Gumby
Gumby is a dark green clay figure. He was in 233 episodes on American television series. He was also in a feature-length movie and other media.[1] He has become well known as an example of stop motion clay animation. He has become a cultural icon. There have been many tributes and parodies, including a video game and toys. Gumby Adventures aired on PBS Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and Galavision
Origin
Gumby was started by Art Clokey in 1953.[2] The first 'episode' was a 3-minute short called Gumbasia. It showed moving lumps of clay set to music, and parodied Fantasia.[3] In 1955, Art showed Gumbasia to movie producer Sam Engel, who then paid him for a 15-minute movie called Gumby Goes to the Moon.
Gumby was given his own NBC series in 1957.[4] Female actress' voiced Gumby. New episodes were added in 1962, and Dallas McKennon became the voice of Gumby.
Characters
Gumby's main sidekick is Pokey, a talking orange pony. His enemies are the Blockheads. They are a pair of human-like, red-colored figures with block-shaped heads. The Blockheads were inspired by the Katzenjammer Kids, who were always getting into scrapes and causing discomfort to others.[5][6] Other characters are Gumby's dog Nopey. All he says is "nope". There is also Prickle, a yellow dinosaur who sometimes acts like a detective with pipe and hat like Sherlock Holmes.[7] Also on the series are Goo, a flying blue mermaid who spits blue goo balls and can change shape at will; Gumby's mother Gumba and father Gumbo. The later series in 1988 added Gumby's sister Minga and mastodon friend Denali.
1954
- Gumbasia: Baby Gumby (November 27, 1954) - First appearance.
1956 - 1981
- The Gumby Show (December 29, 1956 - June 13, 1981) - Episodes aired on NET.
1983 - current
- Gumby Adventures (August 6, 1983 - April 19, 1997) - 1983 - 1989 aired on PBS. And 1994 - 1997 aired on Nickelodeon.
- The Puppetoon Movie (June 12, 1987) - Hosted by Gumby, Pokey and Arnie.
- Gumby: The Movie (December 1, 1995) - Gumby's first movie.
- Gumby vs. the Astrobots (August 1, 2005) - Gumby's only in the game.
- Gumby's 50th Anniversary (December 2, 2005) - Gumby's first special.
List of Gumby episodes
| Episode | Date | Run time | DVD release / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Eggs and Trixie & Egg Trouble | Dec 28, 1957 | 11 min. | After finding egg, cut to "Egg Trouble" in 5 minutes. |
| Mirrorland & Lost and Found | December 29, 1956 | 6 min. | "Lost and Found" ending scene of the car then cut to the coin in Gumby's Fun Fling. |
| The Gumby Pilot | Nov 28, 1954 | Also on the Gumby 7 DVD Set | |
| The Fantastic Farmer & Gopher Trouble | Dec 29, 1956 | 11 min. | Both films edited back into their original format. |
| Dragon Daffy | April 8, 1967 | 7 min. | |
| Goo for Pokey | Feb 6, 1965 | ||
| The Missile Bird | Jan 2, 1965 | ||
| Birthday Party in the Middle Ages | Feb 13, 1982 | 8 min., 3 sec. | |
| Mirror-Aculous Recovery | Jan 3, 1981 | 6 min., 30 sec. | |
| Of Clay and Critters | April 8, 1967 | 5 min. | |
| The Music Ball | Nov 1, 1980 | 7:12 | |
| Prickle Turns Artist | April 6, 1968 | 4:04 | |
| Stuck on Books | September 2, 1967 | Also in Gumby's Fun Fling (VHS). | |
| Gabby Anne | September 2, 1967 | 4 min. | |
| Pokey a la Mode | December 31, 1988 | 1:42 | |
| Train Trouble | November 29, 1958 | 4:41 | The episode of Gumby is 1958 version. |
| Gumby Business/Gumbasia: Baby Gumby/Toy Fun | February 2, 1958 | 7 min. | Both films edited back into their original format. |
| Lawn Party | May 2, 1964 | 5:43 | Also in VHS Gumby's Fun Fling. |
| The Big Eye | May 2, 1964 | 5 min. | |
| Gumbot | May 2, 1981 | 5 min., 51 sec. | |
| How Not to Trap Lions/The Mocking Monkey/Monkey Business | February 2, 1958 | Both films edited back into their format. | |
| Gone Clayzy | September 3, 1988 | 1:43 | |
| The Funny Bathtub | Nov 25, 1995 | 4 min. | Also in Gumby DVD Set |
| Chatter Box | Nov 25, 1995 | 60 sec. | |
| All Cooped Up | August 1, 1981 | ||
| Band Contest | December 31, 1983 | 5:53 | |
| Clayfully Yours | December 30, 1989 | 3:58 | Also in The Very Best New Adventures of Gumby Vol. 1. |
| Lost Treasure | April 4, 1981 | ||
| The Gumby League | April 1, 1967 | 3 min. | |
| A Real Seal | January 1, 1983 | 6 min. | |
| The Beetle and the Caterpillar | April 4, 1981 | ||
| Guitar Magic | May 2, 1981 | ||
| Gumby's Circus | August 1, 1981 | 6:13 | |
| The Groobee | August 1, 1959 | Also in Gumby Essentials Vol. 1. | |
| The Witty Witch | August 1, 1959 | ||
| Merry-Go-Pumpkin | December 3, 1983 | ||
| Clay Play | September 3, 1988 | 5:05 | |
| A Minar Affair | August 1, 1981 | ||
| Dolly for Minga | November 2, 1992 | ||
| Hidden Valley | May 30, 1959 | Also in Gumby Essentials Vol. 1. | |
| Hot Rod Granny | August 1, 1959 | ||
| Chicken Feed | May 30, 1959 | ||
| Lost Arrow | November 2, 1992 | ||
| Tricky Ball | April 8, 1967 | 4 min. | |
| Even Stevens | Apr 4, 1959 | 5 min. | |
| The Zoops | April 4, 1959 | ||
| Motor Madness | January 6, 1968 | ||
| Puppy Dog School | April 29, 1967 | An episode of Gumby "Puppy Dog School" in Eastman Color in 16mm film. | |
| The Search | December 31, 1983 | ||
| The Astrobots | June 4, 1988 | ||
| Grub Grabber Gumby | April 6, 1968 | 4 min. | |
| Wishful Thinking | April 6, 1968 | ||
| Geese Grief | June 11, 1988 | ||
| Fox Hunt | June 11, 1988 | ||
| Shrink-a-Dink | November 1, 1980 | ||
| Hatching Out | November 1, 1980 | 6:10 |
Bonus Features
The Adventures of Gumby had 22 bonus episodes and 16 episodes with commentary.
