Gus (1976 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gus
Film poster by Paul Wenzel
Directed by	Vincent McEveety
Produced by	Ron Miller
Screenplay by	Arthur Alsberg Don Nelson
Story by	Ted Key
Starring	Don Knotts Edward Asner Gary Grimes Tim Conway Harold Gould Ronnie Schell Tom Bosley Louise Williams Dick Butkus
Music by	Robert F. Brunner
Cinematography	Frank Phillips
Editing by	Robert Stafford
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s)	July 7, 1976 (1976-07-07)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Money made	$21,873,000

Gus is a 1976 American family comedy film from Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Vincent McEveety. The movie stars Ed Asner, Don Knotts, and Gary Grimes. The main character is Gus, a special mule who plays football. The film was very popular and earned a lot of money. It was later released for people to watch at home in 1981.

Story of Gus the Football Mule

The movie Gus starts in Yugoslavia. We meet the Petrovic family. Their son Stepjan is a great soccer player. His brother, Andy, works on their farm. Andy can't play soccer well because of an old accident. One day, Andy finds out something amazing about Gus, their mule. Gus can kick a soccer ball very far when Andy shouts, "Oich!"

The California Atoms Football Team

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, there's a professional football team called the California Atoms. The team is owned by Hank Cooper (Ed Asner). Their coach, Venner (Don Knotts), isn't very good. The Atoms are the worst team in the league. They haven't won a game in many years. Cooper also owes a lot of money to two tricky men, Charles Gwynn (Harold Gould) and Cal Wilson (Dick Van Patten).

When Cooper can't pay his debts, the tricky men give him one last chance. If the Atoms win the next Super Bowl, all of Cooper's debts will be gone. But if they lose, Gwynn and Wilson will take over the team.

Gus Joins the Team

Cooper is desperate to get fans interested in the team. He looks for a great halftime show. His secretary, Debbie (Louise Williams), sees a story in a Yugoslavian newspaper about Gus. Debbie flies to Yugoslavia and hires Gus and Andy to come to America.

Gus is a huge hit during his first halftime show. Cooper and Coach Venner then decide to put Gus in the actual game as a place kicker. The other team protests, saying a mule can't play. But the rule book doesn't say a player has to be human! So, Gus is allowed to kick. Gus can kick a field goal from anywhere on the field. The Atoms start winning games!

Thanks to Gus, the Atoms win their next few games. They even move to first place in their division. The only catch is that Gus will only kick when Andy holds the ball and shouts his special command. Debbie is assigned to watch over Andy and Gus because she can speak Serbian. A friendship, helped by Gus, starts to grow between Andy and Debbie.

Trouble for Gus

Gwynn and Wilson realize their plan to take over the team is failing. They hire two clumsy criminals, Crankcase (Tim Conway) and Spinner (Tom Bosley). Their job is to stop Gus from playing so the Atoms will lose.

Through their silly schemes, Crankcase and Spinner cause the Atoms to lose two games. Even with these losses, the Atoms still make it to the playoffs. Andy becomes famous, but his parents back home are not impressed. They say he only holds the ball for Gus.

Before the playoff game, Spinner tricks Andy. He tells Andy that Debbie was hurt in a car accident. When Andy rushes to the hospital, Crankcase locks him up. Without Andy, Gus refuses to kick the ball. The Atoms fall far behind in the game.

In the final quarter, Debbie puts on Andy's uniform. She convinces Gus to kick a field goal, scoring the winning points. Andy, who managed to escape, arrives after the game is over. He tells Debbie his father was right: Andy feels like he's nothing, and anyone can hold the ball for Gus.

The Super Bowl and a Wild Chase

With the Atoms heading to the Super Bowl, Spinner and Crankcase try another plan. They steal Gus and replace him with an ordinary mule. Spinner and Crankcase check into a local hotel with Gus. Gus gets restless and breaks the TV and the hotel room door.

At the Super Bowl, Andy quickly realizes the mule he has isn't the real Gus. He and Cooper leave by helicopter to search for Gus. When the two criminals watch the game on TV, Gus goes wild and escapes from their hotel room.

What follows is a long, funny chase! Crankcase and Spinner chase Gus into a local supermarket. They try to catch the mule but fail. The criminals make a huge mess in the store. They spill flour, step on bottles of Ketchup and Mustard, and destroy tomatoes and dinnerware displays. One of them even falls into a live lobster tank! Finally, they try to ride Gus, but he throws one of them into a huge cake, destroying it completely.

Running from the supermarket, Spinner and Crankcase are caught by the police. They are arrested for stealing Gus and for all the damage they caused. Gus is spotted from the air by Andy and Cooper. They use a helicopter to airlift Gus to the Super Bowl. They arrive in the fourth quarter.

The Big Finish

With Gus back in the game, the Atoms make an amazing comeback. With only 3 seconds left, the Atoms are down 16–15. They have the ball on their own 5-yard line. Gus lines up for a field goal attempt. But he slips in the mud and misses the football!

In the scramble for the ball, Gus accidentally knocks it over to Andy. Andy grabs the ball and runs 95 yards for the touchdown! The Atoms win the Super Bowl! Andy and the team walk off the field, celebrating their big victory.

Meet the Cast

Gus in Other Stories

Movie Connections

• In the 1980 movie Herbie Goes Bananas, a person wearing an Atoms jersey (like the team in Gus) can be seen briefly during a party scene.
• The 1997 TV movie The Love Bug uses the name "Hank Cooper" for a mechanic who meets Herbie. This is the same name as the team owner in Gus.

Video Games

• Gus can be called as a special animal to ride in the video games Disney Infinity 2.0 (released in 2014) and Disney Infinity 3.0 (released in 2015). In the game, Gus kicks footballs as his attack!