Ruby Gloom

Canadian TV series

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 premiered on October 15, 2006 on YTV and ended on June 1, 2008. 40 episodes were produced by Nelvana.

The show that focuses on the misadventures of a ragdoll like girl named Ruby Gloom, along with her team of gothic friends Doom Kitty, Iris, Misery, Skull Boy, Frank and Len, and Poe.

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. 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.

In early 2005, Mighty Fine and co creator, illustrator Martin Hsu licensed the TV rights to Ruby Gloom to the Canadian animation studio Nelvana. In May 2005, the series was announced on the 2005 issue of Animation Magazine.

Ruby Gloom was nominated for a Gemini Award in the category of "Best Animated Program or Series." The script for episode "Yam Ween", written by Carolyn Bennett, was a finalist in the 2007 Canadian Screenwriting Awards.

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. 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".

Ruby Gloom premiered on YTV in Canada on October 13, 2006, along with the final episode's airing on June 1, 2008, with repeats until the early 2010s. Repeats began airing on Nickelodeon Canada on September 1, 2014. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Pop and Pop Girl in 2008. Irish network RTÉ2 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 ABC1 and ABC3, (now ABC TV and ABC Me respectfully) in Australia in 2008. In Arab World, it aired on MBC 3 and Al Majid Tv Network, and it also aired on Cartoon Network Japan in 2009 until the early 2010s.

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 a DVD.

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.

Currently, the series is now streaming on FilmRise Kids, Tubi and Pluto TV, but more recently, as of 2020, the series has become available on demand via YouTube.