Gumby: The Movie

Plot

When the Blockheads' E-Z Loan company threatens to take away the farms belonging to the small farmers due to being unable to make their loan payments, Gumby and his band, the Clayboys, decide to have a benefit concert to save the farms. But when the evil Blockheads find out that Gumby's dog, Lowbelly, cries pearls when he sees the Clayboys perform, they decide to kidnap Lowbelly and force him to cry pearls (unaware Lowbelly was crying whenever Gumby changed his shape). When he doesn't respond, they kidnap Gumby and the Clayboys and create robotic clones of them.

With the help of Pokey, Prickle, Goo, fans Tara and Ginger, and talent agent Lucky Claybert, Gumby takes on his robot clone and is still in time for his video taping session in agreement with Claybert. At a picnic, Gumby announces that he's opening his own farm loan company that will give reasonable loans for its customers. The Blockheads are forced to weed Gumby's garden as punishment, and the eponymous duo Gumby and Pokey decide that things are looking up for them as they head back to outer space.

Cast

Production

Production on Gumby: The Movie was completed in 1992. Despite this, Premavision was unable to find a distributor for the film until 1995, when they found a small company called Arrow Releasing. This company distributed the film the same year.

The musical score was composed by Jerry Gerber, who previously worked on the television series, and Marco D'Ambrosio. Additionally, Ozzie Ahlers wrote and produced the featured songs "Take Me Away", "Ark Park", and "This Way'n That". Ahlers was also responsible for hiring frequent collaborator and Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico to play the electric guitar parts.

Release

Gumby: The Movie was released on December 1, 1995, by Arrow Releasing, but received only a limited release in 21 theaters. The film grossed $57,100 at the box office.

Critical reception

David Kronke of The Los Angeles Times described the screenplay as "tired and listless", and criticized the dialogue as unsophisticated and hastily assembled. Common Sense Media rated the movie a 2 out of 5 stars, stating "The animation in this feature film edition might feel old-fashioned and clumsy; the story bland and simplistic. It's slow going, not terribly funny, and it's repetitive. Still it has a quirky charm that kids respond to, especially the grown-up "kids" who are long-time fans and enjoy the memories that repeat viewings provide."

Home media

The film was released on home video on VHS by KidVision and Astral Home Video on December 26, 1995. On November 20, 1997, Warner Home Video released the film on VHS under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label in Germany, entitled Gumby und seine Freunde. In April 2007, a director's cut version of the movie was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. In this version, the film's run time was cut from 90 minutes to 76 minutes. This version of the film was released on DVD by Genius Products, LLC on April 22, 2008. NCircle Entertainment released the film in its original 90 minute length in a Blu-ray + DVD Combo on July 18, 2017.