3 out of 5

This… is the definition of a budget DVD.  The cheap cover, the lack of any bonuses, the flat, non-animated menu… it looks ugly.  Sure, it’s cheap, and “bonuses” are bonuses after all.  But nonetheless, it’s hard not to judge it by its cover, and you’d never guess that this disc houses some worthwhile content if you were unfamiliar with Gumball.  That rogue.

Alas, this first dip into season 2 isn’t the highlight of the show.  These are fun episodes, with some definite highlight moments, but I feel like the expansion of the cast and feeling out some different tones (world-building stuff in The Treasure; the twisty plotting of The Remote) is prep work for episodes that would end up being much better expressions of similar things.  Watching week to week, any Gumball is good Gumball (we say now, with 4 quality seasons in the bank), but it’s interesting isolating these 12 eps, as it highlights the mini-transition the writers and cast were going through on their way to some really genius stuff.