Ruby Gloom
| Ruby Gloom | |
|---|---|
 Ruby Gloom title card | |
| Created by | Mighty Fine (producer) and Martin Hsu (creator) |
| Developed by | Carolyn Hay |
| Written by | Carolyn Hay Nicole Demerse Alan Resnick Alex Nussbaum John van Bruggen |
| Directed by | Robin Budd |
| Voices of | Sarah Gadon Stacey DePass Emily Hampshire Scott McCord David Berni Jeremy Harris Adrian Truss Peter Keleghan Barbara Mamabolo Stephanie Anne Mills Dwayne Hill Harvey Atkin Ron Rubin |
| Theme music composer | Ray Parker Tom Szczesniak |
| Opening theme | "Ruby Gloom" by Jeen O'Brien |
| Ending theme | "Ruby Gloom" (Instrumental) |
| Composers | Ray Parker Tom Szczesniak |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer |
|
| Editor | Annellie Rose Samuel |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company | Nelvana |
| Original release | |
| Network | YTV (Canada) |
| Release | October 13, 2006 – June 1, 2008 |
Ruby Gloom is a Canadian animated television series based on the Mighty Fine apparel line of the same name created by illustrator Martin Hsu. The series was produced by Nelvana and began airing on October 13, 2006 in Canada on YTV.[1] It has the voices of Sarah Gadon, Stacey DePass, Emily Hampshire, Peter Keleghan, Scott McCord, David Berni, Jeremy Harris, and Adrian Truss.
History
Franchise
In 2001, Ruby Gloom began as a drawing on a piece of paper by illustrator Martin Hsu and was then spawned into a franchise by the U.S. company Mighty Fine three years later.[2] Ruby Gloom began as a stationery line, and was featured on pencil cases, backpacks, clothing, key chains, and plush toys which were sold through Doeworld, a subsidiary of Mighty Fine.[citation needed]
Television series
In early 2005, Martin Hsu sold the TV rights to Ruby Gloom to Canadian animation studio Nelvana.[citation needed] In May 2005, the series was announced on the 2005 issue of Animation Magazine.[citation needed]
Main characters
- Ruby Gloom (voiced by Sarah Gadon)
- Doom Kitty
- Iris, voiced by Stacey DePass.
- Misery, voiced by Emily Hampshire; singing voice provided by Jeen O'Brien.[3]
- Skull Boy, voiced by Scott McCord
- Frank and Len, voiced by David Berni (as Frank) and Jeremy Harris (as Len)
- Edgar, Allan, and Poe (voiced by Adrian Truss)
- Scaredy Bat, voiced by Peter Keleghan
- Boo Boo, voiced by Barbara Mamabolo
- Mr. Buns
Episodes
These are the episodes that have aired on television. Most of the episodes contain a short skit at the beginning and end of the episodes ("Gloomer Rumor", the first episode of the series, is the only episode to only have one at the end).
Season 1 (2006–07)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Gloomer Rumor" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | October 15, 2006 |
| 2 | 2 | "Grounded in Gloomsville" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | October 22, 2006 |
| 3 | 3 | "Doom with a View" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | October 29, 2006 |
| 4 | 4 | "Missing Buns" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | November 5, 2006 |
| 5 | 5 | "Iris Springs Eternal" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | November 12, 2006 |
| 6 | 6 | "Science Fair or Foul" | Robin Budd | Alex Nussbaum | November 19, 2006 |
| 7 | 7 | "Poe-Ranoia" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | November 26, 2006 |
| 8 | 8 | "Unsung Hero" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | December 3, 2006 |
| 9 | 9 | "Quadro Gloomia" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | December 10, 2006 |
| 10 | 10 | "Skull Boys Don't Cry" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Bennett | December 17, 2006 |
| 11 | 11 | "Bad Hare Day" | Robin Budd | Alex Nussbaum | December 24, 2006 |
| 12 | 12 | "Happy Yam Ween" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Bennett | December 31, 2006 |
| 13 | 13 | "Ruby Cubed" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | January 7, 2007 |
Season 2 (2007)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Shaken, Not Scared" | Robin Budd | Robin Stein | July 15, 2007 |
| 15 | 2 | "Once in a Blue Luna" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | July 22, 2007 |
| 16 | 3 | "Time Flies" | Robin Budd | John van Bruggen | July 29, 2007 |
| 17 | 4 | "Lucky Me" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | August 5, 2007 |
| 18 | 5 | "Misery Loves Company" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Bennett | August 12, 2007 |
| 19 | 6 | "Sunny Daze" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | August 19, 2007 |
| 20 | 7 | "Broken Records" | Robin Budd | Alex Nussbaum | August 26, 2007 |
| 21 | 8 | "Gloomates" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | September 2, 2007 |
| 22 | 9 | "Tooth or Dare" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | September 9, 2007 |
