I am a fan of the surreal and this series seems just about as surreal as one could imagine. Created by Ben Bocquelet, The Amazing World Of Gumball is about a blue cat named Gumball and his day-to-day life, in which he will interact with his numerous friends: a goldfish, a tyrannosaurus rex, a cheerleading peanut and a banana. Some would say that cast of characters seems unusual, but I don't believe that "unusual" is a strong of enough word. What makes the series even stranger is that, while most of the characters are going to be 2D, much of their world is live-action and there are 3D characters as well. As you can see in the above image, it makes for a very bizarre looking series.
Unfortunately, the series was only recently announced and there isn't a whole lot of information out there.
I have stared at that picture for quite some time and it fills me with a sense of awe that I can't quite explain. That the mailbox and the sun have happy faces just bewilders me. That strange house with the googly eyes and the canopy that looks like a mouth leaves me both frightened and giddy with anticipation. The only thing that bothers me is the unhappy looking 3D married couple, as such characters have become cliché over the years. I do like how adorable the characters in the center of the image look, but I wish I knew more about them.
The series is being developed by Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network Development Studio in Europe. Forty episodes have been planned at this point, but since each episode is only 11 minutes long, the total number of episodes will be 20 once they're paired together. Its development is expected to take two years, which places it in a 2011-2012 launch date. According to one of the writers for the series, it will air in the United States, and despite the fact that it's being developed in Europe, it will make use of U.S. voice talent.
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