He’s Gumby dammit!

Fox announced today that it had acquired one of the remaining independent franchises in animation, the long-running Gumby, about the green clay animated hero and his horse sidekick Pokey. Until now, the rights to Gumby were held by Joseph Clokey, the son of the character’s creator and animator, Art Clokey. Now Fox Entertainment has acquired the rights to the series with plans to create “new animated Series, live-action original content, NFTs, consumer products, licensing, publishing and more.”

An NFT of a clay animated figure is a really wild concept when you think about it.

According to the official press release, Fox has also “acquired the full library of Gumby animated series, specials, movies and content, which will expand Tubi’s current offerings of the franchise.” Fox acquired the Tubi streaming service in 2020.

Art Clokey invented Gumby in the early 1950s; he first debuted in a short that aired as part of Howdy Doody, where he proved popular enough to get his own spinoff series. The press release about Fox’s acquisition also claims to have a statement from Gumby himself, which reads:

Picking a new home was important to me, and I’ve found great partners in FOX Entertainment. They have a vision for my modern, multi-platform reemergence, which is thrilling.  Throughout our conversations, Pokey and I reiterated that we are talent they can mold.  Literally.

A longtime children’s favorite, the last major new Gumby creation was 1995’s Gumby: The Movie, although reruns of the various Gumby TV series from throughout the years have aired endlessly in syndication and online since then. The last Gumby series, Gumby Adventures, premiered in 1988. So perhaps the time is right, all these years later, for a reinvented Gumby. Fox certainly hopes so.

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