FOR CHILDREN

ON SCREEN

DETECTIVES

Many of the most well-known detective characters in pop culture come from children’s TV, movies and comics. Aimed at a younger audience, some are silly, some are scary, but mystery and crime-based stories can be a great way to develop useful skills, while being really entertaining!

INSPECTOR GADGET

Inspector Gadget began in 1983 with a self-titled animated television show. Since then, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated series, comic books, video games, and two big-budget live action movies starring Matthew Broderick as the hero.

The franchise follows the adventures of a powerful but dimwitted cyborg police inspector named Gadget as he investigates arch-criminal Dr. Claw and his organisation, MAD. His clothes and personality resemble those of Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther movies and he similarly has a knack of inadvertently saving the day, usually without realising it!

INSPECTOR GADGET

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is part animation, part hard-boiled detective noir, part slapstick comedy and part mismatched buddy movie. Released in 1988, it was the first film to convincingly combine real actors with animated cartoon characters on screen at the same time and make it look real. When released it became a blockbuster hit and an all-time classic family movie.

The film takes place in Hollywood in 1947, in a world where humans and cartoons exist side by side. Down-and-out private eye Eddie Valiant gets hired by a cartoon studio to investigate a scandal involving Jessica Rabbit, the wife of their biggest star, Roger Rabbit. When Roger is framed for murder, it’s down to reluctant Eddie to clear the rabbit’s name.

DETECTIVE PIKACHU

Detective Pikachu is the 2019 fantasy-mystery film based on the successful Pokémon franchise, and is a loose adaptation of a 2016 video game of the same name. It is the second highest-grossing video game film adaptation of all time, with a sequel announced even before the film’s release.

The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21 year old son, Tim, to find out the truth. Aiding him in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu, a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth, and one of the few English speaking Pokémon in the world.

Detective Pikachu quote - "Harry is alive, case closed. But still open until I solve it!"

SCOOBY DOO

The long-running Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, which started in 1969, introduced a generation of children to detective work through the antics of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their intelligent Great Dane, Scooby Doo. Arriving in their vehicle, the Mystery Machine, the gang would find themselves investigating local spooky mysteries, which always turn out to be an elaborate hoax.

Scooby-Doo and his gang have been solving crimes now for 50 years. Well, Scooby doesn’t actually do much investigating – he and Shaggy usually go off to look for food while the others do the legwork! That said, the show and its many spin-offs remain bonafide classics of the detective genre.

BATMAN

One of the oldest, most popular and iconic superheroes, Batman is today portrayed as a dark, tormented figure who fights supervillains in epic battles of good against evil. This is not however, how the character started out. He made his comic debut in Detective Comics in May 1939 as a masked crimefighter and soon became known as the ‘World’s Greatest Detective.’

Unlike many superheroes, Batman did not possess super powers. Instead he relied on his Sherlock Holmes-like abilities of deduction and detection, using science and clues found at crime scenes to foil famous villains. Batman’s sidekick, Robin, was only introduced because he needed a ‘Watson’ character with whom he could collaborate.

BATMAN

TINTIN

Tintin is the main character in one of the most popular European comic series of the 20th century, The Adventures of Tintin. It consists of a set of 24 books by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé, and has been published in more than 70 languages with sales of over 200 million copies.

Although he engages in many adventures and solves mysteries, Tintin isn’t actually a proper detective, he’s a reporter and journalist. The real detectives in the books are twins, Thomson and Thompson, who are incompetent fools – meaning Tintin is actually the most successful detective in the whole series!

DICK TRACY

Dick Tracy is an American comic strip featuring a tough but intelligent police detective in the hard-boiled tradition. Tracy uses forensic science, advanced gadgetry and wit in his relentless pursuit of criminals. The character was based on the famous real-life U.S. federal agent, Eliot Ness.

Dick Tracy was created by cartoonist Chester Gould in 1931 and was successfully syndicated in newspapers across America. Gould would continue to write and draw the comic strip for 46 years, changing the stories through the decades to reflect the changing times. Through books, radio, TV and film, Tracy has gone on to become one of the biggest detective icons of all time.