The Amazing World of Gumball (also known simply as Gumball or by its abbreviation TAWOG) is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network.[7] The series follows the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and his adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend middle school in the fictional city of Elmore. 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—along with 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.[8] After Bocquelet pitched The Amazing World of Gumball to the network, Turner Broadcasting executive Daniel Lennard green-lit the production of the series. The show was produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, in association with Boulder Media (Ireland; season 1) and Studio Soi (Germany; seasons 2–6).
On 6 September 2016, Bocquelet announced the series would end after season 6; he reaffirmed his position on Twitter in October 2018.[10] However, Turner Northern Europe was unable to confirm at the time whether the sixth season would be the show's last.[11] Following the season 6 finale, two miniseries were released: the six-episode Darwin's Yearbook in November 2019 and The Gumball Chronicles in October 2020.[12][13] On 15 June 2023, it was confirmed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival that the seventh season of the show was in the works,[14][15] and is scheduled for release in 2025–2026.[16]
On 17 February 2021, Cartoon Network revealed that a television film based on the series was in development.[17] On 21 September 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 Max alongside the film.[18] On 22 August 2022, it was reported that the film would no longer be heading to Max, but would be shopped to other outlets instead.[19] However, at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that the film is still being worked on, with the story and script currently being revised.[20]
The series revolves around the life of a 12-year-old cat named Gumball Watterson and his frequent shenanigans in the fictional American city of Elmore, accompanied by his adopted goldfish brother and best friend Darwin. Gumball's other family members—his intellectual sister Anais and stay-at-home father Richard, both rabbits, and workaholic mother Nicole, 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.
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 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.[21]
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,[4] he decided to take some rejected characters he had created for commercials and put them together in one series set inside of a school.[1] 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 in 2009.[22] The first series to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, making the show a British production,[23] thirty-six episodes were produced for its first season in collaboration with Studio Soi, Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited,[24][25] and Dandelion Studios.[26] On 17 February 2021, the Cartoon Network Twitter account confirmed that a film based on the series is currently in development.[27]
While most of the 11-minutes episodes premiered on their own and all are considered as individually released, the 11-minutes episodes of the series that Cartoon Network ordered were still originally produced in pairs of 22-minutes each. So was the case with The Amazing World of Gumball, with seasons 1-3 actually being produced by Cartoon Network Development Studios Europe in packages of two 11-minutes stories and being aired so outside of America. However, starting with season 4, the rest of the series began to be produced as individual 11-minutes episodes, the same being the case of the special miniseries.
On 17 September 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 episode "The Puppets", which features characters and settings from Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.[29] Additionally, "The Copycats" featured the characters interacting with ones similar to those from Miracle Star, a Chinese clone of the show.[30][31]
Gumball made a cameo appearance on the Uncle Grandpa episode "Pizza Eve", along with other Cartoon Network characters from currently running and ended cartoons.[33]
Gumball 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.[citation needed]
Waiting for Gumball
Waiting for Gumball is a series of thirteen shorts featuring Gumball and Darwin and inspired by the episode "The Puppets".[34]
Darwin's Yearbook
A six-episode miniseries called Darwin's Yearbook aired on Cartoon Network from 14 to 28 December 2019. The miniseries features Darwin attempting to complete Elmore Junior High's yearbook by examining who he thinks should fill up the best spot.[35] The miniseries predominantly consists of recycled clips from previous episodes of the original series presented in a clip show style.[citation needed]
The Gumball Chronicles
Another series of clip show episodes titled, The Gumball Chronicles, premiered on 5 October 2020, with The Curse of Elmore.[13] On 2 November 2020, four more episodes (each beginning with Vote Gumball...and) themed around the 2020 United States presidential election were aired back-to-back, revolving around Gumball's attempts to get a running mate so he can run for school president.[36]
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 2 May 2011, one day before the US premiere.
The show aired on Boomerang from 1 December 2014, to 23 October 2015, its second run from 30 November 2015, to 25 December 2015, its third run from 1 February 2016, to 2 April 2017, its fourth run from 2 May 2022, to 31 October 2022, and its fifth run from April 4, 2023 to September 29, 2023.[38]
Reception
Ratings
On 3 May 2011, the series premiere of The Amazing World of Gumball was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States.[39] "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.[citation needed]
Critical reception
The Amazing World of Gumball has received critical acclaim.[40][41] In a favorable review, Brian Lowry of Variety described the series as "mostly a really clever spin on domestic chaos" and "first-rate silliness."[42]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."[43]
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."[44]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."[45]
The Amazing World of Gumball writing staff (Ben Bocquelet, Jon Brittain, Tom Crowley, Jon Foster, Mic Graves, Chris Garbutt, James Lamont and Tobi Wilson)
"The Origins Parts 1 & 2" writing staff (Ben Bocquelet, Mic Graves, Louise Coats, Nathan Auerbach, Daniel Berg, Joe Parham, Tobi Wilson, Ciaran Murtagh, Andrew Jones)
On 18 June 2014, Boom! Studios began publishing The Amazing World of Gumballcomic book series, which would end in 2015 after eight issues.[69] The series was written by Frank Gibson and illustrated by Tyson Hesse.[70]
At the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, a seventh season of The Amazing World of Gumball was announced to be in production, with no release date confirmed yet.[14][15] An EIDR listing would reveal that the seventh season would have 40 episodes.[82] At the following year's festival, details on the seventh season were revealed, including the announcement that it was now under full production, and a preview of the episode "The Burger",[83] which will open the season, was showcased.[84] No set release date is confirmed yet, but it was announced that the season would release by 2025 or 2026.[16]
Feature film
In an interview with The Times newspaper, series creator Ben Bocquelet mentioned plans for a feature film based on the series.[85] However, after Bocquelet announced his departure from the show following the sixth season,[86] he stated that he doubted a film would be made.[87]
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.[88] He later added that he had two ideas, one for a potential theatrical film and one for a potential direct-to-video film.[89]
On 29 September 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[90] 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.[91] 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.[92]
On 17 February 2021, WarnerMedia announced that a television film was in development under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie.[17][93] On 21 September 2021, Cartoon Network announced that the upcoming film had been greenlit under the title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie!, with original series creator Ben Bocquelet serving as director and executive producer.[94] The film would 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, they'll join Gumball, Darwin, Anais, Richard, and Nicole in saving Elmore from a nefarious menace looking to overtake the town. It would act as the "epic conclusion" to the original series and establish the world for a new accompanying show with the working title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Series.[18] On 22 August 2022, the film was announced as one of six projects that will no longer be debuting on the streamer HBO Max, but will instead be shopped at a different outlet.[95] Bocquelet later said in a 1 September 2022 tweet, that the film's fate is "a bit of a Schrödinger's cat question".[96] He still expressed hope that the film will continue at some point.[97] Nothing was heard about the film until almost one year later, when, at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Boqcuelet was asked about the film during a Q&A session. He confirmed that the film is still being worked on, with the story and script currently being revised.[20]
