"Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas" is an animated television special from the early 90s that will have its 25th anniversary next year. First of all, the runtime stated on IMDb is incorrect as this one only runs for 23 minutes, not slightly under 45. There was a mildly successful television series starring Inspector Gadget back in the 1980s and this film we have here directed by Chuck Patton is clearly based on this one. Voice actors Adams, Welker and Lamarche may even be known to some as their body of work is pretty prolific. So yeah, about the story, the title already tells us that this Emmy-nominated special takes place during the holiday season and Gadget has to stop the evil Dr. Claw from ruining Christmas for everybody. Will he succeed? You know the answer. luckily, he has help from friends, so his wrong conclusions in solving the crime are not that crucial and all is well at the end. Overall, animation is mediocre for the 1990s, voice acting is solid, but plot and story are only solid in theory. There is no real love to detail and if you take a closer look, it all feels unauthentic and unappealing and pretty unrealistic. This is also why I would not recommend this one to anybody else except the biggest Gadget fans. Everybody else will be as underwhelmed as I was. Thumbs down.
Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
(1992 TV Movie)
For fans of the series, but nobody else
12 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers