Go Go Gadget Spin-Off!
Gadget and the Gadgetinis is a spinoff series to the classic Inspector Gadget, produced as a co-production between DIC Entertainment, SIP Animation, Fox Kids Europe and some other broadcasters.
This installment featured Gadget as a lieutenant for W.O.M.P. (World Organization of Mega Powers) aided by a pair of robot sidekicks, the titular "Gadgetinis", named Digit and Fidget, built by Penny.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: It's Colonel Nozzaire, not Colonel Nosehair. Should be simple, yet pretty much nobody in the show gets it right (apart from Nozzaire himself, of course).
- All There in the Manual: The French ending shows Penny going to visit Brain on her bike.
- Artistic Age: It's supposed to take place two years after the original show... but Gadget looks ten to twenty years younger.
- Art Shift: The same basic art design of the series was used in Inspector Gadget's Last Case.
- Beleaguered Assistant: The Gadgetinis to both Gadget and, occasionally, Penny. General complaining ensues.
- Body Horror: Waaay more so than the original. In this series Gadget has gadgets that pop out of his chest, a lower half that can be retracted and replaced by tank treads or a rocket, eyes that can pop out of his face on metal stalks, and a head full of popcorn.
- Butt-Monkey: Nozzaire can't go through one episode without him or his property getting harmed in some way.
- Averted in "Prison Cruise". He survives the entire episode without getting hurt.
- Character Exaggeration: Gadget is much, much more oblivious and incompetent this time around (which, considering the original, is saying something), to the point where he is actively an unrestrained menace for everyone around him, and can't do anything without putting himself and others in danger. It gets to the point where his superior Nozzaire is genuinely shocked anytime Gadget doesn't inadvertently hurt him. It never lasts.
- Characterization Marches On: While Gadget is more or less the same character but somewhat exaggerated, Penny has changed somewhat to fit the situation: she's sterner and in control of things, a bit less patient, and more intense about what she's doing. This makes sense for someone who realized years ago she had to be in control of a whole detective operation and stop her uncle from killing himself on a daily basis.
- Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey: Col. Nozzaire has a French accent, is a bit of a tightwad, and gets thrown through the wringer at every opportunity.
- Continuity Nod:Gadget: This reminds me of the time I saved Christmas...
- In "Claw's Nephew", Dr. Claw's mother briefly mentions his frozen brother Dr. Thaw, who was first seen in "Ice Folly".
- The episode "Face to Face to Face" features a callback to the original Inspector Gadget episode "Weather in Tibet". The episode features The Chameleon, one of the M.A.D. Agents in said episode, as the villain, albeit having a drastically modified design.
- In the episode "Sasquatch Watch", Penny searches through her database and we get to see the profiles of M.A.D. Agents from some of the previous episodes.
- Sometimes Gadget slips up and calls Nozzaire "chief".
- Near the beginning of "McIntosh's Bagpipes", Gadget mentions how he knows all about Scotland from his days as an inspector, and even brings up the Loch Ness Monster. This is a callback to the original series episode "Monster Lake".
- Cool Shades: Gadget often wears a green pair in some episodes.
- Daydream Surprise: One episode begins with Nozzaire dreaming he's at Gadget's funeral. You can tell it's Nozzaire's fantasy after just a few seconds, but it's still pretty harsh, given that it consists mostly of Nozzaire cutting out of the funeral to celebrate while Penny sobs over her uncle's casket and ends with Nozzaire doing a jig on Gadget's grave. See Jerkass below.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Digit has a smart mouth on him. Fidget can be like this too, sometimes.
- Penny, too. Can't really blame any of them, considering they work with Gadget.
- Denser and Wackier: Dr. Claw, of all people.
- Distaff Counterpart: Super Gadget Girl (G.G.).
- Dumb Is Good: Gadget, if your definition of "good" is based on intentions, affiliations and end results.
- Evil Twin: One episode features the World Leaders (and Gadget) being kidnapped and replaced with evil clones of themselves.
- Expy: Colonel Nozzaire is similar to Chief Quimby from the original series, if only for both having moustaches and informing Gadget on the plans of Dr. Claw and his M.A.D. Agents (the main difference being Nozzaire is far less patient with Gadget, and would be happy to see the back of him). The titular Gadgetinis Fidget and Digit both fill in Brain's role of protecting Gadget from danger and helping Penny find out M.A.D.'s scheme.
- Forced Transformation: Happens in one episode where Gadget is up against a scientist working for M.A.D. who's invented a Transformation Ray that turns humans into animals. Gadget himself gets turned into a crow and can still use his gadgets until he gets changed back.
- Funny Foreigner: Col. Nozzaire has a french accent and is rather bombastic.
- Fun with Acronyms: As always, we have World Organisation of Mega Powers and M.A.D.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Penny made the gadgetinis themselves, along with many other inventions to help her uncle with his missions. The Incredibly Lame Pun is not intended.
- Hollywood Genetics: According to the show, both Gadget's parents had black (as in, the same color as the lines to draw them) hair. Hair that dark is homozygous dominant regarding darkness, meaning that both Gadget and his mysterious sibling both have black hair. Fine. But it is impossible for a black-haired person to have a blonde child (Penny) because blonde hair is more recessive than dominant regarding darkness — even if Penny's other parent passed down all recessive genes, the lightest hair color she could have is somewhere in the brown area.
- Humongous Mecha: In "Nozzaire's Day Off", M.A.D builds a giant robot that both resembles and is programmed to act like Gadget.
- Hurricane of Puns: Especially evident in episodes like "Attack of the Killer Bees" and "The Ultimate Weapon".
- Idiosyncratic Wipes: Mostly with spinning.
- In Name Only: The show is meant as a sequel to Inspector Gadget, but is full of Series Continuity Errors, completely rewrites some characters, and exaggerates others.
