The Gummi Bears are an anthropomorphic species of bears who have a long and rich history, and are relatively unknown to the humans of the world, who believe that they are merely legends and fairy tales. They are the main characters of the animated series Adventures of the Gummi Bears.
History[]
According to the show, in ancient times, the Ancient Gummies (or Great Gummies) and humans once lived peacefully together, side by side. At some point however, the species was forced to sail across the sea in search of a new home, due to attacks by jealous and evil humans who craved the magical and mechanical advancements of the Gummies. The Ancient Gummies left behind small colonies, such as the main group of the series; the Gummi Glen Gummies and Barbic Woods Gummies, to care for and watch over the Gummi cities, such as Ursalia, as well as signal the Ancient Gummies when it was safe to return home. By King Gregor's account in the episode "The Magnificent Seven Gummies", no sightings of Gummi Bears had been reported for over 500 years at the time of the series; which is also the reason for why their existence has been relegated to fairy tales.
The Gummi Glen Gummies are a group of Gummies who live underneath a hollow tree known as Gummi Glen. At one point, the colony was a major warren, housing hundreds, but at the beginning of the series it has since dwindled to six members, bringing the Gummies of the Glen close to extinction. As their numbers have dwindled, they lost much of their knowledge of their culture and technology, due to not having a Gummi Bear Medallion, which is the only thing that can unlock their Great Book of Gummi, the source of all Gummi wisdom. One day, they come across a young boy named Cavin, who wears a Gummi Medallion. When the boy accidentally enters Gummi Glen, they are reluctant to trust the boy, but he gains their confidence when he refuses to cause harm to them, and vows to keep their existence a secret. They then question the boy as to where he got the medallion, which was given to him by his grandfather.
Cavin asks them to help defend his homeland from the villainous Duke Igthorn, but the Gummies are hesitant, preferring to remain hidden. Cavin leaves disillusioned, leaving the medallion behind. The Gummies discover that they can use it to open the Great Book of Gummi. From then on, the Gummi Bears vow to rediscover their heritage, and help Cavin guard his home, the nearby Kingdom of Dunwyn.
The Gummi Bears harvest Gummiberries, which grow wild around the forest. The bears are able to use the berries to make a powerful juice known as Gummiberry Juice. While the juice merely gives the bears the ability to bounce and escape from danger, it gives humans temporary super-strength, which eventually makes them a target for the villainous Duke Igthorn. However, they gain allies in the form of Cavin, and later, Princess Calla, the princess of Dunwyn.
Throughout the series, the Gummi Bears rediscover many of the secrets created by their ancestors, ranging from dragon decoys to flying machines and even submarines capable of transoceanic journeys, and magic that aids them in many of their adventures. They also end up meeting the Barbic Gummies, and eventually convince them that not all humans are evil in spite of the mistreatment the Barbics suffered when humans burned down their forest homes. Additionally, they are forced to destroy many of these devices in order to keep Duke Igthorn and his Ogre armies from using them to conquer Dunwyn, and others like Lady Bane from using their magic to destroy the peace they secretly protect with help from Cavin and Calla. In spite of this, the Gummi Glen Gummies manage to make contact with the rest of their kin across the ocean in New Gumbria, eventually convincing the Great Gummies to return to their old settlements after they defeat Duke Igthorn for good (though this is never shown onscreen).
Members[]
Gummi Glen Gummies[]
- Gruffi Gummi is an old-fashioned bear who prefers to do things "the Gummi way", and the de facto leader of Gummi Glen. An extremely skilled craftsman and mechanic, he is the one that often fixes the old Gummi technology and trap doors, as well as building traps around the Glen to deal with humans and Ogres. When it comes to building and using tools he is a perfectionist, which can be his undoing at times. However, at other times Gruffi is often the voice of stability when the other Gummies fall into despair.
- Zummi Gummi is an aged bear who is the Gummi Glen Gummi's "Keeper of Gummi Wisdom" and later the holder of the Gummi-Medallion which he uses to read his magic book to become the group's magician. He is forgetful and clumsy, and his spells tend to backfire. He also had a fear of heights early on.
- Grammi Gummi is another old bear who is the matriarch of Gummi Glen. She acts as the group's mother, who cooks, cleans, and is the Gummi who prepares the Gummiberry Juice. She holds the secret recipe, and wants to pass it down to Sunni when she is of age. She has a huge rivalry with Gruffi Gummi, and tends to bicker with him over what has to be done.
- Tummi Gummi is an overweight, teenaged Gummi who enjoys a good meal, and would much rather be eating the gummiberries than picking them. He has a rather relaxed and easygoing personality, which often gets him caught up in Cubbi's schemes. However in dangerous situations Tummi has shown exceptional bravery. Throughout the series he shows signs of being a talented sailor, gardener, artist and craftsman.
- Sunni Gummi is a preteen Gummi, who dreams about becoming a princess just like her best friend, the human Princess Calla. Sunni is the most curious about human culture and human fashion, and least concerned with Gummi history. Later in the series she is shown to have a crush on Gusto.
- Cubbi Gummi is the youngest Gummi Glen Gummi, and dreams of becoming a great Gummi knight. He is incredibly curious and has a tendency to get distracted by the mysterious or the exciting. He sometimes dons a mask and becomes a vigilante known as the "Crimson Avenger". He is best friends with the human Cavin.
- Augustus "Gusto"" Gummi is an artistic, individualist Gummi who was stranded on a deserted island for twelve years with his best friend Artie Deco, a wise-talking toucan. Tummi and Gruffi were shipwrecked on Gusto's island, just as a volcano was due to erupt and cause the island to sink into the sea. The three bears worked together and brought Gusto home with them to Gummi Glen in the season 2 finale. Gruffi tends to argue with Gusto for his outside-the-box thinking, and how much influence he has on Cubbi and Sunni. He lives by himself in a makeshift apartment behind a waterfall, but lives in Gummi Glen when the weather becomes too harsh.
Barbic Gummies[] |
Gummadoon Gummies[](pictured below in gallery)
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Other Gummies[] |
Gummi Kingdoms and Colonies[]
Several different Gummi Bear kingdoms and colonies are introduced throughout the course of the series. Some are still populated, some have been repopulated, some have been forcefully deserted, some have literally been hidden in time.
European Continent[]
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Other Isles and Continents[]
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Gallery[]
(right to left: Sirs Gumlittle, Blastus, Plucky, and unnamed)
Trivia[]
- Only a relatively small group of humans finds out about the existence of Gummi Bears during the course of the series. The list of humans that become explicitly aware of the bears, includes Cavin, Princess Calla, Duke Igthorn, Lady Bane, Sir Gawain, Princess Marie, Angelo Davini, Flint Shrubwood, the Hunter, Rotocelli, Doctor Dexter, Marzipan, Lord Willoughby, Prince Yen Moon and his subjects, Carney's assistant from the episode "Never Give a Gummi an Even Break", and the boy who turned himself into a Giant, from the episode "When You Wish Upon a Stone"
- According to the show, Gummi Magic cannot be used by humans to harm Gummi Bears, as it will instead destroy the human casting the spell.
- The Gummies share similarities with the Ewoks from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and its cartoon TV show spin-off Ewoks. Both are secretive anthropomorphic bear tribes living in forests, facing witches, wizards, and giants. Also, the tribes live in worlds impregnated by heroic fantasy.
