Gus

Rating:
Summary: GUS
Review: No widescreen = no sale. C'mon Disney, get with the program!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie from Old Disney to get away from the rat-race.
Review: OK, so this is not an Oscar level movie but, whats wrong with that? As a kid growing up I loved these flicks from Disney. And, it's a blast to watch them with my kids. I recently saw Million Dollar Baby and came out of the theater feeling like crap even though that's an Oscar level movie. When I watched GUS with my kids, I felt great al the way through and afterwards.

The scenes with the late Bob Crane and Johnny Unitas are hilarious. Don Knotts is great too as well as Ed Asner. I also enjoyed telling my kids about the old drive-in movies during that section and how we would put speakers in our car and also light up those mosquito repelling coils that the snack bar would sell. We forget that the kids don't know about such things. Having Richard Kiel show up inside that VW after Dick Butkus raps on the door was a great touch.

Bottom line, Gus wasn't given the best treatment on DVD, but it's still worth renting and watching when you want to for get all the crap of today. And the little ones will love it!

Now for the new Disney. You guys suck! This was a widescreen movie that deserved to be remastered and offered the same way on DVD. Like Universal's treatment of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. That one was well done. The Disney of today has none of the values of the Disney of old and we might as well face up to it. They've even take some movies originally formatted as 4:3, lopped off the top and bottom and called it widescreen. And, where is Song of the South??!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Silly Slapstick Fun for the Young and Young at Heart
Review: The California Atoms need a miracle. They've been in last place for so long that they have very few fans in the stadium for football games. In a desperate attempt to build attendance, the owner, Mr. Cooper, flies over Gus, a mule from Yugoslavia that kicks field goals. Soon, the mule and his owner Andy are being used to score points in the games. In an attempt to keep the team, Mr. Cooper makes a bet with his creditor that if the team wins the Super Bowl, he can keep the team. But the creditor won't make it easy. As the season progresses, the stakes get higher and the laughs get louder.

Sure, this is a completely unrealistic movie. And you can probably guess every single plot point long before it happens. But this is another case of having so much fun getting there that you really don't care. I watched this movie many times as a kid, but hadn't watched it for years until recently. I was laughing right from the start, and the final scene made me laugh just as hard as it always did. I do wonder how some of the big name cast (like Tom Bosley and Ed Asner) got talked into this movie, but they do a great job and it's great fun as a result.

The DVD, on the other hand, could have been better. Even though the package doesn't admit to it, this film was obviously originally widescreen, and the cut made for this DVD is bad. Usually I don't notice too much of a difference, but here people were often half on the screen and it was obvious we were missing bits of the action because of the edit. The picture quality could have also used a little sprucing up, with grain showing up on a fairly regular basis. It's noticeable, but not enough to truly detract from the film.

If you're in the mood to laugh, this is the film for you. If you already have the VHS, there's no reason to rush out to upgrade. If you don't already own it, the DVD is a fine additional to any movie collection. Unfortunately, this is probably the best we'll ever get for this film.

Rating:
Summary: Silly Slapstick Fun for the Young and Young at Heart
Review: The California Atoms need a miracle. They've been in last place for so long that they have very few fans in the stadium for football games. In a desperate attempt to build attendance, the owner, Mr. Cooper, flies over Gus, a mule from Yugoslavia that kicks field goals. Soon, the mule and his owner Andy are being used to score points in the games. In an attempt to keep the team, Mr. Cooper makes a bet with his creditor that if the team wins the Super Bowl, he can keep the team. But the creditor won't make it easy. As the season progresses, the stakes get higher and the laughs get louder.

Sure, this is a completely unrealistic movie. And you can probably guess every single plot point long before it happens. But this is another case of having so much fun getting there that you really don't care. I watched this movie many times as a kid, but hadn't watched it for years until recently. I was laughing right from the start, and the final scene made me laugh just as hard as it always did. I do wonder how some of the big name cast (like Tom Bosley and Ed Asner) got talked into this movie, but they do a great job and it's great fun as a result.

The DVD, on the other hand, could have been better. Even though the package doesn't admit to it, this film was obviously originally widescreen, and the cut made for this DVD is bad. Usually I don't notice too much of a difference, but here people were often half on the screen and it was obvious we were missing bits of the action because of the edit. The picture quality could have also used a little sprucing up, with grain showing up on a fairly regular basis. It's noticeable, but not enough to truly detract from the film.

If you're in the mood to laugh, this is the film for you. If you already have the VHS, there's no reason to rush out to upgrade. If you don't already own it, the DVD is a fine additional to any movie collection. Unfortunately, this is probably the best we'll ever get for this film.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie as a youth
Review: This is one of those all time great movies. Don Knott's is hilarious. This is one of those movies that as a kid, I just loved, and to this very day, still love this video. A must for any old time Disney movie fan.

Rating:
Summary: Simply the worst movie of all time
Review: This is simply the worst movie of all time. This movie is about a donkey who kicks field goals for an NFL team because the rulebook writers never thought to require players to be human. The premise is bad but the jokes are even worse. Because it is so obviously predictable and I can't imagine anyone wanting to see this film, I am tempted to give away who wins the big game. But I won't.
Disney should be ashamed. Just because they are Disney doesn't mean they should be able to get away with making a bad movie.

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining and funny!
Review: This movie is very heart-warming, funny, and enjoyable. It's perfect for the whole family. People of all ages will enjoy this entertaining movie. Don Knotts is the perfect coach. He's hilarious, as always. It's up to Gus the Mule to pull his team out of a long losing streak. Also look for Ed Asner, Dick Van Patten, Harold Gould, Dick Butkus, and Bob Crane, who is Pepper, the know-it-all sportscaster. A good Disney movie. Rent or buy this movie soon. The mule Gus is cute too!

Rating:
Summary: Gus
Review: Walt Disney would turn over in his grave, had he seen this. But what do you expect, it is a movie about a mule kicking field goals. Besides a few amusing parts, Don Knotts is not up to par in this one. If your looking to occupy your kids time, this is not the movie.