Gummibär & Friends: The Gummy Bear Show (simply referred to as Gummibär & Friends or The Gummy Bear Show) is an American animated web series based off on the Gummibär brand that was created by Dan Wicksman and Nuria Wicksman. The series was premiered through YouTube on June 24, 2016 before being exported across the world in different languages on April 1, 2020. It contains 2 seasons, of which there are 39 episodes in each of them, with an approximate running time of 7 to 8 minutes.
The series focuses on the main protagonist of the show, Gummibär, a green anthropomorphic gummy bear who lives in an apartment of Gummilandia alongside his best friends Kala and Harry. They go on fun-filled adventures throughout the episodes, whether in their apartment or hanging out with other characters, which are Mr. Kronk, who is known as Gummy's grouchy rival, and Granny Peters, an elderly scientist who enjoys baking cookies and gardening. In the middle of each episode, a song written specifically for the episode would play performed by the singing voice actor of Gummibär.
The series was initially produced by Toonz Media Group in partnership with Gummybear International in the first season, and subsequently Melon Animation produced the animation of the second season.
Development[]
The idea for a Gummibär animated series struck long time ago in 2009 while both of the character and the song was being a immense success among the younger audiences. Jürgen Korduletsch, one of the employers involved in the original song, mentioned about a possible animated series and film that were being considered for development in some future, commenting, “We will make an animated movie at the best studio there is in Hungary, and we are negotiating to make a TV series featuring Gummy as the main character”.[3]
At one point, an earlier concept of a Gummibär animated television series was in production some time between 2011 and 2012 that was simply titled "The Gummibär Show". The series had a promotional pilot on the main channel for a short time until it was silently removed eventually. Unlike the final product, this series had a slightly different CG animation style and kept Gummibär’s original trademark autotuned voice provided by Maci Schneider. The pilot even had an alternate version that featured a commentary between Gummibär and the famous fictional character James Bond also removed. The reasons for its cancellation remain unknown
On December 9, 2015, Toonz Media Group would secure a major deal with Gummybear International for the production of a Gummibär animated television series extending the brand’s reach in entertainment and merchandising that would be eventually revealed online. Go For Launch Productions would create the main production designs and the art direction.[1]
On June 18, 2016, the first teaser trailer depicting what would be the animated series would be finally revealed in YouTube, featuring earlier production of the scenes from different episodes. The series would debut with a 7-minute episode that was premiered on YouTube on June 24, 2016.
On December 12, 2018, the second season would be announced to be premiered the following day, December 13, 2018 along with other content of the series as part of a Premiere Party event. The first episode would be revealed at 3:15 PM EST on YouTube.[4] Unlike the previous season, Melon Animation would be in charge to produce the animation of the episodes.[2]
A third season of the series is currently to be decided, as well as a possible mini-series of short episodes.[5] At the moment, none of these ideas have been developed or revealed to the general public yet.
List of characters[]
Main characters[]
Recurring characters[]
Cast[]
| Character | Portrayed by |
|---|---|
| Gummy | Phillipa Alexander (dialogue) |
| Maci Schneider (songs) | |
| Kala | Becca Stewart |
| Harry | Adam Diggle |
| Granny Peters | Dan Russell |
| Mr. Kronk |
Episodes[]
- Main article: Gummibär & Friends/List of episodes
| Season | Episodes | Premiere | Finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 39 | June 24, 2016 | May 12, 2017 |
| 2 | 39 | December 13, 2018 | August 26, 2022 |
Languages[]
Music[]
The cover art of The Gummy Bear Show: Season One Soundtrack
The series largely includes an original song written specifically for each episode's primary subject performed by Gummibär. Unlike in the dialogues, Maci Schneider, the recurring singing voice actor of Gummibär, would perform all of the songs instead of Phillipa Alexander. However, there are some episodes that use previously released songs from other studio albums by Gummibär. Most of the songs have a duration of approximately 50 seconds to 1 minute.
The YouTube channel Gummy Bear Show Mania would eventually upload extended versions of each episode by filling them with instrumental portions or repeating existing parts of the song to fill the 2-minute length of the videos.
On August 17, 2018, following the end of the first season broadcast, a soundtrack album of the series would be released to streaming platforms under the name of The Gummy Bear Show: Season One Soundtrack, including all of the songs that were previously featured in every episode of the first season.
On November 13, 2024, as part of the Gummy Bear Album Day celebration, the soundtrack album of the second season would be also released, following under the same previous name as The Gummy Bear Show: Season Two Soundtrack. Unlike the previous album, most of the songs have different titles and were presumably redone for the album's release.
Some of the songs from the series would be also featured in Gummibär's other mainstream albums, such as The Gummy Bear Album, which has included the songs Maroon Maroonba and Lilliput, although these use the extended versions from the channel Gummy Bear Show Mania.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Unlike in the promotional pilot of the cancelled animated series, Vampiro does not appear in the series. This may be because of how he drinks from a juice box that resembles blood in a children’s series, but there is not an official statement revealed regarding his absence.
- Sonja Ball, Holly Gauthier Frankel, and Bruce Dismore do not reprise their roles from The Yummy Gummy Search for Santa as the voices of Gummy, Kala, and Harry.
- The English version does not have the credits displayed at the end of each episode.
- Much like in The Yummy Gummy Search for Santa movie, Gummibär’s trademark autotune voice is not used when speaking, only being heard in the soundtrack of the series when Gummibär is singing.
- In the oldest Gummibär music videos, Gummy appears to live alone in a tiny house. However, in the Yummy Gummy Search for Santa and Gummy Twist, Gummibär now appears to live with his friends Harry, Kala, and Vampiro in a huge house. In this series, Gummy, Harry, Kala, Granny Peters, and Mr. Kronk live in an apartment separated from one and other.
- Ironically, Gummy is voiced by a female actress in the dialogues, while Granny Peters is voiced by a male actor.
- After the first 10 episodes from the first season, episode titles started to appear after the episode finishes instead of the beginning.
- The animation production is outsourced to a studio in India.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.animationmagazine.net/2015/12/toonz-inks-broad-content-deal-with-gummybear/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.melonproduction.com.tr/gummy/?lang=en
- ↑ https://www.latercera.com/noticia/productor-de-osito-gominola-adelanta-que-se-hara-pelicula-sobre-el-personaje/
- ↑ https://www.thegummybear.com/2018/12/12/youre-invited-to-the-premiere-party-for-season-two-of-gummibar-and-friends-the-gummy-bear-show/
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/977356560579842139/977361830764773386/1222951794179833966