I am allowed to talk about one of the clips that I had the good fortune of seeing. Perhaps I will be able to talk about the others, in time, but hopefully this will pique some interests. The opening sequence is roughly fourteen seconds long; it is instrumental, without lyrics, but it’s primarily a visual piece. I will post some screenshots from the opening sequence and the clip in question, but please keep in mind that while these are not in widescreen, the series actually is.
I loved the opening. The visuals are a lot to comprehend and you have to see it in motion to really appreciate all of it; there was one part at the end, sort of like a kaleidoscope, that I didn’t want to take a screenshot of because the movement is what makes it enjoyable. I particularly like the expression that Gumball’s mom is making in the second screenshot; mothers in animation are seldom “fun” characters, so I’m hoping that she’ll break that trend and be a fun character.
As for the clip itself – I really enjoyed it. It was somewhat on the short side and I wish I would have known the context – why is Gumball wearing a dress, for example – but I really liked all of the voices and it’s nice seeing the animation in motion. I believe the network’s decision to cast non-traditional voice actors has paid off, as the kids actually sound like kids. The series
felt like it had more in common with
Chowder and
The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack; I am somewhat concerned by this, because Cartoon Network has had somewhat of a tonal shift since those days, but not every show needs to skew as old as
Regular Show does. I am certain there is room on the network for more than one type of comedy.
I just hope that it does premiere in the states. It should. I’m just uneased by the lack of an official confirmation; I suppose all we can do is wait until the upfront and hope for the best.