Hangin' Out With RiffTrax - Gumby: The Movie

Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Sean and Conor discuss the feature-length version of one of our favorite genres of MST3K shorts: GUMBY! What exactly makes Gumby, Pokey, and all their pals tick? The guys aren't sure, but trust us you'll be laughing all the way. Enjoy this preview of a Patreon Exclusive Webinar - you can see the rest by signing up and becoming a Traxian today:
rifftrax.com/patreon
Buy RiffTrax: Gumby The Movie: rifftrax.com/gumby-the-movie

[@jonwright6472]

My entire understanding of Gumby is based on MST3K's episode "The Screaming Skull." I love the debate of dying of fright and getting a free coffin vs. dying of boredom and not getting a free coffin.

[@troubledwaters7441]

same lol

[@AmyLSacks]

Great, great episode. "That squares my breasts!" "Gotta' move this body back upstate!"

[@jonwright6472]

@@AmyLSacks "He's having his own three-legged race!"

[@HylianFox3]

I especially love the sketch afterwards, 'Bolus and Horseflop'

[@AmyLSacks]

@@HylianFox3 I just hope Pearl came through with the Dizzy Grizzlies shorts afterwards.

[@Bobsheaux]

I never thought I would hear a deep discussion about the existentiality of Gumby. lmao

[@scotthardie5141]

I love the Birdemic-inspired theme song

[@jeffisrael3773]

I’m 33 and I loved Gumby shorts when I was little. I think it was just that I really liked claymation at that age. Edit: also I loved that Pokey was kind of a wang all the time for no reason.

[@michaelforis2713]

Agreed. Pokey definitely helped represent me as a kid. Sure, we all love an adventure every now and then but, can we calm the heck down Gumby!?

[@anonagain]

4:04 - Right on Kevin! I had both toys, and when the wires started poking out of Pokey (pun intended) I had bloody finger tips many times. Prepared me for diabetes -- the finger prick test just brings back old memories now. :-)

[@kitty1376]

I watched Gumby as a kid and I know as much as they do about it. What was the appeal for me? Unlike Kevin's experience, there was nothing else on.

[@37view37]

Crow and Servo enlisting Mike in helping to parody Gumby in an MST3K host segment is hilarious. I watched both Art Clokey’s Gumby and Davey & Goliath as a child in the 60s. Liked D&G way better since it had relatable stories. Gumby had the poseable toy figures which raised the interest level a lot for our generation. I attended a Gumby film festival at our local Balboa Cinema in Newport Beach, CA in the 80’s. Clokey spoke there and he was a devotee of Zen Buddhism, I recall. His first film, Gumbasia, was psychedelic and his photo on Wikipedia confirms he was kind of Bohemian in his tastes. Those Lutherans reigned in his eclectic tastes and the result was a very nice show which we shared with our kiddies when they were little.

[@HylianFox3]

"Please Mike, just WORK the LUMPS!"

[@robertrootes]

Never thought I'd hear a philosophical discussion about Gumby!

[@Tareltonlives]

He truly is the Matrix of the claymation medium

[@AndyKnudsen]

Actually, back when they showed some Gumby shorts on SNL in the early 80s I was in High School. I remember talking with some guys about what kind of universe he existed in.

[@KaladinVegapunk]

Haha what's funny is Kevin's reference to 2001, not sure if he meant the book, or sequel 2010, both deal with Europa having life and Jupiter turned into a sun to make its water ice melt and become habitable haha But yeah, so bizarre, I wonder if the writers put even 5% of this amount of thought into it

[@JohnWilliamNowak]

If you told me there was a movie where Gumby and Pokey were born of the 2001 Monolith, I would assume it was a satire of Gumby. But no, this is actually a scene they put into their movie. I remember renting a Gumby video with a friend and freeze-framing through it so we could see how it was animated.

[@blueseanomad7435]

I love how Mike causally mentions that his college roommate singing the Gumby song to him and doesn't think it's worth further discussion.

[@JamaicanCastle]

"Mike, every single reference to your past paints an ever-darker picture of a damaged, lonely little man." "...ah, says you!"

[@Tareltonlives]

Now I'm imagining Gumby walking into the books from 372 Pages. "Boy, Pokey, Sean Penn is fucked up"

[@Satellite_Of_Love]

*walking out of The Mister* "Boy, my groin feels really tight for some reason!"