| 23 | 10 | "Venus de Gloomsville" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | September 16, 2007 |
| 24 | 11 | "Seeing Eye to Eyes" | Robin Budd | John van Bruggen | September 23, 2007 |
| 25 | 12 | "Name That Toon" | Robin Budd | John van Bruggen | September 30, 2007 |
| 26 | 13 | "Skull in the Family" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | October 7, 2007 |
Season 3 (2007–08)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Writing on the Wall" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | TBA |
| 28 | 2 | "Déjà Vu – Again" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | TBA |
| 29 | 3 | "Ubergloom" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | TBA |
| 30 | 4 | "Pet Poepulation" | Robin Budd | Adrian Truss | TBA |
| 31 32 | 5 6 | "Hair(Less): The Musical" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | TBA |
| 33 | 7 | "Beat Goes On" | Robin Budd | John van Bruggen | TBA |
| 34 | 8 | "Out of This World" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | TBA |
| 35 | 9 | "Forget Me Not" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | TBA |
| 36 | 10 | "Frank and Len: Unplugged" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | TBA |
| 37 | 11 | "I'll Be Home For Misery" | Robin Budd | Alan Resnick | TBA |
| 38 | 12 | "Disaster Becomes You" | Robin Budd | Nicole Demerse | TBA |
| 39 40 | 13 14 | "Last Train To Gloomsville" | Robin Budd | Carolyn Hay | June 1, 2008 |
Broadcast
Ruby Gloom premiered on YTV in Canada on October 13, 2006. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Pop and Pop Girl in 2008. Channel RTÉ Two in Ireland broadcast the series in 2010. It also aired on 2x2 in Russia, Super RTL in Germany, Rai Gulp in Italy, RTP2 in Portugal, Pakapaka in Argentina, K-T.V. in South Africa, and Australian channels ABC1 and ABC3 in 2008. More recently, as of 2020, the series has become available on demand via YouTube.
Awards and honors
Ruby Gloom was nominated for a Gemini Award in the category of "Best Animated Program or Series."[4]
The script for episode "Yam Ween", written by Carolyn Bennett, was a finalist in the 2007 Canadian Screenwriting Awards.[5]
Reception
Ruby Gloom received generally positive reviews from both critics and audiences, praising it for its characters, writing, soundtrack, and plot. It would go on to garner a cult following.[citation needed]
Common Sense Media gave the series a rating of four stars out of five, saying: "A nice mix of sweet-and-sour, Ruby Gloom's dark gothic setting underscores all the cooperation and kindness. Adults will enjoy jokes that kids may miss, such as when it's revealed that Ruby eats Glum Flakes cereal for breakfast. And all but the most sensitive kids will be too enraptured by fantastic elements like talking pictures and a school for ghosts to be unnerved by dark elements like Misery's constant talk of disasters and death".
The series was nominated for Gemini Award for Best Animated Program or Series in 2014.
Telecast and home media
Ruby Gloom premiered on YTV in Canada on October 13, 2006. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Pop and Pop Girl in 2008. Irish Channel RTÉ Two aired the series in 2010. It also aired on 2x2 in Russia, Super RTL in Germany, Rai Gulp in Italy, RTP2 in Portugal, Pakapaka in Argentina and Australian channels ABC1 and ABC3 in 2008.
DVD releases
Region 1
Canada – There are two DVDs available from Nelvana (in association with the television network YTV). The DVDs present the episodes in NTSC 1.85:1 (16x9) anamorphic widescreen, with English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and French Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. There are no subtitles or closed captions. The opening title sequence on the DVDs is the full version, and not the edited version that airs on YTV.
The DVDs in release order are:
- Ruby Gloom: Grounded in Gloomsville – Contains the first four episodes of the series (as listed above), along with a behind-the-scenes special feature showing the voice recording of the episode "Hair(Less): The Musical" (parts 1 and 2).
- Ruby Gloom: Misery Loves Company – Contains the episodes "Iris Springs Eternal", "Poe-ranoia", "Skull Boys Don't Cry", and "Misery Loves Company", with no special features.
Following this, a third DVD entitled Ruby Gloom: Pet Poepulation was scheduled for release on September 9, 2009,[6] but became unavailable.
U.S. – In 2013, kaBoom! Entertainment and Phase 4 Films released six Ruby Gloom DVDs in the U.S. Each disc contains four episodes, arranged as a continuous show, with the repeated opening songs and individual mini-episodes edited out. All of the mini-episodes are included separately as a bonus feature, instead of being incorporated in their main episode as originally broadcast.
