"The Amazing World of Gumball" (2011) TV series 2011-

Creator:

Benjamin Bocquelet
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

9 May 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy

Plot:

Join Gumball Watterson and his family as they must deal with all kind of funny and crazy situations.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Cat | Goldfish | Cheerleader | Surreal

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Logan Grove	...	Gumball Watterson / ... (25 episodes, 2011-2013)
Kwesi Boakye	...	Darwin Watterson (24 episodes, 2011-2013)
Dan Russell	...	Richard Watterson (24 episodes, 2011-2013)
Teresa Gallagher	...	Nicole Watterson (23 episodes, 2011-2013)
Kyla Rae Kowalewski	...	Anais Watterson (22 episodes, 2011-2013)
Kerry Shale		(15 episodes, 2011-2013)
Sandra Dickinson	...	as Sandra Searles Dickinson (14 episodes, 2011-2013)
Rupert Degas	...	Larry / ... (14 episodes, 2011-2012)

Series Directed by
Mic Graves		(16 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Writing credits
Jon Foster		(28 episodes, 2011-2013)
James Lamont		(28 episodes, 2011-2013)
Benjamin Bocquelet		(20 episodes, 2011-2013)
Mic Graves		(15 episodes, 2011-2013)
Sam Ward		(3 episodes, 2011)

Series Produced by
Benjamin Bocquelet	....	executive producer (17 episodes, 2011-2013)
Michael Carrington	....	executive producer (9 episodes, 2011-2013)
Daniel Lennard	....	executive producer (9 episodes, 2011-2013)
Jennifer Coatsworth	....	line producer (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Carsten Bunte	....	producer (7 episodes, 2011-2013)
Peter Lewis	....	co-producer (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Anne Tweedy	....	co-producer (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Joanna Beresford	....	producer (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ellen Collins	....	line producer (4 episodes, 2011-2013)
Sarah Fell	....	series producer (4 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Original Music by
Ben Locket		(18 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Cinematography by
Lou Dockstader		(3 episodes, 2013)

Series Film Editing by
Richard Overall		(18 episodes, 2011-2013)
Anthony Hull		(12 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Casting by
Karie Gima Pham		(11 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Art Direction by
Benjamin Bocquelet		(9 episodes, 2011-2013)
Antoine Perez		(9 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Production Management
Audrey O'Brien	....	production manager (15 episodes, 2011-2012)
Caroline Merlet	....	production manager (11 episodes, 2011-2013)
Annmaire Farrell	....	production manager (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Emer Phillips	....	production manager (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Patrick Brennecke	....	assistant production manager (3 episodes, 2013)
Ursula Ulmi	....	production manager (3 episodes, 2013)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Max Lang	....	assistant director (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Perez	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 2013)

Series Art Department
Bruno Mayor	....	background artist / background supervisor (16 episodes, 2011-2013)
Paco Rocha	....	background artist (16 episodes, 2011-2013)
Amandine Pécharman	....	lead designer / storyboard artist (14 episodes, 2011-2012)
Aurélie Charbonnier	....	storyboard artist / model supervisor (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Chuck Klein	....	storyboard supervisor / storyboard artist (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Ben Marsaud	....	storyboard artist (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Grant Orchard	....	designer / titles (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Heiko Schneck	....	titles (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Jakob Schuh	....	titles (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Germán Casado	....	background artist (12 episodes, 2011-2012)
Miklós Weigert	....	storyboard artist (12 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Birot	....	background artist (11 episodes, 2011-2012)
Cedric Menard	....	background artist (11 episodes, 2011)
Darren Vandenburg	....	storyboard artist / storyboard artist: segment "The Fight" (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Perez	....	background supervisor (10 episodes, 2011)
Louis Delataille	....	storyboard artist (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jacques Gauthier	....	storyboard artist (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Michael Gendi	....	storyboard assistant / storyboard artist (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Angela Jedek	....	character build (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Virginie Kypriotis	....	designer (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Torben Meier	....	character build (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Nikolay Moustakov	....	storyboard artist (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Florent Poulain	....	storyboard artist (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Michael Sieber	....	character build (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Steve Small	....	designer (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jardel Yvon	....	props supervisor (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Waldemar Fast	....	character build (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Dave Whyte	....	props designer (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tom Galvin	....	background artist (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
George Gendi	....	storyboard artist / storyboard assistant (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Robert Latimer	....	storyboard artist (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
David O'Sullivan	....	background artist (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Klaus Morschheuser	....	character build (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Sabrina Schmid	....	character build (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Phillip Warner	....	storyboard artist (4 episodes, 2011)
Ben Mounsey	....	props (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Clement Bolla	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Akis Prokopios Dimitrakopoulos	....	storyboard artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Elias Fauser	....	character build (3 episodes, 2013)
Christian Hoehn	....	character build (3 episodes, 2013)
William Laborie	....	storyboard artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Adrian Maganza	....	storyboard artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Sarah Menheere	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Gillian Reid	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Florent Saget	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Felix Schaller	....	character build (3 episodes, 2013)
Vincent Techer	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Jean Texier	....	storyboard artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Richard Wake	....	additional artwork (3 episodes, 2013)
Jean Guillaume Culot	....	additional artwork (2 episodes, 2013)
Arnaud Joli	....	additional artwork (2 episodes, 2013)
Eva Lee Wallenberg	....	additional artwork (2 episodes, 2013)

