
* ArtificialLimbs:
** Interestingly, in the film, Gadget takes some time to get used to them and even comments "it doesn't feel like me." Shortly after being activated, he accidentally extended his neck into the hospital ceiling.
** Also Dr. Claw's, well, claw.
* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: Lampshaded by Claw when he has Gadget at his mercy:
-->'''Claw''': COMPRENDE!?\\
'''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah. I comprende.\\
'''Claw''': No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I ''comprendo''. Yo ''comprendo''. [[GrammarNazi Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake! Pull out his NSA chip before he butchers another language]].
%%* AshFace
* AsideGlance: Gadget [[LamePunReaction reacting to his own bad pun]].
-->'''Gadget ('''to Robo-Gadget's [[AlasPoorYorick disembodied head]]'''):''' You should've quit while you were ahead.
* AuthorAppeal: The bizarrely hyper quick cuts and odd [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Big Lipped Alligator]] interludes seem to be a favorite of David Kellogg.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sanford Scolex.
* BetterThanNew: Brown was originally human. Then his body was busted and he was remade into a SuperSoldier.
* BigShutUp: Claw yells this to Kramer.
* BreakThemByTalking: [[LargeHam "Have a cocktail! Don't you know bad robots have more fun?"]]
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** The Gadgetmobile tells Gadget to buckle up, because "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the scene where Claw tells Gadget that he's been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons... and then looks directly into the camera, followed by Gadget doing the same thing, ''and then'' Kramer leans into the shot ''[[BetterThanABareBulb for no other purpose than to look into the camera as well]]''.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Most of Gadget's equipment and other related items bears a stylized "G"- presumably the symbol of the Gadget Program.
* CallBack: "Our relationship is strictly professional."
* TheCameo:
** A post-credits gag has [[{{Mooks}} Mook #1]] Sykes attending [[TropaholicsAnonymous Minions Anonymous]], where other attendees include "[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Hat Throwing Minion]]," "[[Series/FantasyIsland Minion Who Identifies Seafaring Aircraft]]," [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]], [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]], "[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Minion with Metallic Teeth]]," and Creator/MrT.
** Don Adams has a vocal cameo as the voice of Brain in mid-credits scene.
* CreatorCameo: Andy Heyward- head of Creator/DICEntertainment and one of the original series' co-creators- makes a cameo as a party guest, credited (appropriately enough) as "Mr. D.I.C.". He and his wife Evelyn (credited as "Trophy Bride") can be seen in the background when [[ItMakesSenseInContext the camera zooms onto Gagdet's tethered ear stuck onto a sculpture]].
* CharacterInTheLogo: The logo had Gadget's silhouette inside a gear.
* TheCheerleader: For [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders some reason]], [[TheDitz Robo-Brenda]] is this.
* ChekhovsGun: when Robo-Gadget is first activated, a close-up of him shows a tarantula in a plastic sphere in his body. During his fight with Inspector Gadget, he unleashes this tarantula as a weapon.
* ChekhovsSkill: Gadget puts the training he received from the guru to good use in the film's climax. His skill with a pen-gun ''would'' have counted as this in an earlier draft (at least if the novelization is anything to go by), but the relevant scene was either cut or not filmed at all.
* ChewingTheScenery: Coincidentally while Claw is screaming about eating brownies... [[ItMakesSenseInContext and waffles.]]
* ChubbyChaser: Brenda implies that she was one: she tells Scolex that "she liked him better fat."
* ComedicUnderwearExposure: From Gadget during his fight with Robo-Gadget. Thankfully, he's wearing boxers.
** Also from Scolex, who loses his briefs to Brain while escaping with Brenda.
* CoolCar: The Gadgetmobile. Now a 1960s Lincoln Continental, it can talk, it has a giant booster rocket and a ''Skittles compartment''.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Scolex/Claw, who will resort to ''cold-blooded murder'' to further his goals.
* CoveredInGunge: Used so much (toothpaste is the main example), you wonder if it's a private fetish on the part of a producer/director.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Double subverted. Claw ''does'' plan on selling the gadget technology so anyone with enough money can have an army of obedient SuperSoldiers but decided to send the first to terrorize the city 'and have some fun'.
* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:Brenda in the final act of the film.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: At least one person gets killed and another critically injured in a series of violent acts that set the plot in motion. Is there any wonder why the MPAA rated the film PG? (Aside from the accidental language, namely, "[[InnocentInnuendo obtaining the balls]]", and other innuendo, of course.)
