Customer Reviews

Gumby, Boxed Set (7dv)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Who in their right mind would release a classic like Gumby with all of the 80's stupid/silly sounding music! We want "Gumby" how Gumby was! Since I spent my almost 100.00, the box set has been sitting on a shelf in my garage! I was so upset, and felt I was taken advantage of. If they had put, "Sound not original", somewhere on the box, I would not have purchased it, nor many others.
Sigh...

Here it is! All the Gumby episodes packed into one collection. It is great to be able to watch all the episodes of Gumby, and they are even in chronological order. However, the set could have been put together way better. It receives four stars because it is a Gumby box set, the first time all the episodes were put together like this. Here are some notes on the features of the set:

The Soundtrack: This is a partially annoying part of the set. They used the synth track made in the 80s for the episodes. I have many VHS sets made by F.H.E. and they used the original soundtracks. So, its not as if the original sound was lost or anything like that. However, Gumby's voice is done by the same person and the rest of the voices are done well enough.

Episodes: I hate the way the episodes are cut up into different parts. The original 22 episodes were 12 minutes in lenght and then cut up to make 44 6 minute episoeds. This is not done by Rhino, but was done by the studio way back when. I have no idea why they did it, but it is annoying.

Packaging: The DVDs do fold out in an awkward way. I like it though because it is different and makes it unique. The set also comes with a Gumby figurine.

Special Features: There are several of Clokey's original clay featuers that are cool to watch. The interview with Clokey himself, however, is very boring. The interview with the voice of Gumby is better. It almost seems as though the voice of
Gumby likes the series more than the one who created it.

Bad points: The menus and navigation in the set is very annoying. The Rhino introduction is retarded. Between each episode there is an introduction to the next one. The intros are repetetive and really stupid. I don't like the new gumby song that plays during the menus. I hate the children singing it. The navigation is so overly childish that I think even children would be annoyed by it.

Overall Value: The value of having all these gumby episodes availible in this way makes this set worth everything. The packaging and presentation could have been way better and I have no idea why they chose to go with the soundtrack that they went with. Maybe they thought modern children would enjoy it more. Who knows?

All these other reviews down this dvd so much, i grew up with gumby in the late 80s early 90s and i cant notice a difference in music or voice quality, which is what everyones complaining about, i do notice in the early episodes, there voices are different, but thats obviosly how they started out. This dvd is true to the era of gumby in the 80s. This is the best box set i have ever owned, and will be treasured for ever. I reccommend not thinking twice about buying it, think once and think yes. This is a classic to show the kids, and they will love it as much as you did. This is a great buy, and i give it 5 stars.

Don't let the reviews of other people fool you. Any original animation of Gumby is superb, no matter whats going on with the soundtrack

As I've posted, like that Akira fellow, I agree with Rick..I have the Capitol Music scored 1980s FAMILY HOME ENTERTAINEMNT Gumby;'s, and they hold uyp, the modern day music sounds horrible..

Carrie Keller is right on ab0ou the licensing and longer epeisode issues (the earlier ones in the syndication DID seem like they came in pairs, and that first, outer space one had THREE parts remade.."MOON TRIP" and in either order - I'm just using alphabetical order here-"GUMBY ON THE MOON?TRAPPED ON THE MOON")..thanks Carrie Keller (another two time poster here) for the explaination there and for admitting the original music was great even though you also enjoy the new music.

To the several who seem to be actng like most reviews of the GUMBY box set are mean, it isn't that anyone is mean per se here, but rather it's coming from (in many a case) an older fan of the show who recalls the audio, music for the roginals, before the 1980s "video rights" thing (Capitol's own superstar Peggy Lee had it out with Disney at the time over 1955's LADY AND THE TRAMP, so did the House of Mouse's SLEEPY BEUATY (1959), Mary Costa, the Fox and the Hound writer Daniel P.Mannixx,etc.)

(This also happened to the old Captain Video space ace 1950s raido/tv series when sponsor Ovaltine held the rigths to the name..names are even changed, as Jack Webbmight say in still antoher beloved TV property to change the legally protected innocent.This happened with CASPER too, to composer WInston Sharple's music, but the difference for me was, see, I never partticarly cared for those..I did like the Sharples music and loved the 1958-59 FELIX and his MAGICO BAG cartoons with that score...Rhino, as otrhers have said, you can do better, and you usually do much more than better.

I have had my heart set on owning this box for months...however, I didn't realize until today when I finally had it in my hands and in my player that I had not once checked any Amazon reviews. I guess I would never in my wildest dreams imagine that Rhino would screw up so badly, and mis-lead (by mentioning nothing) so severely. It's true that finding these treasures so de-faced can cause severe depression and feelings of being betrayed in a middle-aged collector. The fact that they managed to collect almost all the cartoons and the art pieces in one box is impressive and admirable -- but the nauseating scores and re-dubbed voices make it almost impossible to maintain the gratitude. What's even more depressing, it is completely unlikely that this will ever be corrected. Ah, life is a bitter mystery!

Although I LOVE Rhino, and am forever grateful for their ever-expanding catalogue and preservation of potentially lost pop culture arcana, this set is disastrous. I wrote a letter of complaint to the company, and was told that the original music could not be afforded, so Rhino chose to release the botched rehashes from the 1980s. What galls me (in addition to the mere fact that they would dare release these treasures in this format in the first place) is the marketing which makes NO MENTION of the rotten synthesizer musak and the chopped up episodes. The packaging gives the altogether false impression that you are getting the real thing, in its original glory. WHY???!!!???

The shorts are not in order so that you have part two of an episode before part one. The soundtrack is not the original one so that you have a synthesized keyboard playing in the background of shorts made in the late 1950's - this can dull your nostalgia experience. The pamphlet (not booklet) that comes with it gives no history, no original air dates, etc., You will have to guess when an episode is from by its look. The box unfolds in a bizarre manner and the individual DVDs have no jewel boxes. They are also difficult to free from the hard plastic holder. I had to pry mine loose very carefully. I ended up keeping the DVDs in a plastic bag as the box was totally useless. The Gumby figure toy that comes with it is a miniature and not the original size that was marketed for years. The extras on disc seven are mostly worthwhile but why didn't they have an entire episode of Howdy Doody (where Gumby was first introduced)? The Gumby transfers are generally good with only a few episodes faded as far as colors go. My biggest beef is that you have to watch the FBI warning and the short Gumby/Rhino intro every time you press the menu button on your DVD player. This was very annoying. Rhino has done an incredibly sloppy, thoughtless job with this release. It is as if they just threw all of the episodes together with little concern that many fans were expecting the ultimate Gumby collection - for themselves and for their kids. Instead, we have to put up with this collection as it is unlikely that Rhino will ever correct their mistakes.

I don,t see why some people think this is bad.Gumby is one of the greatest tv cartton characters created.I,m glad this is on dvd.I loved gumby ever since i was a child.I,m going to buy it in the middle of August.This dvd is spectacular!!

I always like the original of anything. These DVD's stink. Sorry folks. To the reviewer who speculated that maybe the original music was lost ..... Impossible. I have 16MM copies of a couple of episodes that are completely intact. If nothing else, Rhino could have gone that route. Yes, the masters are usually the best, but if a 16MM is the only original left, then please use it. Thank you.