[@Tareltonlives]

@@Satellite_Of_Love Pokey: "That Tyra Banks is on some good shit"

[@MsTokyoBlue]

Gumby walks into Gravity's Rainbow, Tyrone Slothrop walks out

[@panderjitsinghvv8199]

Still have little Gumby and Pokey figures. I can see them right now sitting on a shelf.

[@RespectMyArthurity]

I used to work at a Gumby’s Pizza - you guys were immensely kind toward that terrible chain which I still believe is 80% a front for laundering drug money.

[@Charlesmcoburn]

I'm a former Gumby's employee too, calling 20% of that business legit is pretty generous..

[@Razgriz85]

I watched Gumby as a kid and have the Pokey toy with the wire skeleton as a good luck charm on my car rearview mirror.

[@ThreeToesofFury]

decades in and i CANNOT get enough of Mike, Kev, and Bill. Still the best. Thanks team Rifftrax!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also...if someone talks to Kev...tell him "Hi from the guy who brought a can of corned beef hash to the second MST convention". ....#MY-HASH!

[@bobf9749]

As a kid, Gumby was on TV a lot. I liked it. I had a Gumby toys. The creator of Gumby was a Buddhist. The bump on Gumby’s head is a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment. The adventures of Gumby were the struggles of Gumby and friends against the Blockheads. .

[@JMFabiano]

Joel probably remembers Gumby a bit more, lots of references on MST3K by him.

[@michaelforis2713]

I love Mike's parody of the 'Zoom background'

[@sinnoach]

Seen rerun episodes as a kid it was nightmare fuel. Not sure why anyone thought this was worth running another time.

[@joestraatmann6240]

Ah yes, Gumby's pizza with Pokey Sticks, all made with artificial cheese I'm pretty sure my body hasn't digested for 20 years.

[@HylianFox3]

Gumby is one of those strange pop culture things that everyone has heard of, and yet I can't think of a single person who's actually sat down and watched it unironically. It's not like you go to someone's house and they have a complete Gumby DVD set. It just doesn't happen.

[@dlpcon66]

I watched it as a kid but like most mindless tv at an early age I can't remember any of it.

[@TheITinFIT]

I was just saying how I’d love to see Rifftrax and MST3K tackle more animated stuff! I’m excited to see this! 😆

[@HylianFox3]

They've done some animated shorts like 'Frozen Frolics' and 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' (with its iconic "I need you tonight"), but there's really so many feature-length animations that are just begging for the riff treatment.

[@amichans3405]

The part where they want to turn Gumby into a game...it is called animal crossing: where I can get the EZ loans from Tom nook! I can farm things and create things and just live on my island called gumbasia!!!! P.s. I loved and watched Gumby as a kid and had the crazy shank like action figures! It’s just is what it is.

[@ShadowsOfEssence]

I remember the shorts came on Nick seemingly randomly when I was real little.

[@meghannsherman]

I am so excited for this. Pre-ordered and ready!

[@joe7923]

I always felt like watching Gumby was like staring into the void. I didn't like it, but I also couldn't look away.

[@AmyLSacks]

That's how I felt about *Davey and Goliath* , which in fact had the same creator.

[@JamaicanCastle]

And as you stare long into the Gumby, the Gumby stares long into you.

[@charitysghost1207]

Gumby: The Movie came out the year I had my oldest son. This movie ended up being his ultimate favorite and I think the whole family ended up memorizing it because he watched it so much.

[@TheKaffinated]

After listening to this I feel as if this film could be an ACI film. In some bizare circumstance someone saw "Is Corn Grass?", and they thought these were the guys to distill the ideas of Brahman(Moon Alien), Paramatman (Gumby), and The Three God Heads (Gumby's Friends). At this point I think we all know that ACI was smoking some next level grass, so it would make sense to me that they would of came to the conclusion of claymation being the best way to educate western audiences on Hinduism.

[@krombopoulosmichael]

Yes. Only the greatest minds can do a deep dive on this misunderstood classic. A magisterial and scholarly discussion.

