The Amazing World of Gumball. Reading the name of the show might make it sound utterly absurd, but that's only because you haven't seen it. When you get the whole feel of the show, you can see why they called it that. Everything about TAWOG is unique, harmless, entertaining, and like nothing you've ever seen before-- with funny characters (albeit stereotyped), harmless humor that is almost never crass yet still hilarious (for those who hate Teen Titans Go!) and inventive stories that are a mix of surrealism, drama and over-the-top hilarity. With all that in only one show, how could anyone possibly resist?
The premise of the show is simple; it's how the set-up is taken to crazy measures that makes everything entertaining. TAWOG takes place in a fictional town called Elmore where everything is just WACKO. The main characters are a family called the Wattersons, who are unintentionally a nuisance to almost everyone around them at some time or another. Nicole is the mother, a blue cat who is the cliche hard-working mother who strives to support her family. Richard is the father, a huge pink bunny (how can two different animals have offspring that are NOT mixed breeds?) who does nothing but sit around all day and eat--a rather insulting but admittedly necessary character. There is no way the family could have been as funny without his stupidity thrown in. Gumball, for whom the show is named, is a cat like his mom--a rather self-centered yet likable character who is the main protagonist. Darwin is his adopted brother--a fish with feet that can live out of water, his constant companion. Lastly, Anais--the genius sister, at four years old, a little pink bunny a grade above her two brothers.
That's just the beginning of all the weird creatures in this show. The city of Elmore is truly an amazing place--the title does not rob the credit it deserves. The town is all realistically photographed backgrounds, which is already unique in a cartoon show. And the inhabitants are anything but normal--you have a CGI family of bananas, a 3-d monkey teacher who's been around since the beginning of time, a cut-out figure with a drawn face and clothes, two neighbors who oddly resemble muppets, a family of peanuts who happen to have antlers...I could go on. All these different techniques--CGI, live action, and various styles of cartoon animation, are all morphed into one crazy world, seamlessly done and with amazing results.
And the stories--they vary in many ways also. You have episodes like "The Fury" and "The Nobody", which are overly dramatic yet entertaining in a weird sort of way. You also have episodes like "The World", "The Downer", and "The Signal" which are surrealistic and creative while staying fun. And then there's stuff that's just plain over-the-top funny, like "The Heist" and "The Tape". While I can think of some episodes I'm not particularly too fond of, I can say I haven't seen anything that was annoying, not containing any humor, and disappointing. That's saying a lot--after all, most shows have poor episodes at one time or another.
TAWOG would be a great show for families to see. After all, I said there's really nothing crass or insulting here, everything's just a heap of good, clean humor to be had. Overall, "The Amazing World of Gumball" gets my vote of 10/10--and probably also as being the best show on the Cartoon Network.
EDIT: As of June 24, 2019, this show has met its sad end. Although having seen a few episodes of it in 2017, I really only became a fan at the end of 2018 to present. This is a wonderful show and Ben Bocquelet clearly lost his marbles when he decided to give up on it. (At least we have an upcoming movie, still in its early stages, to look forward to). Thankfully, bless their souls, Cartoon Network has not stopped airing it and continues to replay old episodes as though the thing was still going strong. It's my hope that plenty of reruns of Gumball are in CN's future.
The premise of the show is simple; it's how the set-up is taken to crazy measures that makes everything entertaining. TAWOG takes place in a fictional town called Elmore where everything is just WACKO. The main characters are a family called the Wattersons, who are unintentionally a nuisance to almost everyone around them at some time or another. Nicole is the mother, a blue cat who is the cliche hard-working mother who strives to support her family. Richard is the father, a huge pink bunny (how can two different animals have offspring that are NOT mixed breeds?) who does nothing but sit around all day and eat--a rather insulting but admittedly necessary character. There is no way the family could have been as funny without his stupidity thrown in. Gumball, for whom the show is named, is a cat like his mom--a rather self-centered yet likable character who is the main protagonist. Darwin is his adopted brother--a fish with feet that can live out of water, his constant companion. Lastly, Anais--the genius sister, at four years old, a little pink bunny a grade above her two brothers.
That's just the beginning of all the weird creatures in this show. The city of Elmore is truly an amazing place--the title does not rob the credit it deserves. The town is all realistically photographed backgrounds, which is already unique in a cartoon show. And the inhabitants are anything but normal--you have a CGI family of bananas, a 3-d monkey teacher who's been around since the beginning of time, a cut-out figure with a drawn face and clothes, two neighbors who oddly resemble muppets, a family of peanuts who happen to have antlers...I could go on. All these different techniques--CGI, live action, and various styles of cartoon animation, are all morphed into one crazy world, seamlessly done and with amazing results.
And the stories--they vary in many ways also. You have episodes like "The Fury" and "The Nobody", which are overly dramatic yet entertaining in a weird sort of way. You also have episodes like "The World", "The Downer", and "The Signal" which are surrealistic and creative while staying fun. And then there's stuff that's just plain over-the-top funny, like "The Heist" and "The Tape". While I can think of some episodes I'm not particularly too fond of, I can say I haven't seen anything that was annoying, not containing any humor, and disappointing. That's saying a lot--after all, most shows have poor episodes at one time or another.
TAWOG would be a great show for families to see. After all, I said there's really nothing crass or insulting here, everything's just a heap of good, clean humor to be had. Overall, "The Amazing World of Gumball" gets my vote of 10/10--and probably also as being the best show on the Cartoon Network.
EDIT: As of June 24, 2019, this show has met its sad end. Although having seen a few episodes of it in 2017, I really only became a fan at the end of 2018 to present. This is a wonderful show and Ben Bocquelet clearly lost his marbles when he decided to give up on it. (At least we have an upcoming movie, still in its early stages, to look forward to). Thankfully, bless their souls, Cartoon Network has not stopped airing it and continues to replay old episodes as though the thing was still going strong. It's my hope that plenty of reruns of Gumball are in CN's future.