Fox Acquires The Rights To The Gumby Universe, Which Is A Thing That Exists
Move over MCU, DCEU, and Netflix Holiday Movie Universe, because the fine folks over at Fox have acquired the gigantic green claymation universe of Gumby, Pokey, Prickle, Goo, Minga, Professor Kapp, and all of the other characters from Art Clokey's "Gumby" universe. Fox is planning on reviving and reimagining the character for "a new generation," across linear, digital, and blockchain platforms. If they don't try to promote their inevitable "Gumby meets Bored Ape" NFT with "THE BLOCKHEADS ARE HEADING TO THE BLOCKCHAIN," I will eat my own hat.
In related news that is far more important than the inevitable trading of Gumby NFTs (because even cryptobros can get sucked into multi-level marketing schemes), Fox is also looking to put out a new animated series as well as some live-action "Gumby" goodness. The adventures of the claymation character were first introduced on "The Howdy Doody Show," and were so popular that they spawned their own series from 1957-1969 on NBC. The show was revived in 1988 through Lorimar-Telepictures, and "Gumby" was given a feature film in 1995 that brought in only $57,100 in the box office against a $2.8 million budget. YIKES ON BIKES.
I'm Gumby, Damn It!
"Gumby" follows the adventures of the titular green clayboy exploring different lands and times throughout history. Joined by his sidekick and best friend Pokey, the talking orange pony, Gumby and Pokey's adventures frequently put them at odds with the G & J Blockheads, antagonistic red humanoids with, you guessed it, block heads. Gumby's other friends include Prickle, a yellow fire breathing dinosaur who dresses like Sherlock Holmes, Goo, a flying blue mermaid who spits blue goo balls and can shape shift into any object, Nopey, Gumby's dog who can only say "nope" like he's a walking promo for Jordan Peele's new movie, his sister Minga, a mastodon friend named Denali, and a chicken friend named Tilly.
Without exaggeration, "Gumby" is one of the weirdest shows I've ever seen, and yet I love every second of it. My introduction to "Gumby" actually came from watching old episodes of "Saturday Night Live" and not understanding why my dad was cry-laughing while watching Eddie Murphy, dressed like the titular character, scream out "I'm Gumby, damn it!" He clocked my lack of laughter and immediately bought a VHS tape of "Gumby" episodes to educate me. I'm so glad he did, because "Gumby" kicks absurd amounts of ass. He's been parodied a million times, and thanks to shows like "Robot Chicken," younger generations are at least somewhat familiar with the character.
Into the Gumbyverse
The Fox deal was made with the Clokey estate, its latest acquisition following their purchase of TMZ and MarVista Entertainment. Their "Gumby" rights acquisition covers film, TV, streaming, consumer products, licensing, publishing, and the full library of "Gumby" animated series, specials, movies, and other content. Tubi currently offers a good chunk of "Gumby" on their streaming service, but the acquisition means we're about to get a huge gaggle of "Gumby" to watch at 2 A.M. when the edible kicks in.
Personally, I am lighting candles, crossing fingers, and praying for a Blockheads origin story based on the 2017 comics (why do I know this?!) that reveal the Blockheads are evil and vengeful because they're oppressed by the clay people for having square heads and are sick and tired of being treated like second-class clay citizens. Until the comic revival, The Blockheads were believed to just be a bunch of non-speaking, physically pantomiming a-holes, and they deserve their whole story be told! I also wouldn't be opposed to a musical show à la "The Monkees" centered on Gumby's band, "The Clayboys," because the world needs more Fatbuckle the drummer in our lives.