Ah, the Disney live-action films of the 60's and 70's. I remember seeing many of these pricless gems in my grammar school years, at afterschool screenings, youth camps, and at matinees with my grandmother. Classics like 'The Unidentified Flying Oddball, 'The Cat From Outer Space,' and of course the un-killable 'Herbie' franchise have all won a special place in the hearts of the thirtysomething set born in the late sixties and early seventies. Approach with caution, however. "Gus" is just plain awful.

It's actually so bad it makes you feel a lot better about the kids movies of today. God bless Pixar, and think twice before you browbeat Disney for monopolizing the entertainment mind of your child - thirty years ago they actually made movies about donkeys kicking field goals in the NFL. We have evolved.

Not even the double-threat star power of Ed Asner AND Tom Bosley could save this one. It does however, earn the one-stat rating for films that fall into the 'So Bad It's Good' category.

Let me start with my favorite part of the picture: imagine Tom Bosley and Tim Conway as partners in crime. This team-up is as good on celluiod as it is on paper.

The funny thing is that basic unknowns Gary Grimes and Liberty Williams play the major characters. However, the supporting cast is full of stars, all of which are at their best. In addition to Bosley and Conway, other cast members include Ed Asner, Harold Gould, and Don Knotts.

When the movie first came out, I did not have any interest in the movie. (I had no interest in football at the time.) I saw it with friends on video, and this changed my mind completely. This is a very effective comedy. Additionally, though, it has a feel good message at the end, which can be motivational.

Some people think a movie can't be any good if it only has a G rating. This movie is just one of many cases to prove that flawed theory wrong.

MOVIE: Disney's Gus is a 1976 film that I enjoyed tremendously as a kid, and after a recent viewing still does as an adult. It's hilarious, featuring a large cast, but the comedy antics of the crooks and the mule are what make the movie.

Edward Asner stars, although he's NOT featured on the DVD cover nor on the back copy, as Hank Cooper, losing owner of the California Atoms NFL team. How bad is the team? Well, the opening credits show the defense taking out the offence as Cooper and Coach Venner (Don Knotts) review football films in preparing for the upcoming season. Asner consistently provides a stable and gruff backdrop for the comedy antics of the movie.

Knotts, who IS featured on the DVD cover of this movie in "The Don Knotts Collection," plays the incompetent coach with superior knowledge as he has done throughout his career. He mostly plays idiot to Asner's straight man.

The movie gets going, after Cooper reviews all the troubles of the team, including an overage and overweight clumsy cheerleading squad. In an attempt to sell tickets Cooper sends for Gus the mule and owner/trainer Andy Petrovic (Gary Grimes) for the half-time show. Gus, from Yugoslavia, which NO LONGER exists as a country, has made worldwide news for kicking soccer balls 100 yards. Gus, of course, makes the DVD cover, along with Cooper's aide Debbie Kovac.

Kovac (Liberty Williams before she voiced Jayna on "Super Friends") had pushed to get the mule meets Gus and Andy at the airport and is soon smitten by Andy and he with her. Immediately she loses interest in Rob Cargil (Dick Butkus), leaving the Atoms player to fuss and fume about it until he eventually tackles skinny and unprotected Andy. Richard Kiel has a great cameo, too.

As expected Gus with football holder Andy begins kicking for the Atoms and winning games for them from all the fourth downs. Desperate to win a bet with Cooper and get ownership of the team, Charles Gwynn (Harold Gould) brings in Spinner and Crankcase to harass and eventually mulenap Gus to keep him from kicking and winning for the Atoms.

The scenes with Tim Conway and Tom Bosley as the bumbling mulenappers are the most hilarious in the film. Especially having them try to lasso Gus in a supermarket amid destruction of canned goods, china, flour, ketchup, and lobsters. Gus also shows up drunk for a game because of these two slapstick clowns. Both are quite funny as crooks the family will remember, although the DVD back copy only mentions Conway and Don Knotts. These scenes overwhelm the final football scene, a big muddy goofy one, where Andy earns the respect of his father. It's a nice finish to the film.

Finally in scenes reminiscent of 1973's The World's Greatest Athlete, one sports announcer yaks continuously (Bob Crane in his last film) while the other can't get a word in edgewise (Johnny Unitas as himself). However in this film's fullscreen format, Crane and Unitas are cut off during most of their scenes. That was not a problem with the lesser film's widescreen presentation.

Other similarities between World's Greatest Athlete and Gus involve having a foreign player come to the U.S. to play to save a losing athletic organization, having the old boyfriend become jealous because his former girlfriend becomes attracted to the new star, an animal co-star, and Conway in both.

But I would choose to watch Gus over WGA. Mules are funnier than tigers.

DVD: Not widescreen, so you lose part of movie. No bonus features. Not even the movie trailer. With a better DVD transfer and package, it would rate 5 stars.

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??!!!!!

Gus is a Yugoslavian mule with a real talent: He can kick soccer balls 100 yards with unerring accuracy. When Hank Cooper (Edward Asner), the financially flailing owner of a losing football team, gets wind of Gus's talent from a newspaper article, he envisions a halftime show that might draw crowds (and hence, make money). This also presents an opportunity for bigger and better things to Gus's shy young owner, Andy Petrovic (Gary Grimes). As soon as Gus's hooves touch U.S. soil he starts performing like a champ, kicking the ball at halftime shows with panache time and time again. Before long, thieves plot and carry out the kidnapping of the gifted mule, planning to hide him until after the big game in hopes his team will lose without him. This movie is flawed (mainly in its lack of production value) but it's well worth a look, especially for fans of mules and lover of silly Disney comedy.

Staci Layne Wilson