Bonus Episodes
| Episode | Date | Run time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight and See | January 6, 1968 | ||
| Magic Mystic | January 6, 1968 | ||
| Ricochet Pete | December 2, 1961 | Also in Gumby Essentials Vol. 1. | |
| Northland Follies | December 2, 1961 | Audio episode in 1995. | |
| The Small Planets | December 2, 1961 | Also in Gumby Essentials Vol. 1. | |
| Turnip Trap | November 30, 1968 | ||
| The Indian Challenge | November 30, 1968 | ||
| Wild Girls | January 3, 1981 | ||
| Gumby Baby-sits | May 6, 1967 | Also in VHS Gumby's Fun Fling. | |
| Dopey Nopey | April 29, 1967 | ||
| Pilgrims on the Rock | December 4, 1964 | ||
| The Blue Goo | February 6, 1965 | ||
| A Hair-Raising Adventure | February 6, 1965 | ||
| Pokey Express | June 7, 1958 | 11 min. | 1958 episode edited back to original 11 minutes. |
| Pokey Minds the Baby | March 4, 1967 | ||
| The Moon Boggles | March 4, 1967 | ||
| Hot Ice | March 4, 1967 | ||
| My-O-Maya | December 3, 1988 | ||
| Pokey a La Mode | December 3, 1988 | ||
| Balloonancy | April 23, 1988 | ||
| Wild Train Ride | May 7, 1988 | ||
| Minga Sitting | Feb 27, 1982 | 6 min | Also on Cartoon Network. |
Gumby episodes w/Commentary
| Episode | Date | Run time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foxy Proxy | September 2, 1967 | ||
| The Lost Birthday Present | March 4, 1989 | ||
| Minga's Folly | June 11, 1988 | ||
| Little Denali Lost | September 3, 1988 | ||
| Just Train Crazy | March 4, 1989 | ||
| Wickiups and Bulrushes | March 4, 1989 | ||
| Kangaroo Express | March 11, 1989 | ||
| For the Graduate | March 11, 1989 | ||
| Sad King Ott's Daughter | December 1, 1962 | ||
| King for a Day | December 1, 1962 | ||
| Rain for Roo | December 1, 1962 | ||
| Candidate for President | February 13, 1965 | ||
| A Groobee Fight | March 4, 1967 | ||
| Piano Rolling Blues | March 11, 1967 | ||
| Time Kapp-Sule | December 3, 1983 | ||
| A Gumby Day | April 7, 1984 |
Gumby Featurettes
| Episode | Date | Run Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Trip | December 31, 1955 | 18 min. | Also in Gumby Vol. 1 (VHS and DVD) and Gumby Essentials Vol. 1 (DVD). |
| Goo and the Queen | August 6, 1988 | 13 min. | 1988 episode edited back to 1980's 13 minutes length. |
| The Forbidden Mine | January 7, 1989 | 13 min. | 1989 episode edited back to 1980's 13 minutes length. |
| Space Oddity | January 14, 1989 | 13 min. | 1989 episode edited back to 1980's 13 minutes length. |
Premavision History
- 1950's (1950-1959)
- 1960's (1960-1969)
- 1980's (1980-1989)
- 1990's (1990-1999)
- 2000's (2000-2009)
Games
- Clayzy Game
- Make the Gumby Scene
Deleted Episode
- Baking Cookies (2008) - 1 minute
- Gumbo and Gumba Bumper (2002) - 9 seconds (not episode); also in Gumby Vol. 1 (VHS and DVD).
- Gumby Goes Clayzy - 6 minutes
- In a Fix (1959) - 4 minutes
Gumby Bumpers
Gumby Bumpers in 2 minutes is released in January 4, 1980 starring Gumby, Pokey and cameo appearance of Blue Mermaid Goo.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Was released on February 13, 1982. It is 6 minutes long.
1967 version
In 1967 version, an episode of Gumby Train Trouble is released in January 7, 1967 starring Gumby and first appearance of Nopey. This episode in 1967 is the version of 1958.
References
- Lloyd, Robert (July 9, 2006). "Even now, Gumby has that special dimension". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- Felch, Jason (January 9, 2010). "Art Clokey dies at 88; creator of Gumby". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- "Gumbasia". KQED. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- King, Susan (April 9, 2002). "Feet of Clay? Sure, but as DVD Debut Shows, He's Still Got Legs". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- "The Blockheads". Gumbyworld.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- "Pokey: Gumby's Best Pal". Gumby.com. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- "Prickle and Goo". Gumby.com. Retrieved July 27, 2011.