The Amazing World of Gumball

The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre	Animated sitcom Fantasy Satire Surreal comedy Slapstick Black comedy
Created by	Ben Bocquelet
Directed by	Mic Graves Antoine Perez (S5–6)
Voices of	Logan Grove Jacob Hopkins Nicolas Cantu Duke Cutler Kwesi Boakye Terrell Ransom Jr. Donielle T. Hansley Jr. Christian J. Simon Kyla Rae Kowalewski Teresa Gallagher Dan Russell
Composers	Ben Locket Neil Myers (S6) Xav Clarke (2020–)
Country of origin	United Kingdom United States Germany (S2-) Republic of Ireland (S1) Japan (S1)
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	240 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Ben Bocquelet Mic Graves (S6) Daniel Lennard (S1–3) Michael Carrington (S1–2) Sarah Fell (S4–) Patricia Hidalgo (S4–6)
Producers	Joanna Beresford (S1) Ellen Collins (S4) Sarah Fell (S2–6)
Editors	Richard Overall Tony Hull (S2–) Lucy Benson (S5)
Running time	11 minutes[1]
Production companies	Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe[a] Boulder Media (S1) Studio SOI (S2–)
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Cartoon Network
Original release	May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03) – June 24, 2019 (2019-06-24)
Chronology
Related shows	Elliott from Earth
External links
Website

The Amazing World of Gumball (abbreviated to TAWOG, or referred to as simply Gumball) is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network.^[2] The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, a blue cat, and his goldfish best friend and adoptive brother 10-year-old Darwin, who attend middle school in the fictional city of Elmore, California. They often find themselves in various shenanigans around the city, during which they interact with fellow family members—younger sister Anais, mother Nicole, and father Richard—and an extended supporting cast of characters.

Bocquelet based several of the series' characters on rejected characters from his previous commercial work while making its premise a mixture of "family shows and school shows", which Cartoon Network was heavily interested in.^[3] After Bocquelet pitched The Amazing World of Gumball to the network, Turner Broadcasting executive Daniel Lennard green-lit the production of the series. It is the first to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe (now Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe), with production association with Boulder Media Limited in Republic of Ireland, Dandelion Studios in Japan (season 1), and Studio SOI in Germany (season 2 onward).

Gumball is noted for its intentional stylistic disunity, with characters designed, filmed, and animated using various styles and techniques, oftentimes within the same scene (stylised traditional animation, puppetry, CGI, stop motion, Flash animation, live-action, etc.).^[4] The series has received widespread critical acclaim and since developed a cult following, with particular praises for its extensive references to popular and internet culture, sarcasm, subtle innuendos, and dark humour.^[5] Although a family comedy show, Gumball also handles serious subject matters, including philosophy, marriage, cyberbullying, political intolerance, mental illness, and the human condition.

On September 6, 2016, Bocquelet announced the series would end after season 6; he reaffirmed his position on Twitter in October 2018.^[6] However, Turner Northern Europe was unable to confirm the sixth season to be the show's last, which could make way for future episodes.^[7] Following the programme's finale, two miniseries were released: the six-episode Darwin's Yearbook in November 2019 and The Gumball Chronicles in October 2020.^[8][9] On February 17, 2021, Cartoon Network revealed that a TV movie based on the series was in development.^[10] On September 21, 2021, it was announced that a new spin-off series, to be a follow-up for both the show and the movie, had been greenlit for Cartoon Network and HBO Max alongside the movie.^[11]

Production

When Cartoon Network Studios Europe was created in 2007, Ben Bocquelet was hired to help people pitch their projects to the network. However, when the studio decided to have its employees all pitch their own ideas,^[12] he decided to take some rejected characters he had created for commercials and put them together in one series set in a school.^[13] Daniel Lennard, vice president of Original Series and Development at Turner Broadcasting System Europe, was impressed by the premise and approved production of the series.^[14] The first series to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, making the show a British production,^[15] thirty-six episodes were produced for its first season in collaboration with Studio SOI, Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited,^[16][17] and Dandelion Studios.^[18] On February 17, 2021, the official Cartoon Network Twitter account confirmed that a film based on The Amazing World of Gumball is in development.^[19]

Premise

The series revolves around the life of a 12-year-old cat named Gumball Watterson (Logan Grove, seasons 1–2 and season 3 episode: "The Kids"; Jacob Hopkins, remainder of season 3 to season 5 episode "The Copycats"; Nicolas Cantu took over from him to season six; Duke Cutler from "The Gumball Chronicles" onward) and his frequent shenanigans in the fictional American city of Elmore, accompanied by his adopted goldfish brother and best friend Darwin (Kwesi Boakye, season 1–2 and season 3 episode: "The Kids"; Terrell Ransom Jr., remainder of season 3 to season 5 episode "The Copycats"; Donielle T. Hansley Jr., remainder of season 5 to season 6 episode "The Cage"; Christian J. Simon, onward). Gumball's other family members—his intellectual sister Anais (Kyla Rae Kowalewski) and stay-at-home father Richard (Dan Russell), both rabbits, and workaholic mother Nicole (Teresa Gallagher), a cat – often find themselves involved in Gumball's exploits. Gumball attends school with his siblings at Elmore Junior High, where throughout the series he interacts with his various middle school classmates, most prominently his love interest Penny Fitzgerald (also Gallagher).