[@Tareltonlives]

I hope they do more Gumby shorts in the future. The feature film is definitely worth the purchase

[@greenbanana311]

I had a plastic Gumby as a little kid, I remember you could bend his arms, but after a while, the wire inside ended up poking out of the cheap rubbery material he was molded out of.

[@darwinblinks]

a brah I went to high school and film school with who was obssessed with Gumby ended up working on this movie

[@DonnaLang42rockglobally]

This existence/non-existence seems to suggest the concept of "Schrodinger's Gumby".

[@momentsmeanmore]

I always thought it was strange that there were people and clay folk living and coexisting in Gumbasia. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Also the whole book thing was a stretch. Like what if Gumby walked into a book on the occult or the Necronomicon?? Or even those books my dad kept in a shoebox under his bed??

[@thomaspalazzolo5902]

Watched the Gumby riff with friends and family, and now my wee nephew wants the soundtrack.

[@lauramaue]

Y'all just unearthed a childhood memory I'd buried for ages.

[@dirkbonesteel]

I have a 6 ft inflatable Gumby that I brought to a Italian beach on a submarine. I didn't make up a single word of that, seriously it's true

[@ChibiPanda8888]

You seem to live a wild life

[@cardindalrichelieu]

I have both of the more modern versions of the Gumby and Pokey bendable toys that I bought at a sort of novelty/greeting card shop a few years ago. I haven’t played with them in years.

[@libRteedude]

I'm glad they brought up those Gumby toys. I pricked my finger on them more than once when the rubber body began to wear away.

[@tomservodoctor42]

I recall renting that movie a few times when I was a kid. Remember damn near nothing about it, though. Maybe this will shake a few things loose!

[@VideobotStudiosOfficial]

Holy Toledo! I’m Excited For This Riff!

[@BurnEdOutOne]

Pure Omaha!

[@marlinperkins6910]

I loved Gumby. The gumbiverse is so weird and trippy.

[@chobitsai1]

the boys they never age. going back in time must keep them young.

[@JMFabiano]

No this is the only Gumby Rifftrax. Let's change that soon ;-)

[@flayedrunner]

i HAD the gumby movie on VHS which i think i watched… once? i can’t believe this has come into my life again

[@Oiler-ni7rq]

Im with Mike, I dont get the Gumby Universe, but it is VERY interesting trying to figure it out! :-)

[@krudmonger]

What baffles me the most is that The Gumby Movie came out in 1995. Like, cable TV and the internet were already options at that point. So how'd this happen?

[@Dinobolt1]

I loved Gumby as a kid and was so excited when I found the movie in a bargain bin, but as I watched it I realized why. That beginning almost immediately lost me it was that bad. There were other contradictions like how he has a different dog and how it was Gumby, Pokey, prickle and Goo who played in a band not those new Clayboy characters. Even getting past that part, I still wasn't that impressed overall but I kind of liked it although it got worse on every viewing until I just gave it away. While I still like the Gumby show I can understand why people wouldn't like it but the movie I honestly cannot fathom the thought of anyone liking. 9:23 That's what I tried to tell myself as a kid in an effort to get that part to make sense.

[@theinvisibleman5878]

Even though there was Bugs & the Stooges, there was still limited options. I could be wrong but it might have been on after Davy & Goliath on Sundays. No doubt it was weird AF but it was animation (the term claymation didn't exist) & with only 7 stations (...in the New York tri-state area, 2,4,5,7,9,11 & 13) one watched anything kid oriented. Case in point, Romper Room, Winky Dink, the aforementioned Davy & Goliath, Mr. Rogers....these were not the best but all we had, plus no remotes for the average family.

[@swegwardsjdkhaled6870]

Gumbasia is the overworld

[@AmyLSacks]

I remember the Gumby references from earlier MST3K, and of course Eddie Murphy's Gumby. But the actual show wasn't syndicated where I grew up.

[@JMFabiano]

Mike doesn't remember Robot Rumpus? We ARE in the darkest timeline.

[@Satellite_Of_Love]

He hasn't had enough Adlerean therapy to get past the trauma of the decapitated robot head nailed to the garage.

[@lazymansload520]

I thought Gumby was a fever dream I had as a kid when I first saw him. Nope.

[@torgosaves427]

I think Goo is supposed to be shaped like an Airplane.

