The film was released on October 4, 1995, and received generally negative reviews from critics; it went on to become a box-office failure, earning $57,100 against its $2.8 million budget at the U.S. box office,[6][2] although much of its financial failure can be attributed to its very limited theatrical rollout. It has since gained a cult following among fans of the original Gumby.
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. However, the evil Blockheads find out that Gumby's dog, Lowbelly, cries pearls when he sees The Clayboys perform. The Blockheads decide to kidnap Lowbelly and force him to cry pearls (initially unaware that Lowbelly is only crying whenever Gumby changes shapes). After discovering that they need Gumby to extract the pearls, they kidnap Gumby and the Clayboys in order to create roboticclones of them.
With the help of Pokey, Prickle, Goo, fans Tara and Ginger, and talent agent Lucky Claybert, as well as his father, Gumbo and his pet bee, Groobee, Gumby takes on his robot clone and is still in time for his videotaping session in agreement with Claybert. At a picnic, Gumby announces that he is opening his own farm-centered loan company that will give reasonable loans for its customers, with the help from Claybert. To punish them for their evil deeds, the Blockheads are forced to weed Gumby's garden. After the successful concert, Gumby and Pokey head back to outer-space feeling triumphant knowing that their efforts have saved the farms.[7]
Professor Kapp: an exuberant scientist with a voice like Ed Wynn
Fatbuckle: a red man with a big belt (his name is a play on "Fatty" Arbuckle)[8]
Lucky Claybert: a Groucho-like talent agent who makes a music video entitled "Gumbymania" (although it is officially known as "Take Me Away" in the credits)
Pokey: a talking red horse and Gumby's best friend
Prickle: a yellow dinosaur with a Mel Blanc–like voice and a Midwestern accent
Gumbo: Gumby's father and a firefighter
Gloria Clokey voices Goo: a blue flying mermaid
Manny La Carruba voices Thinbuckle: a blue teenager with a thin belt
Patti Morse (speaking voice)/Melisa Kary (singing voice) voices Tara: a light blue female, who initially start out as Gumby's fan, prior to becoming his love interest at the climax of the film
Alice Young voices Ginger: a yellow female and Tara's best friend
Janet MacDuff voices Gumba: Gumby's mom
Bonnie Rudolph voices Lowbelly: the dog who rides skateboard, and cries pearls every time he sees Gumby change shapes
Blockheads G and J: The two pair of square-shape headed silent main antagonists, with an alphabets on both side of their heads, and who communicates with sign languages
Groobee: Gumby's pet bee
Minga: Gumby's little sister. She makes a non-speaking cameo appearance at the end of the film
Production on the film was started in 1988 and completed in 1992.[9] Despite this, Premavision was unable to find a distributor for the film until 1995, when they found a small company named Arrow Releasing (not to be confused with Arrow Films).
The musical score was composed by Jerry Gerber, who previously worked on the television series, and Marco D'Ambrosio. Additionally, Ozzie Ahlers produced the featured songs "Take Me Away", "Ark Park" and "This Way'n That". The lyrics for "Take Me Away" and "This Way'n That" were written by Gloria Clokey. Ahlers was also responsible for hiring frequent collaborator and Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico to play the electric guitar parts.[10]
Gumby: The Movie was released on October 4, 1995, by Arrow Releasing, receiving a limited release in 21 theaters. The film grossed $57,100 at the box office.[2]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 5 critics, with an average rating of 3.8/10.[11]
David Kronke of The Los Angeles Times described the screenplay as "tired and listless", and criticized the dialogue as unsophisticated and hastily assembled.[12]
Barry Walters of the San Francisco Examiner wrote that "although the action is slow by contemporary wham-bam standards, the drama eventually picks up as the kooky plot complications pile up. But the pacing is episodic, and the nonstop whimsy gets to be overwhelming: Every few minutes, you can feel yourself anticipating even hoping for a commercial break."[13] Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "it should have been silly, kitschy, self-spoofing fun, but instead has a sad, enervated quality and frequently inept results."[14]
Common Sense Media rated the movie a two out of five 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."[15]
A positive review came from Marylynn Uricchio of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who wrote that it "is nothing more than an elongated version of the TV episodes that run on Nickelodeon, but that's not a criticism. With Gumby, anything is a pleasure."[18]
The film was released on home video on VHSbyKidVision[19] and Astral Home Video on December 26, 1995; it would be the former company's final release before becoming defunct. The next year, Warner Home Video released the film on VHS, which became a top-10 seller, selling about one million copies overall on this format in total.[20][21] It was released on DVD by Classic Media on April 22, 2008.[22] NCircle Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray on September 5, 2017.[23]
RiffTrax released their own commentary of the film on May 28, 2021.[24][25]