* DelayedSafetyFeature: PlayedForLaughs when Gadget and Brenda fall off a skyscraper. He frantically tries to find the keyphrase for his parachute and eventually ends up with a ParasolParachute. They land safely, and then the actual parachute opens.
* DemotedToExtra: Penny; despite being the true hero of the original series and frequent appearances throughout the movie, she rarely plays a part in the main plot of the film until the actual climax, with most of the screentime going exclusively to Gadget, his love interest, or Dr. Claw.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The opening credits sequence.
* DestroyTheProductPlacement: An early scene has Sykes crash Scolex's car into a Yahoo! billboard. A "Yahoo!" jingle even plays during the scene.
* TheDitz: Inspector Gadget, but slightly less so than in the cartoon. The Mayor of Riverton also has shades of this.
* DreamSue: At the beginning of the movie, Gadget imagines himself as a super cop. Apparently this happens regularly, as pointed out by Penny.
* DullSurprise: "Dull" is stretching it a bit, but Brenda nonetheless reacts remarkably well at the appearance of her robotic lookalike, designed by the man who hired her. And this is all before she even finds out what he did to her father.
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Claw's reveal.
* EnormousEngine: The jet engine deployed by the Gadgetmobile.
--> '''Gadgetmobile:''' Better buckle up, Penny. This car's got only two speeds. 'Fast' and [[LudicrousSpeed 'Whoo! What was that?']]
* EvilIsHammy: You can tell Rupert Everett is having an absolute blast as Claw in the first film.
* EvilPlan: Acquiring Gadget Technology so he can sell it on the black market and acquiring his crush.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Scolex's tower, portrayed by the highly ornate One PPG Place in Pittsburgh.
* ExactWords: Gadget uses this tactic a couple of times while going undercover. It backfires on him the second time. Also, the "100 yards" business. Gadgetmobile himself falls victim to this with the word "citation".
* FauxAffablyEvil: Claw, who goes from suave and debonair to excessively hammy at the drop of a hat.
* {{Fingore}}: Claw has the fingers of his right hand crushed early in the first film.
* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Gadget doesn't think to use his iconic Gadget Copter to bypass Robo-Gadget's YouShallNotPass ploy on the bridge. Nor does he think to use it when Robo-Gadget has him clinging to one of the bridge's supports, a good 100 feet in the air, by his fingertips. The worst part is that, after Gadget has defeated Robo-Gadget and gotten back to ground level, what's the first thing he does? "Go-Go Gadget Copter!"
* ForTheEvulz: In revealing his evil plan, Claw seems quite eager to see the raw chaos that would be unleashed through his robotic warriors upon selling them to the highest bidders; Aside from exacting revenge on Gadget for the loss of his hand, he has no other deeply personal motivations for his crimes.
* GadgeteerGenius: Brenda and her father.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: DoubleEntendre is the preferred choice.
** "Hey, I have heat sensors. I know what you were thinking when she gave you that smile..."
** The film is one of few PG-rated movies to refer to testicles using a vulgar term, albeit accidentally--the guru was pointing to metal balls on the floor in front of him when he mentioned "obtaining the balls", but Gadget grabs ''his'' balls accidentally instead. The MPAA still rated the film for language because of it.
** When the newly operated on John Brown lands on top of Brenda Bradford, she starts talking about how all this was new to him, and he nods sheepishly in agreement. Brenda means having John having the added parts now and being Inspector Gadget, of course. However, given the position they are in, could John be assuming that Brenda meant, well, what two adults usually do in that position- and that he has not done it yet?
** Robo-Brenda, designed to resemble the woman Claw is obsessed with, is programmed to be a cheerleader.
* GrammarNazi: Scolex.
--> '''Gadget''' (sarcastically): Yeah! I ''comprende!''
--> (Scolex winces in barely-controlled fury)
--> '''Scolex''': No, no, no. I ''comprend-o. Yo comprendo.'' Conjugate the verb, for pity's sake. Kramer, pull the NSA chip before he butchers another language!
* GratuitousItalian: Scolex often uses the Italian words "Arrivederci" and "Ciao".
