Inspector Gadget's Last Case: Claw's Revenge

My namesake spent about 15 years in the wild before this terrible 2002 made-for-video effort came along, following the 2001 Gadget and the Gadgetinis show, which wasn't half bad. While it may have a bright color pallet I can't believe that in 2002 they decided to animate this in the old 1.33:1 aspect ratio and master it for VHS consumption. It's like DIC Entertainment and Nickelodeon were completely clueless about the rapidly changing nature of home video and media consumption. Also, there's too much of the formula missing which bog this Gadget right down the toilet.

First of all the classic Inspector Gadget theme song and music is completely absent. Spongebob Squarepants composer and Patrick Stewart/Jason Voorhees crossbreed Stephen C. Marston tries to compromise by doing a score that sounds similar but it's just not good enough. The Gadget-mobile is now a talking car, not a car that can turn into a van. Plus it looks a lot cuter and rounder instead of being the angular cutting-edge vehicle it used to be. Penny no longer has her computer book and she and her dog Brain hardly make an appearance at all.

The plot is non-existent. There's something about a transformation formula and Doctor Claw using it for some never revealed evil but that's all I got. What the deal was with the short/giant Italian guy I will never know. It had nothing to do with anything.

And if the title is anything to go by, his last case is wrapped up in no way whatsoever, and he stays on the force so why it's called 'last case' is a mystery also.

I wasn't impressed at all. This is an affront to a great animated show. No kid will like or appreciate this and no fan Gadget will be satisfied.

While on a routine pursuit in the Gadgetmobile, Inspector Gadget witnesses two of Claw's men take some sort of potion that gives them a sudden growth boost. This information is put to one side as his car goes through emergency engineering to keep him going. However when the pair are both back on the streets they find that the potion is just the start as they have to deal with an Italian stereotype the size of a skyscraper and the presence of a supposed new crime fighting hero in town.

Although I used to watch this as a kid, I can't really remember if it was any good or not and the only thing I can remember was that Gadget played a sort of Wallace to Brain's Gromit. Yes, Penny was always annoying but generally it was quite amusing (I think). With this rather silly plot though, the focus was pretty much on Gadgetmobile and Inspector Gadget, neither of whom are that great here. For most of the plot we have silly gags but not enough of them. In the final third Brain comes into it a bit more and reproduces some of the stuff I remember from my childhood but even then it is very basic and really lacks any wit or invention.

The delivery doesn't help – the characters look good but the backgrounds are roundly poor and the music is constantly "wacky" even when there is nothing of note happening on the screen. The voice work is nothing special but suits the material reasonably well. LaMarche does a good impression of the original; Byrnes is OK and Moss makes for a very modern and feisty Penny. Dobson and White are both really annoying cars but at least Drummond gives good Claw.

Overall this is a very basic film that will do enough to distract the age-group that it is aimed at. However adults looking for a trip down memory lane will be disappointed to find that it is all lacking in fun and laughs and is really just a bit of a cheap rehash in the aftermath of the Hollywood live-action version.

This film essentially deals with Inspector Gadget's arch-nemesis Doctor Claw who has returned after many years to the now-peaceful city of Metropolis. Claw's plan is to foil Gadget once and for all by using a newer "cooler" crimefighter to help destroy Gadget's popularity. Sadly the film fails miserably, the series was great, but it was revived nearly 20 years later with tragic results. Without the voice of Don Adams as Inspector Gadget it just doesn't cut it anymore; Dr. Claw is not only visually less frightening, but sounds more like a wrestler with a cold, than his original intimidating self. Granted this is a children's movie, but the plot is so painfully weak (heaven forbid I mention the animation) that it pales in comparison to the original series. Someone has decided to updated Penny as well to bring her two decades up to speed, she now has some quasi-punk rebellious clothing style and doesn't play half the role that she did in the TV series. The Gadgetmobile talks, as well as including a plot angle that focuses entire ON talking cars. Maybe I'm just a kid who loved the show who's grown up jaded, but I thought that the live-action version was more pain than I could bear, but now they go and spring this complete watering-down of the quality TV series on us. It's more than I can take.

When I was watching INSPECTOR GADGET'S LAST CASE, I felt as if I was nine years old and watching the original series again. Sure, the Gadgetmobile was talking and Dr. Claw had a different voice, but it seemed to me that it was just like the olden days when I would watch INSPECTOR GADGET before leaving for school later on that morning. Claw, by the way, is just as he always was - and you don't see his face except when he is masquerading as Devon Debonair, at which point his face is disguised - remember, he has drunk the special serum, so we still don't know what he really looks like. At all other times he is in his chair with his face hidden from view and now wears a new golden claw. I wonder why his face is always hidden from us?

If you like Inspector Gadget and his cartoons, this film is for you. I was never a fan of the series as a child. It's okay but I prefer an ensemble of characters. This film is about 75 minutes of light-hearted adventure ideal for family viewing especially youngsters. If you enjoy Gadget and his abilities to stop crime, I still thought I heard Don Adams in the voice. Sadly he passed away but the replacement voice does an adequate job here too.