Interactive Google Doodle remembering Art Clokey with Gumby characters

Google celebrates the 90th birthday anniversary of Arthur “Art” Clokey with an adorable, animated, interactive Gumby themed Google Doodle logo design (including Pokey and friends).

October 12, 2011, we celebrate Gumby creator Art Clokey’s 90th birthday, and Google is honoring this stop motion pioneer with a doodle. Google’s home page will feature a unique interactive stop motion clay doodle created by the Clokey Productions Premavision studios. Coinciding with the birthday fanfare is the premiere of the new http://www.Gumby.com website—Gumby’s new home!

“The Google Doodle is the perfect tribute to my fathers work,” says Joe Clokey, Art Clokey’s son and creator of Gumby’s new website. “Art’s life and film career were ahead of their time. My dad would have been thrilled to be connected with Google in this way.”

A true visionary and pioneer, Art Clokey touched millions around the world with his creations. Art’s clay animation short Gumbasia expressed an exciting kinesthetic brand of film making that has influenced many of our current leading directors…” —press release about Google Doodle for Gumby’s creator and the launch of new Gumby World site for classic film clips, history, products, and biographical information

“G” and “J” Blockhead, “Square Thinkers” (Gumby’s nemeses)

Prickle without Goo (dragon of dinosaur?)

Pokey pony (best friend and sidekick)

Aside from honoring the birthday of the late Art Clokey, the new Google Doodle is a fun way to reintroduce the characters made of clay from the stop-motion animated television classic. There’s plenty to read and watch about innovation in animation with Gumby.com as the base—only wish there were larger, archival images and photographs. Below is one of the old video gems:

Art Clokey’s early Gumby action / Montage of Clips from 50′s Episodes