** Also, the Brazilian dub uses this for the "comprende" dialogue quoted above, replacing it with "capisce"/"capisco".[[note]]If ''comprende'' was kept, the joke would fall flat because the word is only one letter away from its Portuguese equivalent (comprender = compreender)[[/note]]
* GroinAttack: John Brown AKA Inspector Gadget mistakenly does this to the guru while trying to train his new cybernetic body (he was blindfolded for some reason), after the guru tells him to focus on "obtaining the balls" -- as in the metal balls on the floor.
-->'''Guru''': Ungrip! Ungrip! Turn it off! TURN IT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!\\
'''Chief Quimby''': Well, I guess [[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan six million dollars]] doesn't buy what it used to.\\
'''Brenda''': Excuse me.\\
''[As hospital workers put the guru in an ambulance, with an ice pack on his crotch]''\\
'''Guru''': He is not a man, you know. He is a monster!
* HeartSymbol: Appears on Gadget's hat.
* HollywoodNerd: Gadget, Brenda.
* HookHand: Dr. Claw.
** "No no, just... Claw... one word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}".
** "Too bad [[Literature/PeterPan Hook]]'s already taken, huh?"
* HyperspaceArsenal: Inspector Gadget's robotic clone Robo-Gadget does this to scare a child that mistakes him for the real Gadget.
* IAmTheNoun: Gadget says "I am the Police."
* IdiosyncraticWipes: Scenes are transitioned with various technological things, like wireframe versions of Gadget's equipment or various mechanical objects.
* ImagineSpot: Done with thought balloons.
* ImGoingToDisneyWorld: Used by Claw and Gadgetmobile.
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Robo-Gadget, who isn't so much impersonating a police officer as he is downright smearing the police officer's good name by committing all sorts of crimes–and takes it so far that [[spoiler:Chief Quimby would've arrested the real Gadget had Penny and Sykes not revealed that detail about Claw's EvilPlan]].
* InNameOnly: Save for a few shared names and the fact that the main character has bionic implants, but otherwise bears little-to-no resemblance to [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the 80s cartoon]].
* InspectorOblivious: He wouldn't be Inspector Gadget if he weren't. In his first day back on the job, he unwittingly helps two escaped convicts break into a Dodge Viper.
* InsultBackfire: Claw, when told he looked better fat.
-->'''Claw''': '''''BRING ON THE BROWNIES! WHEEL IN THE WAFFLES! I'M READY TO BINGE!'''''
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Gadget would like to say something heroic like 'in the name of justice' to activate his gadget abilities. Brenda says he could (thus fullfilling this trope) but it wouldn't activate the gadget abilities.
* IWorkAlone: Gadgetmobile says this... before promptly working with Gadget to stop some car thieves.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Quimby is an ObstructiveBureaucrat who refuses to let Gadget work on the Bradford case. However, he makes the very true point that, contrary to the name he was given, Gadget is ''not'' actually a police inspector, or even a trained officer. He is just a security guard turned into a publicity stunt that Quimby now has to put up with.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Although Quimby can be amoral towards Gadget, he's ultimately a good guy who's willing to help his friend wherever necessary.
* KickedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Artemus Bradford, courtesy of Scolex]].
* LamePunReaction: In addition to the instance between Gadget and [=RoboGadget=] (see AsideGlance above), there's this exchange between Scolex and Kramer.
-->'''Scolex:''' Now all I need is a dashing appellation.
-->'''Kramer:''' What's that? A hillbilly in a tuxedo?
-->'''Scolex:''' No, you idiot! It's a nickname.
* LargeHam:
** Rupert Everett as Claw, so very much.
** And Robo-Gadget. Who knew Matthew Broderick could be such a wonderful LargeHam?
* LeanAndMean: Claw hinmself, who as we find out was formerly a FatBastard.
* LogoJoke:
** The Walt Disney Pictures castle is completely mechanical at the beginning; in addition, the arc of light that draws itself behind said castle is replaced by the top half of a cog.
** The end credits has the walking man from the Caravan Pictures logo, forming his Gadget-Copter and flying off. Kind of a metaphor considering this is the last film from the company.
* LuckyTranslation: As lame as Gadget's "You should've quit while you were ahead" pun is, its Polish translation, taking advantage of a well-known if somewhat rarely used phrase that can be roughly rendered as "Dreams of a severed head" (meaning aspirations expressed long past deadline), is arguably pretty funny.
* MeaningfulName: A Scolex is the front end of a tapeworm.
* MaleGaze: As she retrieves his manual while explaining his mechanics, Brenda bends over with her butt in full view and this causes Gadget to [[ChivalrousPervert screech like a monkey]].
