‘The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball’: The Blue Cat is Back, and It’s Like He Never Left
It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing 7 years since The Amazing World of Gumball ended back in 2019. The classic Cartoon Network series is beloved by many, so it made it all the more painful when it not only left our TV screens but ended on a cliffhanger with the final episode, “The Inquisition.” But now, the blue cat is finally back! In the form of a new series on Hulu, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball and the world of Elmore and the characters within it are more delightfully chaotic than ever.
Wonderfully Weird does all of what the original series does best: incredible variation between styles of animation, insanely smooth and expressive animation rigs throughout the entire cast, a plentiful amount of satirical social commentary, and a surprising amount of heart between the core family of Gumball, Darwin, Anais, Nicole, and Richard. Creator Ben Bocquelet and his crew fully revive the magnetic charm that made the series so hilarious, and what’s new might even be better than what came before.
What’s The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball about?
Despite the new title, Wonderfully Weird is definitely more revival-oriented than a reboot, essentially acting as season 7 of the show. The series itself starts with a light meta jab referencing the show’s 7-year absence from screens with Gumball (Alkaio Thiele) and Darwin (Hero Hunter) realizing they’ve been asleep for so long that dust has covered not only their own home but the entirety of Elmore.
After an intriguing opening, Elmore is showcased as the delightfully cartoony place it’s always been, laws of reality are a joke, and family life is anything but ordinary. Gumball, the lovable loser, and his optimistically naive best buddy, Darwin, navigate their way through misadventures at school, with family and friends.
Whether he’s tackling a rogue AI trying to pry away his family or fighting off an evil fast food empire in an episode, pretty much anything goes within the episodic nature of the show. There’s so much variation between how something is animated and if the focus of the story is on Gumball’s family life or the chaos of those around him, but that’s what makes the show and its premise so unique.
Why the show’s flavor of style and humor work
The Amazing World of Gumball would not be as memorable as it is if it weren’t for three reasons: its mixture of multiple types of animation and art styles, its satirical humor and references to real-life parallels and events in our own lives, and firmly keeping the true core of the show intact, Gumball’s family. Going into making a new season, it’s clear from the very first episode, “The Burger,” that the team understood why these strange elements at first glance would work so well when melded together properly.
The central plotlines in most episodes of the original and new series revolve around a sentient blue cat and his former goldfish, who grew legs. It is weird, and if that weirdness is executed incorrectly, it can come across as irritating to viewers rather than charming. Still, Gumball can juggle more earnest themes side by side with its more satirical and absurd ones in unique ways, while having just enough influence to be enjoyable.
Episodes like “The Burger” still play with the show’s loony look and feel and translate that style to the humor with funny expressions or classic cartoon-like gags defying physics, but episodes also have a dash of hilarious sarcastic humor or forms of commentary on fast food corporations and eating the rich. Both are handled in silly and exaggerated ways that end up incredibly amusing to any viewer. Think South Park or Smiling Friends, but younger audiences can also watch.
Final thoughts and season highlights of The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball
It’s also present within the original run, but I was surprised by how well Gumball’s family was developed within many of the first batch of episodes. Episodes such as “The Thing,” where Richard (Dan Russel) has to remember something that Nicole (Teresa Gallagher) needs him to do for dinner that night, focus on the husband and wife relationship in a really sweet way. Segments like “The Traffic” or “The Portrait” are more focused on the entire family of five, but amidst all the gags, they still manage to have heartwarming moments attached to remind us why these characters are the core of the series.
Former character relationships like Gumball and Darwin’s girlfriends Penny (also voiced by Teresa Gallagher) and Carrie (Jessica McDonald) are also present in the new series. Episodes like “The Astrological” and “The Letter” in particular focus on these relationships and do a good job in carrying over a bit of fan appeal from the original show.
The animation and all the variations between full CGI and stop-motion characters remain top-notch. The biggest flexes of different styles are in “The Entrance” and “The Wrinkle,” where the show has sequences experimenting with the full sketch drawing style of animation, and they’re among some of the season’s best moments thus far.
This show not only works nearly flawlessly as a revival of the series’ best moments as a whole but also as a true justice to the spirit of these characters and what makes them work. It manages to retain all the heart, creativity, and, of course, weirdness of what makes the show truly tick, and I could not be happier that one of the best Cartoon Network series returned with flying colors.
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball is now streaming on Hulu, with an international premiere dropping on Cartoon Network and HBO Max on October 6, 2025.
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