| Donald's Cousin Gus | |
| Director: | Jack King |
| Story: | Jack Hannah Carl Barks |
| Animator: | Dick Lundy |
| Starring: | Clarence Nash Lee Millar |
| Music: | Oliver Wallace |
| Producer: | Walt Disney |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributor: | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Color Process: | Technicolor |
| Runtime: | 7 minutes |
| Language: | English |
Donald's Cousin Gus is a Walt Disney cartoon released on May 19, 1939.[1] [2] Gus Goose debuted as a recurring character in Al Taliaferro's Donald Duck newspaper comic since 9 May 1938.[3]
This cartoon was also the first-ever pre-recorded program (in this case, film) to be televised in the United States, airing as part of NBC's "first night" of sponsored programming on May 3, 1939, sixteen days before the film was released in theaters.[4]
The short was directed by Jack King, and animated by Lee Morehouse, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Don Towsley. The story was created by Jack Hannah and Carl Barks.
Gus Goose comes to visit his cousin Donald Duck, interrupting him in the middle of lunch. Gus brings a note from Aunt Fanny, which reads, "Dear Nephew, this is your cousin Gus Goose. I'm sending him to visit you ― Love, Aunt Fanny. P.S., He don't eat much". Donald welcomes his cousin, who shakes hands with him frantically.
Gus shows Donald Duck his pocket alarm clock, which is divided into, "Dinner, tea, supper, lunch." Donald remarks to the audience, "Well, I'll be doggone!" Gus Goose proceeds to eat Donald out of house and home. He slurps up Donald's soup with two spoons, eats a corn on the cob like a typewriter, shuffles a whole stack of bread and luncheon meat like cards and swallows them all, knits a bowl of spaghetti into a sock, and slurps it all up. Donald Duck is amused at first, but when Gus steals a loaf of bread from him and dips it into his coffee, eats an entire chocolate cake, steals all of his donuts with his umbrella, and sucks up all of the peas with a straw, Donald gets fed up. Enraged, Donald tries to evict Gus by handcart, but ends up out on the lawn himself.
Hoping to get the jump on Gus, Donald finds a "barking hotdog" in his icebox, with the label, "A sure way to get rid of hungry relatives." Smirking, Donald offers the hotdog to Gus, who gulps it down. Donald starts acting like a cat, stirring up the "dog" in Gus' stomach. Donald then makes Gus lie down and roll over like a dog. Having driven Gus away by throwing a bone out onto the lawn, he bolts and locks the door with a drawbar, laughing. However, his joy turns to shock when he hears Gus come back in through the back door, and discovers a Gus-shaped hole, and discovers him eating cold lunch in his refrigerator, with the time, "Cold Lunch" on his pocket alarm clock. Donald Duck, shocked, exclaims, "Boy! Oh, boy!" and faints on the floor.
Hello Donald, Donald: Limited Gold Edition, and Disney Cartoon Festival 3 (Japan)
The short was released on May 18, 2004, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941.[7]
The short was released to Disney+ on August 11, 2023.[8]