* MadScientist: Artemus and Brenda Bradford, whose company started Project Gadget, are heroic. Baxter, in the sequel, is more of a "mildly-eccentric scientist" in the employ of Riverton's police department.
* MayorPain: According to Mayor Wilson, Chief Quimby was calling her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sykes.
* MissionImpossibleCableDrop: Gadget does one in Scolex's lair when he tries to retrieve the stolen bionic foot.
* {{Mooks}}: Sykes and Kramer are Scolex's henchmen.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Gadgetmobile lets Gadget know the two men he helped break into a Dodge Viper (because he thought they had locked themselves out) were actually jailbreakers, he says, "Wait a minute!" before he and the Gadgetmobile go after them.
* MythologyGag: Scolex's very first appearance is set up almost ''exactly'' like how Claw typically appeared in the cartoon -- facing away from the camera (with only his arm and hand visible, and a fancy-looking ring on his finger), watching a screen, with his RightHandCat nearby. His voice is also very low and ominous, though not like the cartoon's almost-guttural voice.
** Scolex's skyscraper is shaped like a castle. In the cartoon, Claw's usual lair was in fact in a castle on a mountain somewhere. (Unusually, they didn't make the building appear like that-- PPG Place was designed like that already, which may explain why they chose Pittsburgh as a filming location.)
* MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat: The Gadgetmobile knows how John ''really'' feels about Dr. Bradford.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:N-Z]]
* NeverSayDie: Kramer's reaction to the mention of Scolex having nearly killed Gadget.
* NoFourthWall: "It's a Disney movie!"
** There's also the extremely awkward AsideGlance to the audience Scolex and Kramer make to the audience while mocking Gadget.
* NoodleImplements: Part of the rebuilding sequence involves a wheelbarrow of garden hoses.
** Where do you think the toothpaste comes from? Now, the Slinkies, Tinketoys and mousetraps on the other hand...
* NoodleIncident: Gadget mentions taking dance lessons at one point, but he's forced into some fancy footwork when Robo-Gadget fires at his feet before he can elaborate any further.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Penny's science teacher, as revealed in a deleted scene. He was certainly embarrassed when Penny busted him for stealing ice cream from the cafeteria, but he promised to let the principal know he was responsible right away, telling his students to concentrate on their studies as he left the classroom.
%%* OffhandBackhand
* OffWithHisHead: Claw to Kramer when ordering him to remove Gadget's chip (though he gives him points for at least locating the chip before fainting):
-->'''Claw''': Do it, or you'll be building yourself a new head.
* OhCrap:
** Artemis has a quick moment of terror when he realizes that Scolex is going to kill him.
** John utters "Oh, boy..." before Scolex's cigar explodes right near his Chevette. Barely an instant later, Scolex has one when the bowling ball crushes his hand.
** Gadget when he realizes that he unintentionally helped the jailbreakers get into the Dodge Viper so they can escape.
** Gadget has one when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping and when he encounters the robots that killed Artemis.
* OilSlick:
** Subverted by Gadget, whose oil slick actually sprays toothpaste.
** Played straight with Scolex's limo, complete with "oil slick" button on the dash.
* OnlyOneName: "Just Claw. One word. Like Music/{{Madonna}}."
* OverusedRunningGag: The gag of the hearts popping up on Gadget's hat showing he's in love happens several times.
* OwMyBodyPart: Sanford Scolex shrieks this as the bowling bowl crushes his left hand.
* PedalToTheMetalShot: Not a ''pedal,'' but pulling hard on the Gadgetmobile's "jet thruster release" handle has the same effect. Later on, Brenda slams down hard on the brake when they catch up to Claw's limo.
* ThePenIsMightier: During the climax, Gadget manages to thwart Claw's escape by throwing a pen into the latter's helicopter, hitting his claw hand and forcing it shut, crushing the chopper's control stick.
* PoliceAreUseless: The cops are completely helpless to stop Robo-Gadget's rampage across Riverton.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: When Penny [[YouAreNotAlone reaches out to Sykes]] near the end, prompting his HeelFaceTurn.
* ThePowerOfLove: Gadget is brought back to 'life' with a kiss.
* ProductPlacement:
** YAHOOOOOO-OOO! ''That's right, Disney actually used the Yahoo yodel as the billboard falls on the limousine near the start of the film!''
