Gumball
Gumball is a popular character that initially became known thanks to the cartoon about him. Due to the growing number of fans, more things devoted to and based on Gumball were created. Now people can enjoy not only 6 seasons but also numerous games and even fanfiction.Gumball is a 12-year-old kitten, who lives with his younger brother – a goldfish. He attends school and lives an ordinary life, so this is possibly the reason why so many people positively perceive this character — because he is completely understandable and relatable to them.
General description and history
The character appeared in the British-American cartoon series called ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’. The latest was created by B. Bocquelet for one of the cable channels – Cartoon Network. The series belongs to several genres simultaneously – fantasy, satire, animated sitcom, black comedy, surreal comedy & slapstick. It is one of the reasons for its impressive popularity among people of various ages.
The protagonist is a blue kitten with a remarkable appearance, which makes him prominent to the audience. His unique and sometimes strange surroundings and actions that happen in a fictional town in the state of California turned the character into an idol of millions. Actually, the group of creatures was randomly selected because Bocquelet decided to take a few characters for adverts that were rejected. And a blue kitten was one of them. Another peculiar thing about the blue kitten is his friends. Each of them is unique and has his or her own traits of character, which have an impact on the main hero. Just look at his adoptive brother – a goldfish. The family ties between cats and fish are quite odd, to say the least. And in the series, they can demonstrate that even the opposites might have much in common.
The show was first released in 2011. The pilot episode, which gave birth to numerous others in the future, was demonstrated to people in 2008. The program consists of 6 seasons and 240 episodes. The last season ended in 2019. However, due to the fact that kids and adults became so attached to the kitten, the creators decided to make a series of specials for this show. Thus, at end of 2019-2021, the character came back in 14 episodes. Besides, in 2021, the creators announced that they were going to release a movie based on the blue kitten.
The main character’s full name is Gumball Zachary Tristopher Watterson (also known as Trisha). In certain episodes, he also calls himself Zach because he was born with that name. He lives in Elmore together with his family. The blue kitten is the main character of all the officially released seasons. The hero goes to school and often loves being naughty. While the decorations of the show look quite realistic and even create a feeling of seriousness, the characters themselves, especially the kitten, are funny & awkward. Thus, the audience sees a sort of contrast. In general, the program is famous for its stylistic disunity, which is created on purpose. Even in one and the same scene, we can see that characters and objects are drawn with very different techniques, including traditional and flash animation, stop motion, puppetry, and many others.
The show has many references to various aspects of popular culture and today’s life. The fans adore the kitten and his friends for sarcasm, dark humor, and surely, self-referential humor. The protagonist became a legend and even received a cult following. The main hero touches on extremely important and acute issues in the show, including philosophy, intolerance in politics, marriage, mental diseases, cyberbullying, and many others.
As for the character of the protagonist, he was presented as very kind but naive at the very beginning of the program. Over the course of time, the audience could watch him becoming more logical, serious, and sarcastic. At the same time, the cat stayed straightforward, loyal, and benevolent. Having the desire to protect everyone he loves, the hero is also selfish, which plays tricks on him.
The cat was voiced by various actors, depending on the season:
• N. Jones in the pilot episode
• L. Grove in the first, second, and partially the third season
• Jacob Turner Hopkins starting from the third season (partially) and ending with ‘The Copycats’
• Nicolas Cantu in the third season and in ‘The Inquisition’
• Duke Cutler in special episodes (The Chronicles).
The other characters are voiced by the same people, except for the second main hero — the blue cat’s brother.
However, the influence of the protagonist is not limited to the described show. We can see a funny kitten in many other cartoons. These are his most significant roles:
1. Uncle Grandpa. The fans could see their favorite cat in the episode called Pizza Eve.
2. OK K.O.! Let us Be Heroes. A blue kitten has a cameo role here.
3. Crossover Nexus. The kitten also appears in a special chapter from Cartoon Network together with other creatures made by the company.
The show devoted to the blue kitten was broadcasted in over 120 countries across the globe. The show was nominated for multiple awards. Almost every year, it obtained at least one or two rewards for various aspects:
• Writing
• Animation
• Video content
• The best cartoon/kids’ program, etc.
The program was rewarded with the BAFTA Awards, BAAs, Promax BDA Global Excellence Award, Kids’ Choice Awards, and many other ceremonies. Even being nominated and awarded in terms of children’s experience, the blue cat is adored by many grown-ups across the world. Critics were also very positive about the series in general and about the protagonist in particular.
