Gumby, with his pony Pokey, are celebrating their 50th birthday with a new push to get the show back on the air. Unless otherwise noted, all images © Premavision, Inc. 2005.

While a student at USC, Art Clokey (seen above in the 1950s) made Gumbasia, a short film. The following year, Clokey signed a deal for a TV series and the world of Gumby was born.

In 1955, a pupil of legendary animator Slavko Vorkapich produced a short clay animated student film at the University of Southern California. The pupil’s name was Art Clokey and his short film was Gumbasia. The following year, Clokey signed a deal for a TV series with a protagonist based on his clay film. The world of Gumby was born, and 50 years later, Clokey and Gumby are celebrating their golden anniversary by trying to get Gumby back on the air.

To commemorate both the 125th anniversary of his alma mater and to help kick-start the 2006 Gumby at 50 festivities, Clokey made what is these days considered to be a rare appearance on Sept. 28, at the USC School of Cinema-Television as part USC’s DADA (Division of Animation and Digital Arts) animation seminar. After sustaining a fall and breaking some bones, coupled with a series of minor strokes over the last six months, Clokey’s mobility and speech are limited. Although his mental faculties are perfect at age 84, without full speech capabilities, Art has been obliged to have his son Joe speak on his behalf. Joe Clokey has taken over the executive duties at Premavision, the umbrella company for Clokey Prods.

At 50, Gumby is undoubtedly a part of Americana. Although never as popular as the likes of Mickey or Bugs, everyone seems to have a particular memory of Gumby or Pokey — of their adventures, of their innocence and of their fun. Exhibits celebrating both Art Clokey and Gumby began this past summer at the Lynn House Gallery near San Francisco and at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. While it has been nearly 20 years since Gumby last graced the small screen in original episodes, Clokey Prods. is set to keep Gumby alive and a part of America well into the 21st century. So Animation World Magazine sat down with Art’s son Joe to discuss the significance of Gumby at 50 and the future of clay animation.

Gerard Raiti: Why has Gumby been so popular for 50 years?

Joe Clokey: There’s something that captures people’s imagination with Gumby. My dad told not only wonderful stories but created this character that embodies wonderment and adventure. Gumby has these surrealistic journeys where he goes through Toyland, in and out of books, in the future and in the past — that sense of imagination has a very potent draw for Americans. He captures the imaginations of children and adults. Gumby lives on because he represents my dad’s artistic vision, but more importantly, Gumby represents his love of children. My mother and father have a real strong love of children, and they wanted to give something of love back to children. That’s what Gumby represents. Because my dad is such an adventuresome guy, his stories are fun. Gumby represents that pure character that my dad is.

GR: With all the advancements in computer animation over the last two decades, why does stop-motion animation still work today?