Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 4, 2017

I suppose there should be a club for those who saw “Gumby: The Movie” during its initial theatrical release. Or perhaps a therapy group. Interested in strange moviegoing experiences, I attended a matinee showing in September, 1995, not really understanding what I was about to witness. My awareness of the Gumby character at the time was limited to occasional syndication encounters and “Saturday Night Live” razzing, lacking a doctorate in all things Art Clokey. While a few brave parents decided to share the wonders of stop-motion animation (then a rare multiplex event) with their children, I was the lone adult there willingly, and my mind was about to be blown. For the next 90 minutes, “Gumby: The Movie” offered sights and sounds so bizarre, I was worried about a possible gas leak in the shoebox theater. It provided a viewing experience that was impossible to describe to others, and the feature tanked so completely, it was out of theaters before I could process just what happened. And here we are 22 years later, and while I still haven’t taken the deep dive into the Gumby archives, his one and only big screen endeavor remains as potently nutso as I remember, giving family audiences everything they could want: brightly colored characters, slapstick antics, and harsh lessons on the dangers of predatory home mortgage loans.

Trouble has come to the land of Gumbasia, with the Blockheads using their E-Z Loan Company to begin the foreclosure process on farmers everywhere, putting families out on the street. Unwilling to accept this reality is Gumby (voiced by Dallas McKennon), who joins his band, the Clayboys, and decides to put on a benefit concert to help those in need, aided by pals Pokey (Art Clokey), Prickle (Clokey), and Goo (Gloria Clokey). During the performance, Gumby’s loyal dog, Lowbelly, begins crying literal pearls, which baffles his owner but delights the Blockheads. Sensing a monumental financial opportunity, the Blockheads kidnap Lowbelly, replacing him with a robot dog, soon turning their attention to Gumby and the Clayboys, hoping to replace them with robots as well, allowing them to lock up the real band and make them play music to create more pearls. Witnessing the crime are groupies Ginger (Alice Young) and Tara (Patti Morse), who try to thwart the Blockheads and their villainous plans, forcing Gumby to fight for his loved ones throughout various literary realms.

Director (and Gumby creator) Art Clokey is really in his own universe here. Not that there are many rules with this character, but the production makes some wild choices to give “Gumby” The Movie” a cinematic lift. For starters, Gumby and Pokey are introduced in monolith form, born from a “2001” reference that turns them into aliens, which I’m sure does wonders for whatever continuity (“The Clokeyverse”) was there to begin with. The picture soon settles into traditional stop-motion mischief, setting up the bizarre story that imagines the Blockheads as loan officers, while Lowbelly deals with his ocular ejaculation of pearls, which should cause more panic and/or delight with Gumby, who never seems particularly fazed by his pet’s sudden ability to produce unlimited wealth from his eyes. It seems Gumby has bigger fish to fry with his band, a rock act with Thinbuckle, Fatbuckle, and Nobuckle, who dedicate their time to a festival gig that’s trying to save rural home owners, much like the Farm Aid concerts of the era (the feature was completed in 1992, having trouble finding distribution for years).

As strange as it is, “Gumby: The Movie” retains the lovable low-fi Clokey look, with the feature adding some larger sets and more adventures to give a character who previously existed in short-film form something to do. That’s not to suggest 90 minutes of Gumby is a pleasure to sit through, but the production keeps things lively as the gang tears around book selections, with Gumby curious about international cultures and their tribal dances, while the Blockheads remain in their robot lab, happily imprisoning our heroes and conducting strange experiments and repairs. The animation is appealing and lively, keeping Gumby as malleable as can be, and when the effort finally works up to a climatic battle, “Gumby: The Movie” cranks out the tributes, with the titular green hero fighting his robot self through Arthurian and “Star Wars” environments as they battle from book to book. Adding to the craziness is a “human” character in Lucky Claybert (McKennon), an agent who wants to help the Clayboys succeed in music television, and who resembles Groucho Marx and sounds like W.C. Fields.

Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Making a surprising leap to Blu-ray, the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Gumby: The Movie" emerges from an older scan, but still preserves the textures of the animation, delivering an adequate overview of detail, which helps to explore sets and character designs. Getting in tight provides a pauseable look at craftsmanship and positioning, and clarity does reveal wire work use to help with flying sequences. Colors are bright, with strong primaries to aid the cartoon mood, securing distinct reds, yellows, and greens, making every character stand out as intended. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in strong shape, without major evidence of damage.

Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix supports the strange aural event of "Gumby: The Movie," which favors high-pitched, manipulated voicework. Intelligibility is never threatened during dialogue exchanges. Scoring is non-stop and simplistic, but its synth intentions aren't problematic, registering as intended. Soundtrack selections offer more heft, with deeper instrumentation and a louder presence, giving the pop songs some lift. Gumby and the Clayboys numbers are more hair metal-ish in nature, squealing securely. Sound effects are spot-on, detailing falls, machinery, and more elastic activity, adding to the exaggerated events of the feature.

Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Photo Gallery collects 31 stills from "Gumby: The Movie."

• Behind the Scenes (4:41, SD) only provides a brief snippet of video footage from the shoot, returning to photos to explore the animation process, storyboarding, on-set atmosphere, and crew camaraderie.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Gumby: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a lot to process while watching "Gumby: The Movie." There's a scene where Pokey, Goo, and Prickle are fused together after an accident, exposing them to an experimental medical procedure from iffy doctors to help separate them. Claybert demands a music video from Gumby and the Clayboys, which is presented in full in the film's final minutes, and I'm sure the Clokey empire was expecting a major hit out of the pop tune. And there's the ending itself, which ***SPOILER ALERT*** doesn't have Gumby saving the day by offering financial liberation via pearl distribution, but merely has the opportunist selling the farmers more favorable loan terms to help them out of a hole. ***END SPOILERS*** What a hero. "Gumby: The Movie" is a crazy picture, and while it may lack a certain outward insanity, the details contained within are alternately unsettling and hilarious. It's a sneaky effort from Clokey, who attempts something ambitious to expand his minor idea into a major film. Audiences ultimately didn't show up, but those exposed to the great green light are illuminated forever.