The Amazing World of Gumball

Premise

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, California, 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. "The Rewrite" establishes that the Void will end the show's universe when the series is cancelled, or if the main characters discover they are fictional. 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.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Amazing World of Gumball episodes

Seasons 1-3 were originally produced as twenty 22-minute episodes that consisted of two 11-minute segments, although in the U.S., the segments aired separately. Starting with season 4, the 11-minute segments were produced and aired individually worldwide, the same being the case with the spinoff miniseries Darwin's Yearbook and The Gumball Chronicles.

Crossovers

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. Additionally, "The Copycats" featured the characters interacting with ones similar to those from Miracle Star, a Chinese clone of the show.

"The Boredom" featured characters from Clarence, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa making cameo appearances.

Gumball made a cameo appearance on the Uncle Grandpa episode "Pizza Eve", along with other characters from other Cartoon Network shows.

Gumball made a cameo appearance on the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode and Cartoon Network special "Crossover Nexus", along with other characters from other Cartoon Network shows.

Shorts and miniseries

''Waiting for Gumball''

Waiting for Gumball is a series of thirteen shorts featuring Gumball and Darwin and inspired by the episode "The Puppets".

''Darwin's Yearbook''

A six-episode miniseries titled 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. The miniseries predominantly consists of recycled clips from previous episodes of the original series presented in a clip show style.

''The Gumball Chronicles''

Another series of clip show episodes, titled The Gumball Chronicles, premiered on 5 October 2020, with The Curse of Elmore. 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.

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, he decided to take some rejected characters he had created for commercials and put them together in one series set inside of a school. 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. Turner officially announced the production of the series on 24 September 2009, of which the series would originally consist of forty eleven-minute episodes. thirty-six episodes were produced for its first season in collaboration with Studio Soi, Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited, and Dandelion Studios. Prior to the series' premiere, ther series was renewed for a second series in March 2011, followed with a third in October 2012.

On 17 February 2021, the Cartoon Network Twitter account confirmed that a film based on the series is currently in development (see #Feature film).

Broadcast

A sneak-peek was debuted on Cartoon Network UK on 2 May 2011, one day before the US premiere. The series would debut proper on the British Cartoon Network channel on 19 September. The first two seasons were released on Cartoon Network channels in over 126 countries, with the third season rolling out through 2014. Episodes of The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball released on Hulu in the United States from 29 July 2025, and released on Cartoon Network and HBO Max internationally from 6 October.

The Amazing World of Gumball is available on video on demand services, and is available to stream. Episodes are available on Hulu and Netflix internationally, and was previously available to stream on HBO Max before being removed in September 2024.

Reruns

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 4 April 2023 to 29 September 2023.

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. "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.

Critical reception

The Amazing World of Gumball has received critical acclaim. In a favorable review, Brian Lowry of Variety described the series as "mostly a really clever spin on domestic chaos" and "first-rate silliness." 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."

The A.V. Clubs 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." 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."

Awards and nominations

Related media

Comics

On 18 June 2014, Boom! Studios began publishing The Amazing World of Gumball comic book series, which would end in 2015 after eight issues. The series was written by Frank Gibson and illustrated by Tyson Hesse. Eight original graphic novels were also released.

Home media

Video games

Characters and locations from The Amazing World of Gumball are depicted in the crossover video game Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers.

Future

Continuation

Main article: The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball

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. An EIDR listing would reveal that the seventh season would have 40 episodes. 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", which would open the season, was showcased. It was announced that the season would release by 2025. In May 2025, it was announced that the seventh season would officially be retitled The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, and released on Hulu in the United States and on Cartoon Network in other countries. It was also announced that Alkaio Thiele, Hero Hunter, and Kinza Syed Khan were cast as the new voices of Gumball, Darwin, and Anais respectively, with Teresa Gallagher and Dan Russell returning as Nicole and Richard Watterson.

In June 2025, a release date of 28 July 2025 was confirmed. The show began its international rollout on Cartoon Network and HBO Max on 6 October 2025. Another set of episodes that comprised the second half of the first season were released on 22 December 2025 on Hulu. Another 40 sets of episodes that comprises The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumballs second season were ordered in December 2025.

Feature film

In an interview with The Times newspaper, series creator Ben Bocquelet mentioned plans for a feature film based on the series. However, after Bocquelet announced his departure from the show following the sixth season, he stated that he doubted a film would be made.

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. He later added that he had two ideas, one for a potential theatrical film and one for a potential direct-to-video film.

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 was in the works. He also said that he hopes for the film to happen. Bocquelet retweeted a tweet which stated that the script for a film based on The Amazing World of Gumball was being written, however, it was then unknown if the film would actually be made. 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. Such a plot was teased for the season finale of The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, titled "The Rewrite".

On 17 February 2021, WarnerMedia announced that a television film was in development under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie. 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. 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 will 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. On 22 August 2022, the film was announced as one of six projects that would no longer be debuting on the streamer HBO Max, but would instead be shopped at a different outlet. Bocquelet later said, in a 1 September 2022 tweet, that the film's fate is "a bit of a Schrödinger's cat question". He still expressed hope that the film will continue at some point. Nothing was heard about the film until almost two years later, when, at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Bocquelet was asked about the film during a Q&A session. He confirmed that the film was still being worked on, with the story and script being revised.

Notes

References

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100. Bocquelet, Ben. (6 September 2016). "@BrandonfanofMS @ogwillin @CaptainJZH No it's my decision".
101. Bocquelet, Ben. (6 September 2016). "@BrandonfanofMS @ogwillin @CaptainJZH I doubt it.".
102. Bocquelet, Ben. (27 March 2018). "I think I might have a good idea for a Gumball movie... Would you guys watch a Gumball movie?".
103. Bocquelet, Ben. (27 March 2018). "@ChrisSignore1 I actually have two ideas, one for each format.".
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105. CN News/Schedules. (2 October 2018). "Season 6 of Gumball is confirmed to be the final season. The show will end with 240 episodes. A movie script is being written, but we don't know if a movie will actually be made just yet. https://t.co/13mVQLr4Cz".
106. Bocquelet, Ben. (1 June 2019). "I know, it's daunting. Please stop coming after me, it was not my choice to land the last ep that way. But know that if we do the movie everything lands in a pretty cool way.".
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