** Gadget is featured on the cover of ''The Sharper Image'' catalog.
** The Gadgetmobile also dispenses Skittles and Coke products.
** One of the cars in the beginning belongs to ''Pennzoil''.
** [=McDonald's=].
** Claw calls Gadget "Roto-Rooter Man" upon hearing of his demotion.
** There is a Sony television at Sykes' room.
* RealityEnsues: Brown asks Chief Quimby when he'll be put on the big case. The chief assures him he has something for him to "cut [his] teeth on". Cut to a newspaper montage of Brown being a crossing guard and helping the sanitation department. Remember, Brown is a security guard who was rejected from the police academy early in the film, and is markedly incompetent even ''after'' being upgraded. In fact, it's the central joke of the character.
* RemakeCameo: Don Adams, the classic voice of Inspector Gadget in the original series, voices Brain in a brief credits scene.
* RepurposedPopSong: Youngstown's "I'll Be Your Everything," which existed before the film but still used a sample of the theme song for it's hook. A newer version was recorded for the movie, with more uses of the sample and lyrics alluding to the plot, as well as [[{{Bowdlerize}} some of the more suggestive lines removed]].
* ResearchInc: Bradford Labs
* {{Revenge}}: Inadvertent when presented onscreen, inverted when Gadget and Claw bring up that particular incident that "made" them:
-->'''Gadget''': I owe you one, Scolex. You blew up me ''and'' my Chevette. And I really liked that car!\\
'''Claw''': Well, you crushed my ''hand'', and I really liked that hand. ''So Go Go get over it.''
* TheReveal: Claw's face is fully seen by the audience all throughout the movie, as opposed to it being constantly obscured in the cartoon. In his first scene, it is ''barely'' concealed by the shadows before he emerges with it fully uncovered.
* RobotGirl: Robo-Brenda..!
%%* RobotNames
* RollerbladeGood: Gadget's shoes can inexplicably turn into rollerblades with tiny gas-powered motors attached. The sequel ditches this for an even more implausible scooter, which comes out of Gadget's shoe.
* ShotgunDance: "You know how to dance, don't you?"
* ShoutOut:
** The knob for the helmet voltage [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap goes up to 11]].
** Franchise/{{Godzilla}}; when Robo-Gadget is rampaging through the City, he imitates Godzilla with his shadow. The scene also had a Japanese man running away from Robo-gadget, while screaming that this is why he left Tokyo.
** Minion Kramer's hair is reminiscent of [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} another Kramer]].
** Mayor Wilson says that Chief Quimby calls her "[[Film/{{Gidget}} Evil Gidget]]" behind her back.
* SoftGlass: When Gadget tries to rollerblade his way out of the lab, Sykes lowers a glass door to prevent him from escaping. Despite shattering the glass, no visible injuries are present on Gadget.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Among other things, Gadget's hat-based rocket launcher, which blows up a car when Brenda arouses him; his head, when Brenda shows up to the gala; and his foot-based rocket launcher, in the final pre-closing credits scene.
* SwissArmyAppendage: Claw can take off his mechanical pincher-hand and replace it with cosmetic ones for different occasions. Claw only uses one of them once, much preferring the titular claw.
* TalkingApplianceSidekick: The Gadgetmobile.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When John pursues Scolex, Thelma says "This isn't going to end well."
* TooDumbToLive: Robo-Brenda, so much so that she actually flips herself off the ''roof of a skyscraper''.
* TranslatorCollar: Which they for some reason forgot about and had to re-invent for the second film.
* TropaholicsAnonymous: Sykes' minion support group seen during the credits.
* UncannyValley: Invoked for Robo-Gadget -- compared to the real Gadget, his skin is a bit more plastic-looking, his eyes are blank, his teeth are perfectly straight and aligned, his movements are stiff, and he has physical tics. It all acts as a tip-off this is ''not'' a real human being.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Robo-Gadget to the real Gadget.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Claw was captured, Sykes went to rehab... so what happened to Kramer?
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Averted. Unlike the original series' ambiguous location of Metro City, this one is set in the equally fictional city of Riverton, Ohio (though it's actually Pittsburgh- [[WildMassGuessing perhaps it's the Pittsburgh equivalent of an alternate universe?]]).
* AWizardDidIt
** Dog translator collar? Supercop cybernetics? Cybernetic control chip? Dr. Bradford and her father did it. Even Kramer's work is based on duplicating her work. It even turns out that Dr. Claw's whole reason for losing weight, getting rich, and being a supervillain was to find a way to impress her (he's fancied her since they went to boarding school together).