So many people like and admire Gumball because of his humanness. He is not perfect but still good, which makes him close and relatable to most people in the world.
Franchise
Due to the fact that Gumball is an iconic creature, the end of the show did not make him less popular. People continue loving him and creating various things based on the protagonists. Today, fans can enjoy:
• Comic books. By now, there are 8 issues in general (compiled in two volumes). They are written by F. Gibson and illustrated by T. Hesse. Those are popular webcomic creators. The first and second volumes were created in 2015 and 2016 correspondingly.
• Graphic novels. These are other exciting products based on the original series. They are created by several talented authors. The work was issued in 2017.
• The movie. The creators have been working on the franchise for a couple of years. Finally, the premiere was scheduled for August 2022. However, due to certain conditions, the release date was changed. Currently, the movie premiere in the US should happen in September 2023. The film will be shot by the animation flagship of Warner Brothers – HBSE with its headquarters in London. It will tell a fantastic story about the lost episode and feature the crossing of 2 realities. The genres of the film are announced as live-action and musical, so people will likely hear at least several nice songs.
• Video games. Several video games were developed on the basis of the program. An exciting product was released in the summer of 2022 for MS Windows, Nintendo, Stadia, PlayStation, and Xbox.
• Mobile gaming products. Due to the impressive popularity of the hero, diverse mobile games were also created for mobile phones. It is possible to find adventurous games, puzzles, drawing games, racing, quizzes, and so on.
• A book called ‘Once Upon a Time in Elmore’ tells a story of the first meeting of the blue cat & his affection – Penny. The book was published in 2015.
• A set of other books. It is not the first time publishers create products based on Cartoon Network pieces of the oeuvre. As usual, the books devoted to this blue kitten turned out to be successful. The set includes 16 books written for young audiences. The books were published from 2014 to 2019.
• Merch. Due to the extreme popularity of the protagonist among both kids and adults, there are many branded products, including clothes for children and grown-ups (t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, sweatshirts, etc.), accessories (such as pins, phone/laptop cases, gloves, stickers, magnets, hats, bags, etc.), home decor (wall art, notebooks, organizers, bedding, pillows, mugs, lamps), toys (figurines, soft toys, puzzles), and so on.
• Fan fiction. There exist many websites on the Internet devoted to the protagonist. Here, fans can exchange opinions concerning the title character and his friends or the future of the series, share illustrations drawn by them, and even tell their own stories based on the subject.
Printed goods
The fame of the cartoon protagonist made him a perfect basis for various written editions described earlier. The books and novels are available in both paper and electronic versions. Kids and grown-ups can order them on Amazon, GoodReads, or other platforms to feel the atmosphere created by the well-known series.
Free online simple games themed with Gumball
Along with official products created for PCs and other popular gaming platforms, the Internet offers instant-play games, which feature a well-known whiskered hero. Consider the most popular types of games devoted to this character:
• Racing (the popular characters together with the blue kitten will take part in races to be the first to reach the finish line)
• Sports competitions (the kitten and his friends will compete in various types of sports, while players should do their best to make the main hero grow stronger and win over the opponents)
• Collecting games with the favorite heroes (an opportunity to collect stickers and other items)
• Adventurous games (which require competing in various tasks and missions to level up or reach the goal)
• Strategies and tactics (every character has unique abilities, so gamers should do their best to use them right and win the opponents)
• Cooking games (with such gaming products, gamers can open and develop their talents and try treating Gumball himself & his friends)
• Fighting (the kitten has not only friends but also competitors and antagonists, so such games will give a chance to beat them)
• Escape games and survivals (one of the popular genres is now available with this famous cat, so play to try to escape from home, school, or any other location without running into trouble)
• Arcade games (keep moving by using blocks or try to reach the goal in any other conditions presented in the game)
• Painting games (for those who like a relaxing pastime, such products will help get real pleasure and add something personal to the favorite character’s look)
• Puzzles (various pictures from the sitcom featuring the main character will help recall the good old episodes and heroes).
Mini-games devoted to the sitcom and the famed blue kitten are regularly updated on our website to let the fans enjoy new stories as often as possible. Such gaming products are available in your browser on PCs, laptops, and mobile phones. Everyone is free to play them whenever there is a free minute or two. There is no need to download anything, just open the website and make sure to have a stable Internet connection. And don’t forget to check for updates to our online free games once in a while — the catalog is being replenished.