Series Sound Department
Gregg Hall	....	sound recordist / voice recordist (19 episodes, 2011-2013)
James O'Brien	....	sound post production / voice recordist / ... (12 episodes, 2011-2013)

Series Special Effects by
Mathew Timms	....	special effects designer / special effects animator (3 episodes, 2013)

Series Visual Effects by
Parzival Röthlein	....	rigger (18 episodes, 2011-2013)
Edward Smith	....	compositing supervisor / lead compositor (15 episodes, 2011-2012)
Heiko Schneck	....	technical director (14 episodes, 2011-2012)
Egbert Reichel	....	look development artist: Studio Soi (13 episodes, 2011-2012)
Christian Hoehn	....	renderer / lighting and rendering (11 episodes, 2011-2013)
Cordula Langhans	....	props modeler (10 episodes, 2011)
Kathrin Julia Mueller	....	compositor (10 episodes, 2011)
Erik Dehkhoda	....	compositing supervisor (10 episodes, 2012-2013)
Mark Feller	....	rigger / rigging (8 episodes, 2011-2013)
Felix Schaller	....	renderer (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Matthieu Bernadat	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jens Blank	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Amber Carroll	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Borja Chicarro	....	lighting and rendering (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Robert Fletcher	....	lead lighting artist (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Brendan Harris	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Fran Johnston	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Abel Kohen	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Hadrien Ledieu	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Grigoris Leontiades	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ian Sargent	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Philippe Valette	....	compositor (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Nicolas Domerego	....	compositor (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Ambert	....	compositor (3 episodes, 2013)
Gilles Brinkhuizen	....	compositor (3 episodes, 2013)
Guillaume Cassuto	....	compositing supervisor (3 episodes, 2013)
Victoria Jardine	....	compositor (3 episodes, 2013)
Benoit Leleu	....	compositor (3 episodes, 2013)
Adrian Roca Pritchard	....	compositor (3 episodes, 2013)
Arseniy Testin	....	lighting and rendering (3 episodes, 2013)
Johannes Weiland	....	rigger (3 episodes, 2013)
Michael Bohnenstingl	....	compositor (2 episodes, 2013)