The discs are as follows:
- Ruby Gloom: Happiest Girl in the World – Contains the episodes "Gloomer Rumor", "Doom With a View", "Missing Buns", and "Iris Springs Eternal".[7]
- Ruby Gloom: I Heart Rock & Roll – Contains the episodes "Unsung Hero", "Quadra-gloomia", "Skull Boy's Don't Cry", and "Bad Hare Day".[8]
- Ruby Gloom: Gloomates – Contains the episodes "Gloomates", "Seeing Eye to Eyes", "Name That Toon", and "Broken Records".[9]
- Ruby Gloom: Grounded in Gloomsville – Contains the episodes "Grounded in Gloomsville", "Ruby Cubed", "Once in a Blue Luna", and "Time Flies".[10]
- Ruby Gloom: Tooth or Dare – Contains the episodes "Tooth or Dare", "Skull in the Family", "Shaken. Not Scared", and "Misery Loves Company".[11]
- Ruby Gloom: Welcome to Gloomsville – Contains the episodes "Venus de Gloomsville", "Science Fair or Foul", "Poe-Ranoia", and "Happy Yam Ween".[12]
As with the Canadian release, the DVDs present the episodes in NTSC 1.85:1 (16x9) anamorphic widescreen, with English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, but they have Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 sound instead of French.
Brazil – Seasons one and two were released on three-disc DVD box sets; however, the box sets do not include all of the episodes from each season (despite the DVD covers indicating this). Both box sets are presented in NTSC 1.33:1 (4x3) full screen (the sides of the widescreen image are cut to create the full screen ratio, also known as pan and scan) with Portuguese and English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The opening title sequence is the edited version that airs on most television networks (such as the Canadian YTV). Neither the box set includes any special features.
The box sets are:
Ruby Gloom: Full season 1 – Contains the first thirteen episodes from season one.
Ruby Gloom: Full season 2 – Contains thirteen episodes (the remaining eight episodes from season one plus the first five episodes from season two).
Region 2
France – Ruby Gloom: 1 is available from France Télévisions Distribution (in association with the television network France 3) and contains the first six episodes of the series (as listed above). The episodes are presented in PAL 1.33:1 (4x3) full screen (the sides of the widescreen image are cut to create the full screen ratio, also known as pan and scan) with French Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.
Germany – Two DVDs were made available from SPV GmbH (in association with the television network Super RTL) containing the first eight episodes of the series (as listed above), with each DVD consisting of four episodes. The episodes are presented in PAL 1.33:1 (4x3) full screen (the sides of the widescreen image are cut to create the full screen ratio, also known as pan and scan) with German Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.
On October 15, 2010, Edel Germany GmbH released Ruby Gloom – Willkommen in Gloomsville (Ruby Gloom – Welcome to Gloomsville), which contains the first seven episodes of the series (as listed above).
Japan – A DVD box set entitled Ruby Gloom's Bible is available from Sony Music Entertainment and contains 20 of the series' first 24 episodes (as listed above) in random order on five DVDs. The episodes are presented in NTSC 1.85:1 widescreen with Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.
United Kingdom – In the United Kingdom, Platform Entertainment Ltd. released an DVD in the future,
Region 4
Australia – There are four DVD volumes available from Magna Pacific containing the first 16 episodes of the series (as listed above), with each volume consisting of four episodes. The episodes are presented in PAL 1.33:1 (4x3) full screen (the sides of the widescreen image are cut to create the full screen ratio, also known as pan and scan) with English Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.
Online streaming
Currently, the series is now streaming on both FilmRise Kids and Tubi, but more recently, as of 2020, the series has become available on demand via YouTube.
References
- ^ YTV Archived 2010-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mighty Fine". Mightyfineinc.com. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ "Throwback Thursday: How I discovered Ruby Gloom | Cartoon Amino". aminoapps.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-11.
- ^ "Home – Academy". geminiawards.ca. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Gavin Crawford to host 2007 Canadian Screenwriting awards" (PDF), Writers Guild of Canada, archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2018, retrieved March 18, 2016
- ^ Ruby Gloom Pet Population – via Amazon Canada.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – Happiest Girl in the World". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – I Heart Rock & Roll". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – Gloommates". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – Grounded in Gloomsville". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – Tooth or Dare". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Gloom – Welcome to Gloomsville". Phase 4 Films. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
External links
- 2006 Canadian television series debuts
- 2008 Canadian television series endings
- 2000s Canadian animated television series
- Animated television series about children
- Canadian children's animated comic science fiction television series
- Canadian children's animated science fantasy television series
- Canadian children's animated horror television series
- Canadian television shows based on children's books
- English-language television shows
- YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming
- Television series by Nelvana
- Canadian children's animated drama television series
- Canadian Screen Award-winning television shows