The Money

"The Money" is the fortieth and final episode of Season 3 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 116th episode overall.

Synopsis
The Wattersons have run out of money and are torn between being broke and selling out.

Plot
The episode begins with Gumball speaking about freedom and The Wattersons who are ordering food in the Joyful Burger restaurant. After reducing their order due to Richard's appetite, Larry scan's Nicole's credit card. The card doesn't go through and Larry and states that it has insufficient funds, and the family discovers that their credit funds are non-existent. Anais immediately blames her dad responsible and Richard replies that he deposited the Wattersons funds in an offshore bank account but what he really did was throwing the money into the sea. Nicole was so furious about this that she transforms into a huge muscular beast getting ready to severely scold him but calms down by Richard's "irresistible charm". Realizing that they are now flat broke, the family cries lots of tears which Nicole told them to drink up since this is the only water they'll get. Larry, however offered them a solution to their money trouble, a commercial of a family eating at Joyful Burger and they are the perfect candidates for the role, but Gumball refuses to let the family sell themselves for easy money and convinces them that they will manage themselves in poverty and dignity.

At night, Gumball freaks out at the sight of the empty fridge and Nicole explains that with no money they have nothing. Gumball asked why they listen to him and Anais said that he was right that they should never give up their pride for money. With these setbacks the family gets ready for bed in their now dark home due to their electricity being cut.

The next morning Gumball wakes up outside on the roof and luckily fell on top of the sofa which was being carried away by repo men along with all their stuff while Nicole just stands there hurling hurtful insults at them. She was about to unleash her wrath on the man who came to repossess her car but Richard came back after selling the car for 100 dollars since he accidently wrecked the car on the way.

With their home completely devoid of all possessions, Gumball tries to cheer them up by telling them to use what they haven't lost yet, their imaginations. After breaking into song about the joys of imagination, the family decided to use their imagination in anger against Gumball since he was responsible for them refusing to sell out. They tried to reason with him that advertisement can be done in a discreet manner but Gumball reminds them that their credibility is all they have left and they have nothing left to lose, but he was proven wrong when the repo men took what remains of their house, including the grass. Despite losing everything, Gumball says that their pride as the Wattersons is all they need. That's when Gumball lost his colors, literally. They realizes that without money, animation quality is beginning to drop. It also happens to Anais whose mouth began glitching and Darwin looks like he was animated by a little kid. Then the environment began glitching and degrading due to loss of budget for 3D effects. Nicole then declares that their principles are not worth it and they must sign the contract before Elmore degrades to nothing.

The family are running toward the mall to get to Larry but then they all lost all their color and motion animation. They then take the bus to the mall but the glitching began to infect everything they touch. The bus, the neighborhood, and even the sound began to degrade and glitch. When they reached the mall, their environment was reduced to a storyboard and when they finally reached Larry, they were further reduced to sticky notes. Once they signed the contract, the world returns to its normal animation quality except for Gumball who still refuses to sellout but finally changes his mind when Larry shows him how much Joyful Burger is willing to pay them, and accepts the offer.

The episode ends showing the ad of Joyful Burger with the Wattersons dressed in 80s fashion and enjoying the food at the restaurant.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Nicole
 * Anais
 * Richard

Supporting Characters

 * Larry

Minor Characters

 * Butterknife
 * Spray-Paint Bottle
 * Dolphin Man
 * Goblin
 * Ocho (magazine)
 * Rocky
 * Bobert
 * Alan
 * Idaho
 * Jamie
 * Banana Joe
 * Teri
 * Newspaper Employee
 * Blue Elephant
 * Neck Beard
 * Doughnut Sheriff
 * Mr. Robinson
 * Clayton

Trivia

 * This is the season finale of Season 3.
 * In production order, however, it is only the 36th out of the 40 episodes in the season.
 * This episode, along with "The Downer," "The Egg" and "The Triangle" aired in multiple countries before it aired in the U.S.
 * This episode aired first in Australia on April 2015.
 * Animation from "The Skull" is reused.
 * This episode breaks the fourth wall with the fact that with no money, there is no budget to produce animation.
 * Montblanc Pictures CO.LTD animated the Japanese Joyful Burger commercial part featuring Nicole of the episode, making them the third guest animator in the show.
 * For the American version of this episode, after the family leaves Joyful Burger, it cuts directly to a shot of the house. In other countries, it fades into the shot of the house.
 * The dialogue from the Japanese Joyful Burger ad in this episode translates to "Joyful Burger, love! Awesome, eat, eat and eat! Joyful Burger, love!"
 * This is Ben Bocquelet's favorite episode of Season 3.
 * Several words can be seen on the floor when Elmore begins to glitch out.
 * When Elmore begins to glitch out, the characters seen in 3D and the background used were actually in their rendering animation process form. Adding by, the storyboards are actually the episode own storyboards.

Continuity

 * Darwin can be seen in his outfit from "The Fraud."
 * This is the fifth time The Wattersons' TV gets damaged. The first four were in "The Responsible," "The Authority," "The Dream" and "The Gripes."
 * Gumball mentions how Richard ate his homework again. The first time this was brought up was in "The Sock."
 * This is the third time Richard somehow loses the Wattersons' money. The first time was in "The Treasure" and the second time was in "The Gripes."
 * This is the third episode to have a guest animator. The first two were "The Kids," and "The Safety."
 * This is Larry's fourth major role in an episode. The first three were in "The Refund," "The Job," and "The Pizza."

Cultural References

 * Nicole getting furious, her eyes glowing green, and gaining massive muscles is a reference to the Hulk.

Goofs/Errors

 * During "Imaginate", when Gumball "imaginates" that he's the Queen of England, his whiskers are missing.
 * Before Nicole imagines her Japanese Joyful Burger commercial, Richard is wearing Joyful Burger clothes. After the commercial, he's back in his normal clothes.
 * When Nicole "hulks out" she gains an extra finger, but her feet still have four toes.