Search - Gumby's Greatest Adventures on DVD

Good Gumby

Bok | 11/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the Gumby with the music you remember. The Rhino versions are painfull to watch. It is a shame that Art Clokey is not making any dough on this DVD (see previous review) but my kid won't be a kid forever and he can't really wait for the legal battles fot the music rights to pan out. My apologies to Mr. Clokey for buying this disc.

The quality is quite good...some episodes better than others...and all of them certainly show better than they did on the old black and white television sets we grew up watching them on.

If you have smaller children you might want to be aware that a few of the episodes feature guns, and the episode titled "Gold Rush Gumby" shows Native Americans in a manner which would be unacceptable by today's standards.

If in the near future an "authorized" package with more episodes and the original music comes out, I would certainly love to have it, but for now this really is good Gumby."

Gumby Served Up On A Silver Platter: It's A Gumby DVD...

Richard J. Goldschmidt | 06/04/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've always liked Gumby. I'm not sure I can really explain the curious appeal of a walking, talking piece of green clay. Still, that hasn't stopped me from purchasing Gumby dolls, a Gumby tie, and, most recently, this Gumby DVD. Yes, our old-school "claymation" friend has entered the high-tech digital age... Gumby now shares DVD shelf space with state-of-the-art computer animation spectaculars such as "Shrek" and "Finding Nemo." So how well does he hold up in the new millenium? First, some basic info: this is a single disc which runs approximately 55 minutes, containing a total of ten episodes. The menu is simple (no animations) yet effective: you can choose each episode separately, or just simply play them all in order. Bonus features? Uh, well, there are none. Considering that many DVDs ship with a second disc of bonus material, this may seem cheap. But keep in mind, this Gumby disc IS cheap. The price is kept low simply because it is a no-frills presentation. Also, considering the repetitive, self-congratulatory, and commercial-filled fluff that constitutes the bonus features on 90% of full-priced DVDs, this may not be such a bad thing (although, it would have been nice to see some behind-the scenes footage; however, since Gumby's creators weren't involved with this release, it wasn't meant to be.) Picture quality is shaky: forget pristine clarity, or meticulously restored prints here, or, for that matter, THX certified 5.1 surround. You're getting scratchy old films, with basic mono audio.
However, in an interesting way, this actually adds to the charm. Gumby is about nostalgia... slickness and Gumby simply do not go together well (this is why the "updated" synthesized music added to recent televised broadcasts of classic Gumby episodes are so despised by purists.)
I'm not sure how older kids and teens, who have been raised on Pixar movies and edgy animated shows like "South Park," will react to Gumby (although, since each episode on this disc is only around five minutes long, it will appeal to the short attention spans common today.) Younger children will, I bet, still have a lot of fun watching Gumby, and parents won't have to worry about violence or double entendres. Older viewers like myself who are long-time Gumby fans will enjoy this disc as well; the price is right, and the sad fact is that Gumby has been increasingly hard to find these days. Hardcore Gumby fans, or those who can't tolerate lower production values, may want to hold out for deluxe, restored, bonus-filled Gumby collections. But the price of "Gumby's Great Adventures" is low enough that it's worth it just to get your Gumby fix, even if you plan to "upgrade" at some point in the future. After all, it's Gumby! And although we're into the new millenium, Gumby's appeal truly remains timeless."