I love each of the characters for the fun and silly adventures they undertake and how unique each character is. Even small characters have their own personality which I love. Not many shows today pay so much attention to each character. Art Clokey has done a mind blowing job making these shows. He created some cool special effect techniques such as the one episode with a rocket ship where he has scratched each frame so it looks like flames. Techniques like this were used in films for decades afterwards. The stop motion animation itself is very smooth and impressive, particularly since it was made 60 years ago!
My favorite episode is the first one, when Gumby goes to the moon and his Dad needs to save him. I love it because it starts off Gumby's career and is kind of the birth of Gumby. This also includes the rocket special effects mentioned above. The episode is really a joy to watch, not to mention that it was so symbolic for those times when everything was about space travel.
People that enjoyed Gumby growing up will be happy to share their passion with a new generation. After all, Gumby is meant for kids. Ages seven to eighteen would probably enjoy the series more than younger kids and would be able appreciate the beauty of the clay animation. I give it five out of five stars because, what they did was way ahead of their time with the special effects, unique stories, wonderful characters and more. Can't wait to see what's next in store for Gumby! (They are creating some entirely new episodes)
I got the pleasure to review a fully re-mastered version of the complete 50's series of Gumby (The Gumby Show). Although I'll be the first to admit that the animation style of Gumby can't compete with the animation styles of today's kids programs, I think that Gumby is still very charming and I still very much enjoyed the animation. A classic is a classic, there's no way around that. The episodes in Gumby are very wholesome and creative, that is a huge plus for me. One thing I truly love is that this particular collection has the original soundtrack, which is quite lovely. I asked my children (14, 11 and 9-year-old) to watch this collection with me. At first, they were not particularly impressed. But, by the end of the two-disc collection they were enthralled with the stories and adventures of Gumby and Pokey. I give this collection 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. It is quite difficult to last through the ages and still be this charming and Gumby has done just that.
Reviewed by Rachael V., KIDS FIRST! Juror
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