History YMMV / Gumby

** In TheMovie, when the robot Gumby is melting away, the lightsaber it's holding is positioned over it's crotch. Either that, or it's a {{Film/Spaceballs}} reference.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Art Clokey claimed to have experimented with LSD only ''after'' he'd created the Gumby shorts, but gave it up almost immediately when he saw that it was affecting his family, later calling it the worst experience of his life. [[AnimatedActor Gumby himself]] said he never touched the stuff (but Pokey probably did).

* SpecialEffectFailure[=/=]OffModel:

** In TheMovie, when the robot Gumby is melting away, the lightsaber it's holding is positioned over it's crotch. Either that, or it's a Film/Spaceballs reference.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Gumby's little sister is named Minga, which also happens to be a very common Italian swear (meaning either "dick" or "to urinate").

* IdiotPlot: Most of the movie runs on this. Lowbelly has the ability to ''cry pearls'', an ability that is neither explained nor is it noticed by Gumby, Lowbelly's ''owner'', until the events of the film. What causes Lowbelly to cry? ''Gumby's constant morphing''. Anyone familiar with Gumby is fully aware of his ability to do this, and somehow Lowbelly believes his owner has ''left him'' every time he physically changes appearance. Why is Lowbelly so distressed by what for any clay figure is otherwise a completely normal thing? The Podcast/RiffTrax AlternateDVDCommentary jokes about how the characters' ability to pass into books, etc. means they shouldn't have to worry about ''unlocking doors''.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** [[BodyHorror Gumby melting in the episodes.]] This is turned UpToEleven in an episode of ''Series/FreddysNightmares'' when the melting is made to seem as if [[FridgeHorror Gumby just got caught up in a nuclear explosion]]!

* WeirdAlEffect:
** "[[Creator/EddieMurphy I'm Gumby, dammit!]]"
** The 1956 episode "Robot Rumpus" is arguably more known for when Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot riffed on it in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

* HilariousInHindsight: The Gumby short "Santa Witch" has a witch filling in for Santa Claus who gets sick on Christmas. This was a few decades before [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas another figure associated with Halloween decided to replace Santa on Christmas]]. Bonus points for the latter film ALSO being stop motion and employing some of Gumby's animators.

* IdiotPlot: Most of the movie runs on this. Lowbelly has the ability to ''cry pearls'', an ability that is neither explained nor is it noticed by Gumby, Lowbelly's ''owner'', until the events of the film. And what causes Lowbelly to cry? ''Gumby's constant morphing''. Anyone familiar with Gumby is fully aware of his ability to do this, and somehow Lowbelly believes his owner has ''left him'' every time he physically changes appearance. Why is Lowbelly so distressed by what for any clay figure is otherwise a completely normal thing? The Podcast/RiffTrax AlternateDVDCommentary jokes about how the characters' ability to pass into books, etc. means they shouldn't have to worry about ''unlocking doors''.

** [[BodyHorror Gumby melting in the episodes.]] That was turned UpToEleven in an episode of ''Series/FreddysNightmares'' when the melting is made to seem as if [[FridgeHorror Gumby just got caught up in a nuclear explosion]]!

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] headed up a Gumby game for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance titled "Gumby vs. The Astrobots", a side-scrolling platformer where the Blockheads used robots to kidnap Gumby's family and friends, leaving Gumby to save the day. Aside from being a bit repetitive at a few points, the final game was actually pretty decent.

** In certain scenes in which Gumby and the other characters walk or drive into a book, the animators used ''different'' models for the characters and vehicles. And these models were either crudely made or 2D!

** Any scene which requires MotionBlur is inevitably just live-action footage of the clay model being moved in real time. The most egregious is in "Rain Spirit," where Gumby diving into a pool is achieved by literally filming his model being dropped into the water as Pokey remains completely motionless.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Creator/EddieMurphy's take on the character is much better known to modern audiences, and even the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' commentary for "Robot Rumpus" seems to be eclipsing ''that''. With the MST3K SpiritualSuccessor Podcast/RiffTrax tackling the movie in 2021, this seems likely to continue.

* IdiotPlot: Most of the movie runs on this. Lowbelly has the ability to ''cry pearls'', an ability that is neither explained nor is it noticed by Gumby, Lowbelly's ''owner'', until the events of the film. And what causes Lowbelly to cry? ''Gumby's constant morphing''. Anyone familiar with Gumby is fully aware of his ability to do this, and somehow Lowbelly believes his owner has ''left him'' every time he physically changes appearance. Why is Lowbelly so distressed by what for any clay figure is otherwise a completely normal thing? The Podcast/RiffTrax AlternativeDVDCommentary jokes about how the characters' ability to pass into books, etc. means they shouldn't have to worry about unlocking doors.

* AdaptationDisplacement: Creator/EddieMurphy's take on the character is much better known to modern audiences, and even the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' commentary for "Robot Rumpus" seems to be eclipsing ''that''.

* CultClassic: The movie is one of the more fondly-remembered non-Disney animated features from UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation and enjoyed a healthy life on cable TV in the '90s.

* IdiotPlot: Most of the movie runs on this. Lowbelly has the ability to ''cry pearls'', an ability that is neither explained nor is it noticed by Gumby, Lowbelly's ''owner'', until the events of the film. And what causes Lowbelly to cry? ''Gumby's constant morphing''. Anyone familiar with Gumby is fully aware of his ability to do this, and somehow Lowbelly believes his owner has ''left him'' every time he physically changes appearance. Why is Lowbelly so distressed by what for any clay figure is otherwise a completely normal thing?

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the 1980s episode "All Cooped Up", Tilly the chicken is kidnapped by the Blockheads and taken to an egg factory. She asks the hen in the coop next to hers what it's going on, to which the other hen responds, "It's ''hell'', Tilly!"

** In the "Take Me Away" scene from TheMovie, the animators' tools can be seen popping in and out of the distant background when Gumby and Tara are dancing in the hall of giant Pokeys.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Many key people of the animation industry got their start in the 1980s series, and went on to such things as Creator/{{Pixar}} and ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''.

* EarWorm: "Take me a-waaaaaaaaay/Oh, Gumby!"
** "He's goin'/This way an' that!"
** And from the original series: "He can go into any book/With his pony pal Pokey, too/If you've got a heart than Gumby's a part of you"
** Some of the Capitol/John Seely stock music in the original shorts.

* TearJerker: The 1988 closing credits' music, which is enough to make kids tear up.