Rogues' Roundup: Gumby and Pokey unboxing!

 

In doing this blog, one of the givens is that there's a lot of random. That applies with my toy reviews, though it's usually not as obvious just because I'm usually already backlogged. This time around, I have a new and genuinely unexpected acquisition, which I found while at a certain chain that's both a restaurant and a store. By my experience, it leans towards what I would call "pseudonostalgia", licensed merchandise and knockoffs based on old toy lines and properties that aren't direct reproductions or reissues. I wasn't surprised to see a certain familiar pair on sale, which interested me more than anything else. Here they are together on card.

These are, of course, Gumby and Pokey. What stands out from hindsight is that their whole role in my childhood amounted to pseudonostalgia. I think I first learned about them when I was given a set of quite small figures of the pair sometime in the mid- to late 1980s, in all likelihood from an adult who was open to the nostalgia angle. (I still have them, but decided not to include them here.) Apart from that, I can only recall seeing the characters in a few ads, then mainly in already old comic books. I did certainly see other claymation as a kid, including the Will Vinton ads and specials and probably Davey And Goliath, as well as one or two odd sightings where even my recollections are shaky. Somewhat later, I watched Wallace And Gromit, a springboard to my love of stop-motion. Still, I only remember watching the genuine Gumby article in the last few years, and I have to say I've been jarringly underwhelmed. Apparently, what I've watched are 1950s shorts that preceded the actual show, which would presumably have been more polished. Even so, it's a weak nucleus for a property that was still considered relevant in the 1980s, let alone today.

With all that aside, there's still no question that these guys are just plain cool. The larger scale is definitely an improvement, bringing out both the dynamic simplicity of the designs and the smaller details that would be easy to miss, like Pokey's ears and the suggestion of a '50s hairstyle on Gumby. Here's a few pics of them unboxed.

Yeah, this doesn't work for either of them...

And here's a pic with the Truckstop Queen! She might be taller than Gumby, but I'm calling it even, and as I've frequently pointed out, she's huge.

Besides being big, these guys are advertised as poseable. It's on the same lines as proto-action figures of the 1950s and '60s, presumably with wire inside the rubber. From limited testing, they work well enough. Gumby can assume a range of poses and even stay on his feet. Pokey is wobbly by comparison, but he can at least assume a realistic pose. Here they are posed.

And here's a view from the rear.

With that, I've really gone as far as I can with this. It's been an actual quick post, which I'm more than satisfied with. Notwithstanding the perils of pseudonostalgia, these guys do bring back at least a small part of my own childhood. Even without that, they represent a milestone in the evolution of an artform I l love. And how about a few more pics with the Queen and Connie... and Kong???

"Sorry, but canonically, you're a kid."

"Giddyup? Lady, you're lucky your butt isn't in a pile of clay."

"Forget it, Gumby. He's from when stop-motion was for grownups."

That's all for now, more to come!