Did I get drunk and accidentally stumble into a time machine which took me back to 1989 somehow? That seems to me to be the only logical explanation after yesterday’s news of Disney rebooting Duck Tales (whoo hoo!) has now been greeted by the reveal that fellow classic 1980’s cartoons Inspector Gadget and Danger Mouse are both also getting the reboot treatment.
The news comes via USA Today who report that online video streaming service Netflix, in an attempt to attract more children – and their childish parents of course – to their offerings, have placed an order for five new kids show including the aforementioned two.
The original 1980’s animated Inspector Gadget cartoon followed the titular inspector, a bumbling cyborg detective with a host of bionic implants, as he solved crimes around the world and stopped the nefarious plans of the cat stroking Dr Claw and his evil organization M.A.D.. Well, actually it was Gadget’s resourceful niece Penny and her genius dog Brain who did all the crime solving as the clumsy Gadget constantly go-go-got himself into trouble. The popular show was given a less-than-succesful live-action feature film treatment in 1999, with Matthew Broderick in the role.
This new version, which will boast the same character setup as the original cartoon but feature an update CG animated look, has actually aired in certain parts of Europe and Australia already, but Netflix has now acquired the rights to begin airing the 26-episode revamp in the US in March, with plans to start distributing it in other global territories soon.
Along with Inspector Gadget, Netflix has also ordered a revamp of beloved classic British cartoon Danger Mouse, which aired from 1981 – 1982 and followed the eye-patch wearing mousey superspy with the cool yellow car (not going to lie: I always wanted that car as a kid). The character was created British animation legend Brian Cosgrove, who was also behind the classic Wind In the Willows cartoon series as well as the animated adaptation of Roald Dahls’ The BFG.
The original Danger Mouse cartoon was a parody of classic British spy series like James Bond and Danger Man, and saw Danger Mouse – who is a practitioner of the ancient martial art of kung moggy, and fluently speaks 34 languages (some of them extraterrestrial) – backed up by his cowardly assistant Ernest Penfold – go up against all sorts of villains like Baron Greenback, Doctor Augustus P. Crumhorn and Count Duckula (who actually got his own, equally entertaining spinoff series).
The new show, which will be co-produced by Fremantle and the BBC, will boast 26 half-hour episodes, and is scheduled to start airing on Netflix as from early 2016. The other three kids shows that make up Netflix’s new order are: “Some Assembly Required, a live-action series about a 14-year-old who becomes CEO of the toy company Knicknack Toys; Bottersnikes & Gumbles, an animated series based on the book series of the same name; and SUPER 4, a Playmobil inspired cartoon series”.
And in closing, just to rub in the nostalgia even further, here’s that incredibly catchy original intro to Inspector Gadget. Good luck trying to get this out of your head for the next few days!
Oh, and this article will self destruct in five seconds!
Last Updated: February 27, 2015