* WorstAid: In an early trailer, John flatlines during the transformation surgery. What do they do to revive him? Administer the most scientifically-proven medical treatment known to man: [[Film/TheAbyss The Miraculous Bitchslap of Life]].
* YoureInsane: Brenda say this to Claw near the end of the film. [[InsultBackfire He calmly agrees]].
* YouKilledMyFather: Quoted during the climax:
--> '''Claw''': So what's new?
--> '''Brenda''': Hel-LO, you killed my father!
[[/folder]]
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 24 (click to see context) :
-->'''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic:''' (''in a monster voice'') '''''THAT'S A LOT OF FIIIIIIIISH!'''''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 145 (click to see context) :
* LullDestruction: The film is loaded with cartoon sound effects that won't go away.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* RepurposedPopSong: Youngstown's "I'll Be Your Everything," which existed before the film but still used a sample of the theme song for it's hook. A newer version was recorded for the movie, with more uses of the sample and lyrics alluding to the plot, as well as [[{{Bowdlerize}} some of the more suggestive lines removed]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
The movie opens with an origin story for the titular hero (Broderick). Originally a human security guard named John Brown, he dreams of one day being a respected police officer, though he is continually rejected due to his lack of experience. He also has designs on Brenda Bradford (Fisher), a scientist that works at the cybernetics lab he's employed for. After the lab creates a prototype for a computer chip that can control lifelike robotic limbs, Brown's life changes as CorruptCorporateExecutive Sanford Scolex (Everett) breaks into the lab, kills Brenda's father, and makes off with the prototype foot. When Brown pursues him, the resulting car chase ends with Scolex blowing up his car and leaving him with extensive tissue damage. In the aftermath, Scolex's left hand is crushed, leading to him getting a selection of cybernetic replacements. His favourite replacement [[RuleOfCool (because it looks cool)]] is a metallic crab-claw. He dubs himself "Claw." As for Brown, Brenda decides to make him the prototype for the "Gadget Program" and repairs his damaged body by converting him into a cyborg with numerous odd and zany functions. Now dubbed "Inspector Gadget," he realizes his dream of joining the police force - though his generally goofy and awkward nature and lack of control over his new hardware makes him something of a walking disaster area. Meanwhile, Scolex still has designs on the technology that created him, as he plans to use it to build an unstoppable robot army to take over the world...
to:
The movie opens with an origin story for the titular hero (Broderick). Originally a human security guard named John Brown, he dreams of one day being a respected police officer, though he is continually rejected due to his lack of experience. He also has designs on Brenda Bradford (Fisher), a scientist that works at the cybernetics lab he's employed for. After the lab creates a prototype for a computer chip that can control lifelike robotic limbs, Brown's life changes as CorruptCorporateExecutive Sanford Scolex (Everett) breaks into the lab, kills Brenda's father, and makes off with the prototype foot. When Brown pursues him, the resulting car chase ends with Scolex blowing up his car and leaving him with extensive tissue damage. In the aftermath, Scolex's left hand is crushed, leading to him getting a selection of cybernetic replacements. His favourite replacement [[RuleOfCool (because it looks cool)]] is a metallic crab-claw. He dubs himself "Claw." As for Brown, Brenda decides to make him the prototype for the "Gadget Program" and repairs his damaged body by converting him into a cyborg with numerous odd and zany functions.functions--and his own talking wisecracking car the Gadgetmobile (voiced by D.L. Hughley). Now dubbed "Inspector Gadget," he realizes his dream of joining the police force - though his generally goofy and awkward nature and lack of control over his new hardware makes him something of a walking disaster area. Meanwhile, Scolex still has designs on the technology that created him, as he plans to use it to build an unstoppable robot army to take over the world...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 172,173 (click to see context) from:
** John utters "Oh, boy..." before Scolex's cigar explodes right near his Chevette.
** Gadget when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping.
** Gadget when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping.
to:
** John utters "Oh, boy..." before Scolex's cigar explodes right near his Chevette.
Chevette. Barely an instant later, Scolex has one when the bowling ball crushes his hand.
** Gadget when he realizes that he unintentionally helped the jailbreakers get into the Dodge Viper so they can escape.
** Gadget has one when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him fromescaping.escaping and when he encounters the robots that killed Artemis.
** Gadget when he realizes that he unintentionally helped the jailbreakers get into the Dodge Viper so they can escape.
** Gadget has one when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Gadget when he unintentionally sets off the laboratory alarm at the worst possible time when he tries to recover the foot. Then, Sykes gets one when he wakes up to discover Gadget on the TV monitor. Gadget has another one seconds later when Sykes lowers the door to prevent him from escaping.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
** A post-credits gag has [[{{Mooks}} Mook #1]] Sikes attending [[TropaholicsAnonymous Minions Anonymous]], where other attendees include "[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Hat Throwing Minion]]," "[[Series/FantasyIsland Minion Who Identifies Seafaring Aircraft]]," [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]], [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]], "[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Minion with Metallic Teeth]]," and Creator/MrT.
to:
** A post-credits gag has [[{{Mooks}} Mook #1]] Sikes Sykes attending [[TropaholicsAnonymous Minions Anonymous]], where other attendees include "[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Hat Throwing Minion]]," "[[Series/FantasyIsland Minion Who Identifies Seafaring Aircraft]]," [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]], [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Igor]], "[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Minion with Metallic Teeth]]," and Creator/MrT.
Changed line(s) 121 (click to see context) from:
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Robo-Gadget, who isn't so much impersonating a police officer as he is downright smearing the police officer's good name by committing all sorts of crimes–and takes it so far that [[spoiler:Chief Quimby would've arrested the real Gadget had Penny and Sikes not revealed that detail about Claw's EvilPlan]].
to:
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Robo-Gadget, who isn't so much impersonating a police officer as he is downright smearing the police officer's good name by committing all sorts of crimes–and takes it so far that [[spoiler:Chief Quimby would've arrested the real Gadget had Penny and Sikes Sykes not revealed that detail about Claw's EvilPlan]].
* KickedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
Changed line(s) 149 (click to see context) from:
%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sikes.
to:
%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sikes.Sykes.
Changed line(s) 151 (click to see context) from:
* {{Mooks}}: Sikes and Kramer are Scolex's henchmen.
to:
* {{Mooks}}: Sikes Sykes and Kramer are Scolex's henchmen.
Changed line(s) 181 (click to see context) from:
* ThePowerOfFriendship: When Penny [[YouAreNotAlone reaches out to Sikes]] near the end, prompting his HeelFaceTurn.
to:
* ThePowerOfFriendship: When Penny [[YouAreNotAlone reaches out to Sikes]] Sykes]] near the end, prompting his HeelFaceTurn.
Changed line(s) 190,191 (click to see context) from:
** There is a Sony television at Sikes' room.
* PromotedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
* PromotedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
to:
** There is a Sony television at Sikes' room.
* PromotedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.Sykes' room.
* PromotedUpstairs: John Brown, a security guard with two years of experience and not the brightest bulb around, is promoted to Police Inspector upon his lifechanging revival.
* SoftGlass: When Gadget tries to rollerblade his way out of the lab, Sykes lowers a glass door to prevent him from escaping. Despite shattering the glass, no visible injuries are present on Gadget.
Changed line(s) 214 (click to see context) from:
* TropaholicsAnonymous: Sikes' minion support group seen during the credits.
to:
* TropaholicsAnonymous: Sikes' Sykes' minion support group seen during the credits.
Changed line(s) 217 (click to see context) from:
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Claw was captured, Sikes went to rehab... so what happened to Kramer?
to:
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Claw was captured, Sikes Sykes went to rehab... so what happened to Kramer?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 6,8 (click to see context) from:
[[caption-width-right:301:''They've got gizmos up the wazoo'']]
->''[[TagLine The greatest hero ever assembled.]]''
->''[[TagLine The greatest hero ever assembled.]]''
to:
->''[[TagLine
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Gadget doesn't think to use his iconic Gadget Copter to bypass Robo-Gadget's YouShallNotPass ploy on the bridge. Nor does he think to use it when Robo-Gadget has him clinging to one of the bridge's supports, a good 100 feet in the air, by his fingertips. The worst part is that, after Gadget has defeated Robo-Gadget and gotten back to ground level, what's the first thing he does? "Go-Go Gadget Copter!"
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 33 (click to see context) :
* AffablyEvil: Claw, who goes from suave and debonair to excessively hammy at the drop of a hat.
Added DiffLines:
* FauxAffablyEvil: Claw, who goes from suave and debonair to excessively hammy at the drop of a hat.