Series Animation Department
Jamie Teehan	....	animator (15 episodes, 2011-2012)
Joris van Hulzen	....	animation supervisor (15 episodes, 2011-2012)
Simon Kelleghan	....	animator (14 episodes, 2011-2012)
Cordula Langhans	....	blocking artist / character modeler & texture artist (13 episodes, 2011-2012)
Louise Bagnall	....	animator (10 episodes, 2011-2013)
Jardel Yvon	....	animation supervisor (10 episodes, 2011-2013)
Peter Slattery	....	animator (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Lisa A. Smith	....	layout assistant (10 episodes, 2012-2013)
Bianca Assad	....	animator (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Aurélie Charbonnier	....	animator / assistant animation director (8 episodes, 2011-2013)
Michael Sieber	....	blocking artist / head of animation / ... (8 episodes, 2011-2013)
Gillian Comerford	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Finbar Coyle	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Edghan Dalton	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tim Dowling	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tom Gray	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Karen Rohde Johansson	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Adam Kelly	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Stephen Kelly	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Monica Kennedy	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Estrela Lourenco	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Eamonn O'Neill	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
John O'Sullivan	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Mick O'Sullivan	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Susan Pendred	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ray Woods	....	animator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Giovanni Braggio	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2013)
Robert Etchingham	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Lionel Marchand	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Áine Maura McGuinness	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Paul O'Flanagan	....	head of animation (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Chris O'Hara	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Donata Pellizzari	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Gail Walton	....	storyboard artist (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Allan White	....	animator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Matt Layzell	....	animator (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Grace McDonnell	....	animator (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Carol Nolan	....	animator (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Dave Whyte	....	character designer (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Perez	....	background supervisor (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Geoffrey Skrajewski	....	background artist (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoine Birot	....	background artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Waldemar Fast	....	blocking artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Torben Meier	....	blocking artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Klaus Morschheuser	....	blocking artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Carlos Nieto Lopez	....	background artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Sabrina Schmid	....	blocking artist (4 episodes, 2011-2012)
Richard Wake	....	additional animator / animator (4 episodes, 2012-2013)
Robert Cullen	....	animation director (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Angela Jedek	....	blocking artist (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Francois Maumont	....	animator (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Stephen McGann	....	animator (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Egbert Reichel	....	background artist (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
Samy Barras	....	layout artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Yann Benedi	....	background artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Clement Bolla	....	additional animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Alina Bopele	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Pascalita Bories	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Andreu Campos	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Thomas Caudron	....	layout artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Raphaël Chabassol	....	character designer (3 episodes, 2013)
Benjamin Culot	....	character design assistant (3 episodes, 2013)
Aisling Doyle	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Jimeno Farfàn	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Benjamin Flouw	....	background artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Mic Graves	....	animation director (3 episodes, 2013)
Elodie Hiolle	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
William Laborie	....	character designer (3 episodes, 2013)
Françoise Losito	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Wesley Louis	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Pablo Lozano Ortega	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Sarah Menheere	....	additional animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Paul Nicholson	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Jeremy Pires	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Gillian Reid	....	additional animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Benjamin Rosentreter	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Roberto Rosi	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Keith Rowsell	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Maud Sertour	....	layout artist (3 episodes, 2013)
Christoph Siemens	....	assistant lead animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Henrik Soenniksen	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Hannes Stummvoll	....	assistant lead animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Vincent Techer	....	additional animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Emelie Timmermans	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Michele Tozzi	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Marie-Josephine Tucholski	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Lucas Vigroux	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
Line Windfeldt Pind	....	animator (3 episodes, 2013)
M. Balasubramanium	....	animator (2 episodes, 2013)
Adolfo di Molfetta	....	animator (2 episodes, 2013)
Galileo Disperati	....	animator (2 episodes, 2013)
Florent Saget	....	additional animator (2 episodes, 2013)
Sarah Theil Nielsen	....	animator (2 episodes, 2013)
Jonathan Vuillemin	....	background artist (2 episodes, 2013)

Series Editorial Department
Matt Pamplin	....	on-line editor (10 episodes, 2012-2013)
Anthony Hull	....	assistant editor (6 episodes, 2011-2012)

Series Music Department
Willie Dowling	....	composer: additional music / composer: additional songs (12 episodes, 2011-2013)
Neil Myers	....	composer: additional music (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Richard Overall	....	song lyrics (2 episodes, 2011)

Series Other crew
Richard Overall	....	voice director (19 episodes, 2011-2013)
Sarah Alabaster	....	production accountant (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Lou Dockstader	....	location manager (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Kent Osborne	....	story consultant (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tommy Panays	....	location manager (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tiffany Maberley	....	production (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Gavin McCue	....	production (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Antoinette-Marie Sabatier	....	puppets (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Annelyse Vieilledent	....	production (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Des Fitzgerald	....	production coordinator: Builder Media (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Karen Harper	....	production coordinator (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Sophie Kelly	....	production (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jenni MacNeaney	....	production coordinator: Builder Media (8 episodes, 2011-2012)
Mathias Schreck	....	technical director (7 episodes, 2011-2013)
Sebastian Knebel	....	production coordinator (7 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ian McCue	....	production (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Grant Orchard	....	titles (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
David A. Smith	....	production coordinator (4 episodes, 2012-2013)
Carleen Beadle	....	production accountant (3 episodes, 2013)
Peter Petri	....	it support (3 episodes, 2013)

Series Thanks
Charlie Bean	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Suzanne Berman	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Chris Garbutt	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Angelica Jung-Woo	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Alan Kerswell	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Sylvain Marc	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)
Dave Needham	....	special thanks (1 episode, 2011)

Production Companies

• Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe
• Studio Soi (in association with)
• Boulder Media (in association with)
• Dandelion Studios

Distributors

• Cartoon Network (2011) (UK) (TV)
• Cartoon Network (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Content Solutions (2011) (UK) (all media)

Also Known As:

"Gumball" - USA (alternative title)

Runtime:

11 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7 (FV)

Filming Locations:

Abraham Lincoln High School - 2162 24th Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe

The (periodically) Amazing World of Gumball

Looking for a tl;dr version? Here goes - TAWoG is a show of fantastic production quality with writing that's all over the place. When it works, it soars above all expectations; when it fails, it's practically unwatchable.