[@l.a.gothro3999]

I wrote this, to the tune of the original Gumby theme, when I was 15: He was once a little green ball of shit/Scumby!/You should see when Scumby has a fit!/Scumby!/He can walk into any room/And make it smelll reaaal baaad!/If you've got to fart/Then Scumby's a part/Of youuuuuuuu!

[@ErichoTTA]

What's your favorite superhero movie?

[@oneuptheextraman]

I watched this movie alot growing up, and now that I watch this, I have so many questions. Too many questions.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Gumbasia was hallucinogenic. Worth a watch.

[@shannondore]

I had an unfortunate experience with one of those Gumby bendy toys that Kevin was talking about... when I was 3 I bent the leg of it so much it broke off leaving the metal skeleton sticking out and I desided it would be fun to put it in the socket on the wall. A fire in my bedroom and 2 degree burns on my hand later I learned 2 things... electricity is a thing and I *hate* Gumby.

[@leesherman5192]

There was a Gumby's Pizza in the city where I went to college. I'd never heard of it before, but my roommate and his buddies spoke of it like it was a cultural institution. I did not appreciate their pizza.

[@markwrede8878]

Hi Q music tracks by anonymous Nelson Riddle.

[@Z0rlack]

I ate a ton of Gumby's Pizza in college! That $5 pizza was legit

[@cyborgoftheyear]

In middle school, sometimes we'd surround this one friend of ours and grab him by each limb and stretch him out in 4 different directions while singing the Gumby song.

[@joshuablack8221]

The song 😂😂😂

[@TooLateForIeago]

Easy Loans "Only 25%!" What are the expensive loans in Gumbasia?

[@marys4554]

What are all those caps? Baseball?

[@frankmckenzie7502]

Kevin's the best.

[@DenOfVipers]

fucking I can't find a paying job and I am watching a guy with a HAT COLLECTION?

[@ashurmom2969]

Charlottesville represent! Gumby pizza was the absolute worst btw

[@patrickdrazen3574]

Guys, you don't need to overthink it. The existence of multiple Pokeys is a parallel to the existence of multiple Rei Ayanamis in "Neon Genesis Evangelion". Boom; end of discussion.

[@Satellite_Of_Love]

So did The End Of Gumbangelion feature the population of Gumbasia turning into orange Tang to the tune of a peppy Gumby And The Clayboys song about suicide?

[@JamaicanCastle]

Shouldn't it be the other way around? Or did Gumby get inspired by Evangelion through some kind of time loop? Actually, I think that would make both of these franchises make way more sense.

[@edwardburek1717]

So, let me get this straight: Gumby The Movie is essentially Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey for kids? All I can say is that Joel has some serious competition.

[@adrianlee3497]

I barely remember watching Gumby shorts when I was a kid and never seen "the movie" and I'm looking at those beginning scenes you're showing with the wherever moon guy and he sends up those 2 rectangular pieces of clay to make/clone Gumby and right away I'm thinking Closky ripped off 2001 so I'm just as baffled as you guys are. Wth???

[@douglasjohnson4382]

Hey, slippers rock!

[@mattfontaine7735]

Pizza no cheese....Rhode Island pizza!

[@gezortenplotz]

You must be referring to Kingston pizza. This is an example of the ketchup toast they were referencing. Don’t paint the state with a broad basting brush, there is good pizza to be had.

[@mattfontaine7735]

@@gezortenplotz I didn't mean it in a negative way, I like that pizza.

[@Rexerman89]

Where's Bill at?

[@SamuelBoreas]

Hey where was Bill?

[@mikesilva3868]

😅

[@attiasprouse682]

I hate Gumby. I hate Gumby so much. I remember being in preschool/kindergarten and an adult asking if we want to watch Gumby or The President. I was the only one to shout, “THE PRESIDENT.” Because the adult heard me, we watched some President Reagan address/presser. I remember thinking he was boring, but, at least he isn’t/wasn’t Gumby. I HATE Gumby!!!!

[@dawnw.6559]

🤣🤣🤣

[@JamaicanCastle]

Even the guy from _Honor and Glory_ would rather meet Reagan than Gumby.

[@525Lines]

Gumby got some kind of high kitsch cred in the 80s and you'd see gumby stuff in cool shops. But growing up, Gumby was unwatchably lame.