Gumby: The Movie

As a kid, I always enjoyed how creative Gumby had his adventures on the TV show. So much of it was just for pure fun. When I finally heard that there had been a movie released, I was super excited. And none to my surprise, Gumby: The Movie rocked my world. For any Gumby fan, this movie will be a great hit. Everything in this movie is kept the same and even includes some cultural references.

Director Art Clokey, who directs his final Gumby film, has done a magnificent job. Dal McKennon is back as good old Gumby and several other characters. Even Art Clokey is Prickle and some other roles. All the animation is done by clay; how else would a Gumby film be done?! Most of the comedic parts are watching the silent Blockheads fight with each other. They're always doing something foolish.

The effects are great in this movie. Since stop motion cinematography allows you to make a special effect over time, much of the creations that are made are really quite stunning. This movie BARELY uses CGI for any part of the film. It's things like these that bring the viewer back to the time where CGI wasn't used very often and was only used if it was available. Now almost if not every movie studio uses CGI for anything they want and its gets tiresome to see the same effects used over and over again. Claymation is a sorely missed special effect that is now extinct in the movie making business at least from what I see now.

The music, which was composed by Jerry Gerber, is great listening to. Because this movie uses dated effects, it's great to hear music that belongs from the same era. Unfortunately, the soundtrack to this film is inaccessible. I get flustered over that but it's still good that it used in the movie thank heaven. What's also great to see are the cultural references in this film. The Blockheads make robot duplicates of the main characters; sounds a little like The Terminator (1984). Another scene where Gumby fights his robotic clone with a light saber. Need to say more?

As the last film made by Art Clokey, Gumby: The Movie will please its fans and may gain interest in others who are not familiar with Gumby. For anyone who has never seen claymation at its best, this is it.

Folks, I'll be straight with you. This is not the greatest film ever made. In fact, it's not the best Gumby film ever made (although it's the best--read: only--full-length Gumby film ever made). I attribute this largely to the fact that Gumby and his secondary characters are intended to be digested in five-minute doses. An hour and a half with them is a little bit like a phone call from an old friend you haven't talked to in years, who stays on the phone long after you remember how much better you liked them when they hadn't been chewing your ear off for hours. In other words, as you watch the movie (if you're over the age of 8 at least), you're glad to see Gumby is doing well--he's got a new band, some new friends, even some groupies. And in fact, if you liked Gumby in normal-size episodes as a kid, you almost feel validated somehow because the slightly weird character you liked finally got his own movie. But as the clock ticks forward, you begin to wonder why there needed to be a Gumby cartoon of this length. In fact, you realize, even if you'd really wanted an hour-and-a-half-long Gumby fix, you'd rather have watched 15 or so regular Gumby shorts.

But I must admit, once a Gumby fan, always a shameless Gumby fan. It has its moments, and if you like the little green guy with the pointy head, you'll get a kick out of it. But let me put it this way: I've owned the VHS of it since about 1997 and have watched it twice in the past eight years. It's not a movie you'll be watching again and again if you buy it, no matter how much you like Gumby.

That said, a word about the two new characters: I can accept a guy named Gumby. I can accept, even, that his dad's name is Gumbo. I can accept a horse named Pokey, a girl named Goo, a kid sister named Minga, and even a dinosaur named Prickle. Not to mention a red teardrop with a face that has limbs coming directly out of said face, and the fact that said teardrop is a professor of some kind. I can even accept the fact that everyone in the world looks normal, except for Gumby and his pals, who are highly stylized blocks of primary colors. But I draw the line at two guys named Claybert and Fatbuckle. What kind of names are those?

Gumby: The Movie

Claymation is typically a family run business on account it takes generations to film 8 minutes.

In fact, it took animators 36 years to make this 90-minute stop-motion feature film.

Lead singer and guitarist Gumby, his equine friend Pokey, and they rest of their rock band The Clayboys hold a benefit concert for their farmer friends who are being evicted by Blockhead E-Z Loan for missed mortgage payments.

During the showcase, the Blockheads kidnap Gumby's dog and then replace Gumby and his band mates with robotic replicas that wreck havoc around town.

Released in 1995, forty-years after the clay character debuted on Howdy Doody, this anniversary feature film has the low budget, retro feel of the original shorts. While the mortgage crisis plotline is advanced for younger viewers, the madcap supporting cast keeps everything loosey goosey.

And remember: always put Gumby back in his container or he'll harden and fragment. Yellow Light

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Those who grew up with Gumby, like me, will find this a welcome step back into the boundless imagination of Art Clokey and his crew. Anybody else may find their mileage varies, unfortunately, because there really *isn't* anybody quite like Art Clokey. It's not mile-a-minute in its pacing, it's not laugh-a-minute in its comedy, it's not trying to be anything but More Gumby. So if you want more Gumby, this is it! Clokey brings back all your favorites -- Gumby, Pokey, Prickle, Goo, the Blockheads, and even some surprises -- and adds a few new characters on top of that. Nobody should miss the utterly psychedelic claymation of the last few minutes of the film, because it really is beautifully done. If you expect Aardman Animation or something modern, you should adjust my rating down a few points -- this probably isn't for you. But if you remember Gumby and would like just another short while with him and his friends, here's your chance.

This movie is the most genious thing I've ever seen. My majors are philiosphy and english, and this is the most intelligent piece of film I've ever had the pleasure of watching. First, it has many layers. Layers upon layer upon layer. It starts as a comment on the American Dream, and slowly creeps into the downfall of Western Civilization as we know it. I was glued to my 52" Plasma tv, I wanted to see up a contraption like in "A Clockwork Orange" so I wouldn't have to blink, in fear of I'd miss a second. When this movie was over, I watched it again the next afternoon. This took the next 3 days of classes off just to let it sink in. I was truly amazed. It made me question the Government, my life, my family, my religion, and everything I held dear and belived it. It was a life changing experience.

If you don't watch "Gumby : The Movie" you'll be chating yourself. See it ... see it now