One prominent feature of the series since its third season is "The Void", a dimension inside of Elmore where all the universe's mistakes reside. This includes references to aspects of reality as well as in-series elements. Rob (Charles Philipp, David Warner for episodes "The Nemesis" to "The Disaster", Hugo Harrison from "The Rerun" onwards) is a background character from the first two seasons who became trapped in The Void after becoming "irrelevant". He later escapes in Season 3, after which he becomes Gumball's nemesis and main antagonist. He is shown to be aware of his fictional existence in the Season 4 episode "The Disaster", and his hatred towards Gumball is a result of his role as the protagonist.^[20]

Episodes

Crossovers

On September 17, 2015, series creator Ben Bocquelet announced on his Twitter page that a crossover episode with an unknown show would air as part of the fifth season. This turned out to be the episodes, "The Puppets", which features characters and settings from Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.^[21] Additionally, "The Copycats" featured the characters interacting with ones similar to those from Miracle Star, a Chinese clone of the show.

"The Boredom" featured characters from Clarence, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa making cameo appearances.^[22]

Gumball made a cameo appearance on the Uncle Grandpa episode "Pizza Eve", along with other Cartoon Network characters from currently running and ended cartoons.^[23]

Gumball also made a cameo appearance on the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode and Cartoon Network special "Crossover Nexus", along with other Cartoon Network characters from currently running and ended cartoons.

Waiting for Gumball

Waiting for Gumball is a series of thirteen shorts based on The Amazing World of Gumball, or more specifically, "The Puppets".^[24]

Darwin's Yearbook

A six-episode miniseries called Darwin's Yearbook aired on Cartoon Network from December 14 to December 28, 2019. The miniseries features Darwin attempting to complete Elmore Junior High's yearbook by examining who he thinks should fill up the best spot.^[25] The miniseries predominantly consists of recycled clips from previous episodes of the original series presented in a clip show style.

The Gumball Chronicles

Another series of clip show episodes titled, The Gumball Chronicles, premiered on October 5, 2020, with The Curse of Elmore.^[9] On November 2, 2020, four more episodes (each beginning with Vote Gumball...and) themed around the 2020 United States presidential election were aired back-to-back.^[26]

Future

In an interview with The Times newspaper, series creator Ben Bocquelet mentioned plans for a feature film based on the series.^[27] However, after Bocquelet announced his departure from the show following the sixth season,^[28] he stated that he doubted a film would be made.^[29]

In March 2018, Bocquelet's interest in a Gumball film was seemingly revitalized as he stated that he "might have a good idea" for a film.^[30] He later added that he had two ideas, one for a potential theatrical film and one for a potential direct-to-video film.^[31]

On September 29, 2018, during a Q&A with the series director Mic Graves at Cartoon Network UK's 25th anniversary screening, he confirmed that a script for The Amazing World of Gumball film is in the works. He also said that he hopes for the film to happen. Bocquelet^[32] retweeted a tweet which states that the script for a film based on The Amazing World of Gumball is being written, however it was then unknown if the film would actually be made.^[33] After the season six finale "The Inquisition", was met with mixed reviews from fans of the series due to its cliffhanger ending, Bocquelet stated it was not his choice to conclude the episode that way, adding that it would be resolved if a film based on the series were produced.^[34]

On February 17, 2021, WarnerMedia announced that a television film was in development under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie.^[10][35] On September 21, 2021, Cartoon Network announced that the upcoming film had been officially greenlit under the title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie!, with original series creator Ben Bocquelet serving as director and executive producer.^[36] The movie will focus on Gumball’s biggest fan finding a missing episode from the television show and accidentally opening a portal that connects Gumball’s cartoon world to his own. After meeting the characters, he’ll team up with Gumball, Darwin, Anais, Richard, and Nicole to try and save Elmore from a nefarious menace looking to overtake the town.^[11] The movie will act as the "epic conclusion" to the original series, but also establish the world for a new accompanying show with the working title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Series. The movie as well as the new series will be released on Cartoon Network and HBO Max.^[11]

Broadcast

The first two seasons were released on Cartoon Network channels in over 126 countries, with the third season rolling out through 2014.^[37]

The series debuted on Cartoon Network UK on May 2, 2011, one day before the US premiere.

The show aired on Boomerang from December 1, 2014 to October 23, 2015, and its second run from February 1, 2016 to April 2, 2017 and has not aired since.^[38]

Reception

Critical reception

The Amazing World of Gumball has received widespread critical acclaim.^[39][40] In a favorable review, Brian Lowry of Variety described the series as "mostly a really clever spin on domestic chaos" and "first-rate silliness."^[41] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly was also positive, writing: "There are few examples of mainstream children's programming as wildly imaginative, as visually and narratively daring, as The Amazing World of Gumball."^[42]

The A.V. Club's Noel Murray graded the DVD release of the series' first 12 episodes a B+, writing that "what sets [The Amazing World of Gumball] apart from the many other super-silly, semi-anarchic cartoons on cable these days is that it features such a well-developed world, where even with the eclectic character designs, there are recognisable traits and tendencies."^[43] Wired writer Z noted that the series "manages to have genuine heart even as the plots themselves transition from well-worn TV tropes to all out madness."^[44] Meredith Morgenstern of Medium praised the show for its diversity, with specific mention of the Watterson's adopted child Darwin, the stay-at-home dad and working mom dynamic of the family, and the casting of young black actors for the aforementioned main character Darwin.^[45]

Ratings

On May 3, 2011, the series premiere of The Amazing World of Gumball was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States.^[46] "The Goons" is currently the highest viewed episode of the series, with 2.72 million viewers. "The Potion" is the lowest viewed episode with only 0.42 million viewers, approximately 15% of its series high.

Awards and nominations

Comic books

On June 18, 2014, Boom! Studios began publishing The Amazing World of Gumball comic book series.^[68]

Home media

Notes

References