- Insane Troll Logic: The only logic Gadget ever uses. He still mistakes almost everyone for a M.A.D Agent for one.
- Island Base: MAD Island.
- Jerkass: Col. Nozzaire. Gadget falls under the "grossly, irresponsibly oblivious" camp, to the point where at times it seems few characters besides Penny (who, much like the original show, doesn't seem to mind his stupidity too much... most of the time) can stand to be around him for long.
- To be fair, Nozzaire is a selfish jerk, but he doesn't take pleasure in seeing Gadget hurt himself in "Nozzaire's Day Off" and his dislike of Gadget stems from Gadget being a bumbling idiot and wrecking his office and/or hurting him every time he sees him rather than from some unreasonable prejudice.
- Kid Detective: Penny, naturally. She's less of a Snooping Little Kid this time around, delegating much of the actual leg work to the Gadgetinis most of the time, but she's still the hypercompetent detective we know and love.
- Lampshade Hanging: Occasionally.Digit: [after being told by Penny to warn Gadget about danger] "He never listens to us anyway..."Penny: "Well, it looks like it's time to call the police, so they can give Uncle Gadget the credit for all our hard work."
- My Nayme Is: Nozzaire's name is said "NO-Z-Air" not "Nosehair".
- Gadget's misspelling of Nozzaire's name is kept in the Italian dub even with the name change. Nozzaire's new name is Reno, which sounds exactly like "Renault", a French car brand, but Gadget calls him "Peugeot"... ANOTHER French car brand!
- Monster of the Week: In addition to reusing the original series' formula of having several episodes featuring a one-time M.A.D. Agent distinguishable from the other generic agents, this series had some episodes with one-time villains with no connection to M.A.D. or Dr. Claw whatsoever. Dr. Claw was also absent from a few of these episodes, which had Gadget fighting aliens and dictators.
- Mythology Gag: "Super Boss Gadget" contains many homages to scenes from the original's opening theme.
- One episode has an explosion which is actually a complete lift of the explosion from the original's opening.
- No Indoor Voice: Colonel Nozzaire's therapist.
- No Ontological Inertia: Destroying "The Weather Machine" causes the "default" weather to come back.
- Not So Above It All: Digit is usually sarcastic and cynical, and frequently scolds Fidget for his childlike antics, but has sometimes been on the same page as him. The two even played a video game together at one point. In another episode, despite having earlier claimed that "robots don't have vacations", he is disappointed when it seems they won't be able to go.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Claw makes it clear in this series that he believes Gadget's bumbling is an act meant to taunt him.
- Omniscient Database: Penny's computer book has gotten an upgrade into a massive lab that can pretty much find anything she wants.
- Pulling Themselves Together / Helping Hands / Losing Your Head: Digit and Fidget lose several body parts. Thankfully they have "Rebuilding Systems".
- Put on a Bus: Brain and Chief Quimby, though they both make cameos.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: General Sir.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Gadgetinis; Fidget is the playful and childlike Red Oni and Digit is the logical and mission-focused Blue Oni. Digit is even coloured blue!
- Rimshot: Used occasionally to emphasis just how bad a joke really is.
- Robot Buddy: The Gadgetinis. Of course, they're a good deal more competent than Gadget himself.
- Running Gag: Fidget "forgetting he was a robot" and then Digit reminding him that he is.
- Security Cling: Fidget and Digit have a habit of grabbing each other when scared for their lives. Fidget also sometimes leaps into Digit's arms when panicking... to which Digit quickly tosses him back down.
- Series Continuity Error: "Santa Claw" seems to completely disregard the events of "Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas".
- Shameful Strip: In "Weather Machine" Gadget accidentally strips Nozzaire down to his polka-dot boxer shorts.
- Shout-Out:
- The Patrix
- "Erasing Gadget" is similar to Back to the Future, as the plot revolves around M.A.D. trying to prevent Gadget's parents from ever meeting in the past.
- "Erasing Gadget" also features a pair of cops named Ernie and Bert.
- Spin-Off: Of Inspector Gadget.
- Stealth Pun: The Queen Bee calling Gadget a 'drone' in "Attack of the Killer Bees" among a wave of other terrible bee jokes. A drone is also a type of robot.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Gadget's father Jules has a near identical appearance and mannerisms to his son. He also has a hobby of inventing "Gizmos", and works for a Nozzaire.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Col. Nozzaire stands in for Quimby while Digit and Fidget take on the roles that would usually go to Brain.
- Title Drop: The first episode, "Don't Call Me Gadget", has Nozzaire scream the phrase at the aliens that mistook him for Gadget.
- Too Dumb to Live: Gadget. Some things never change.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the later part of "Don't Call Me Gadget", Gadget actually acts with competence as he dispatches the MAD agents on the moon.
- Although, his increased competence was due to being influenced by an intelligence-reducing/increasing device the aliens attached to his head.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Gadget is somehow even stupider in this series.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: For a bad girl, Dr. Claw's mom Marilyn, as shown in "Erasing Gadget", was actually pretty cute once. His father, "Big Burly" Gordon Claw, was a huge, homely man with excruciatingly bad body odor.
- Unicorn: One appears in the last episode, "The Comet, The Unicorn And The Bad Gadgetinis". It only appears every 777 years, when a special comet passes the Earth, and for the rest of that time, it's invisible. It also has an udder, meaning that it can be milked, and its milk makes people invulnerable.
- Weather-Control Machine: It occurs in the aptly named episode "The Weather Machine".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They never explained what happened to Corporal Capeman or the talking Gadgetmobile from "Inspector Gadget's Last Case".
- Writing Around Trademarks: Doubles as a Shout-Out.Gadget: Who's that band you're going to see?
Penny: The Main Street Guys.