* * *

Here's why. From the first piece of promotional art I saw back in 2010, I was instantly drawn to the unique visual style cooked up by France's Ben Bocquelet, the mastermind behind Gumball's world. Almost every character looks like they were pulled from a completely different source, with some characters drawn in a traditional cartoon style, while others are puppets, CGI, 8-bit sprites, or even live action (which is also used for the backdrop of the show) - and stills from the show don't even come close to describing how much eye candy is packed into every frame. If you only have seen the show on Cartoon Network, I recommend that you look up the show's (conspicuously missing) theme song online, as it a great example of how much energy and creativity are possessed by the show's crew. Watching this show is the remedy I needed after the visually offensive "The Problem Solverz" ravaged my fragile cornea.

Aurally, the show almost reaches the same height of excellence. Although the voice actors are more than passable, the most enjoyable part of the show's audio experience is the soundtrack. The score is bubbly, cheery, fun - and when called for - epic.

The problem is that, under the fantastic visuals, music, and production value, the writing (especially the humor) can be quite lackluster, sometimes fatally so.

The most frequently recurring problem is simply a lack of originality. Despite the trippy visuals and wacky characters, the show's basic structure is your run-of-the-mill school sitcom. The plots are recycled, the characters cliché, and the outcomes predictable. The most glaringly obvious example is the main family, the Wattersons, who are about as unoriginal and tired as possible. You have the idiot father (think Peter Griffin crossed with Homer Simpson and Dick Daring) who can't do anything right, the genius kid (Lisa Simpson, maybe a bit a Stewie Griffin?), the voice-of-reason mom, and the trouble making boys. If you're looking for a show that subverts the "smart girls, dumb boys" dynamic, you had best look elsewhere. The father is especially poor, moving past simple incompetence to complete mental retardation at points. At times I found myself wishing he was either more like the stay-at-home dad on "Johnny Test," which is a terrible thing to want, or not in the show at all.

Predictably, the show works best when working with character traits and quirks that haven't been lifted wholesale from previous shows. The mother, Nicole, is bi-polar, and occasionally transforms into a suburban ninja of sorts. Even more importantly - perhaps the saving grace of the whole show - is that the titular Gumball is a refreshingly endearing male lead. Although he gets into loads of trouble, he isn't an extreme jerk like Johnny Test. The way the writers craft Gumball's dynamic with his adopted brother, Darwin, and girlfriend, Penny, can reach teeth-melting levels of adorability.

But again, this creates quite a large problem, this time with the show's humor. Bafflingly, the writers seem to think the best way to get laughs out of the audience is to take young Gumball and destroy him emotionally and physically in practically every episode. From being abused by his classmates, laughed at by his mother, and patronized by his sister, Gumball's cavalcade of suffering is usually the focal point of the show's surprisingly mean-spirited humor. And it barely ever works. The end sequence of the episode, "The Gi," is practically unwatchable due to the amount of public humiliation and pain inflicted on Gumball. Although the episode has a maddeningly cute happy ending, it feels disingenuous when compared to the mean-spirited tone preceding it.

Like with the characters, though, there are a handful of episodes that avoid this routine, and the difference in quality is astonishing. If you want to see the best Gumball has to offer, seek out the episodes, "The Dress," "The Pressure," "The DVD," and "The Third." Here the humor is based more on dialog, surprisingly adult innuendo, and interaction between the characters rather than cheap slapstick and cringe-inducing humiliation.

If the bad parts of this review seem too harsh, I would only say that it stems from the fact that the good episodes of TAWoG are so good, enjoyable, cute, and funny, that the bad ones stick out like a hand of sore thumbs. The show is still one of the better cartoons on TV today, and part of the small group of programs I even try to keep up with. I can only recommend that you don't give up after a single viewing, since the quality of the show's writing varies vastly between episodes.