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Gustavus (Animation)

 Gustavus (Animation)
type
TVTItem
 Gustavus (Animation)
label
Gustavus (Animation)
 Gustavus (Animation)
page
Gustavus
 Gustavus (Animation)
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Gusztáv (Gustav, released in English as Gustavus) was a long running Hungarian series of adult-oriented animated shorts, created by Pannonia Film Studio's József Nepp, Attila Dargay and Marcell Jankovics and produced between 1964 and 1977. Starring the titular petty underdog Gustav and spanning over 120 episodes, the bizarre, dialogue and continuity-free shorts satirized the everyday topics of modern society, often veering into absurdism, dark comedy, slapstick and bordering a Sadist Show, showing life's harshness through its main character's misfortunes... all for a laugh.Gustav, though ostensibly an everyman, had a wide range of talents, professions and obsessions, and would inconsistently be characterized as a womanizer, a husband, a father, a manchild, a jerkass, a schemer or Karmic Trickster, but mainly as a down-on-his-luck loser who always found himself in the middle of trouble.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The series was spun off from Nepp's earlier shorts Szenvedély (Passion, 1961) and Holnaptól kezdve (Beginning with Tomorrow, 1963), featuring a proto-Gustav, and received a special episode titled Gusztáv és a Léda (Gustav and Leda) in 1971, commissioned by the government to popularize Hungary as a tourist destination. Gustav almost became his country's first feature length animated film star, but the literary adaptation Johnny Corncob was produced instead. In late 2019, Serbian theater director Kokan Mladenović updated the cartoon as a satirical stage play titled All is Gustav's fault.With its universal humor and near lack of spoken dialogue, the series was easily exported to about 70 countries worldwide as television airtime filler, which turned it into a minor but global Cult Classic. In its native Hungary, Gusztáv's significance cannot be understated — not only was it the country's first major adult themed animated work, it served as a springboard for many animation talents who would go on to redefine the country's entertainment industry.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })
 Gustavus (Animation)
fetched
2023-02-03T04:57:34Z
 Gustavus (Animation)
parsed
2023-02-03T04:57:34Z
 Gustavus (Animation)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_19102429
type
Twist Ending
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_19102429
comment
Twist Ending: Feature so often that they're practically mandatory. Given Gustav's always-changing roles, they can be karmic or cruel.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_19102429
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_19102429
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_19102429
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1b65dfad
type
The Cameo
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1b65dfad
comment
The Cameo: In József Nepp's short A yeti dala (The Song of the Yeti), Gustav cameos as one of the snowman's victims. Dr. Bubó from the concurrently produced Funny Animal show „Kérem a következőt!” shows up in the episode Gustavus Interiority Complex, as a human therapist, rather than an anthropomorphic owl.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1b65dfad
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1b65dfad
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_1b65dfad
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1bcfe069
type
Absurdism
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1bcfe069
comment
Absurdism: The series as a whole likes to delve into this, with the ridiculous amount of hardships Gustav has to face, his own cartoonish follies, or simply the amount of plain weird stuff that happens.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1bcfe069
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1bcfe069
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_1bcfe069
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1e7487cd
type
Breaking the Fourth Wall
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1e7487cd
comment
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Gusztáv udvarias ("Gustavus is Polite"), Gustav points his cabin mate's attention to the audience and they hide behind a blanket to change into their pajamas.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1e7487cd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_1e7487cd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_1e7487cd
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_222dc873
type
Black Comedy
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_222dc873
comment
Black Comedy: The series' main genre.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_222dc873
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_222dc873
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_222dc873
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_277686f2
type
Reused Character Design
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_277686f2
comment
Reused Character Design: Gustav's bearded doppelganger would show up in a couple Mézga család episodes as Uncle Oscar. They even had the same voice actor.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_277686f2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_277686f2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_277686f2
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_2d7ef923
type
Mistaken for Cheating
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_2d7ef923
comment
Mistaken for Cheating: In Gustavus is Jealous, Gustav develops obsessive paranoia about his wife cheating on him thanks to a Fortune Teller. He holds onto his suspicion even after they've grown old together and raised a whole family of Gustavs, and even when he's seemingly dead.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_2d7ef923
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_2d7ef923
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_2d7ef923
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_3104d34
type
Suicide as Comedy
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_3104d34
comment
Suicide as Comedy: Comes with the territory of a Black Comedy. In one scene, Gustav visits a noose shop, in another, he hangs himself with a carefully selected tie only to realize his apartment's ceiling isn't high enough.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_3104d34
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_3104d34
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_3104d34
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4348c929
type
Early Installment Character-Design Difference
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4348c929
comment
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Proto-Gustav from the film Passion has a more angular design with rectangular features. Early Gustav proper had a cartoonishly oversized, rounded head, minuscule torso and large, oval eyes. His finalized form, redesigned by Marcell Jankovics, reinstated Proto-Gustav's more realistic body proportions but kept the noodle-limbs, outfitted him with rounded features and small, beady eyes.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4348c929
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4348c929
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_4348c929
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_46d7e20a
type
Sustained Misunderstanding
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_46d7e20a
comment
Sustained Misunderstanding: A dialogue-free variant. In Gustavus and the Other Man, Gustav and a random stranger are walking on opposite sides of a hedge and both grow suspicious that the other is stalking them, to the point that they do begin to stalk each other.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_46d7e20a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_46d7e20a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_46d7e20a
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4987746e
type
Ridiculously Fast Construction
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4987746e
comment
Ridiculously Fast Construction: Inverted in Gustavus Builds a Holiday Home. Gustav sets out to build a massive villa in no time, and ends up wasting his entire life and fortune making a small shed.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4987746e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4987746e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_4987746e
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4dd42a04
type
Self-Surgery
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4dd42a04
comment
Self-Surgery: To hide the fortune he made by winning the lottery, Gustav cuts himself open and sews the cash under his own skin. Unfortunately for him, the show's cartoon logic stops applying at that point and he passes out.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4dd42a04
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_4dd42a04
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_4dd42a04
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_688d3a5b
type
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_688d3a5b
comment
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: Apart from an occasional word or sentence here and there, which are hard to make out anyway, the show has no dialogue.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_688d3a5b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_688d3a5b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_688d3a5b
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68a171b6
type
Sadist Show
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68a171b6
comment
Sadist Show: Whether Gustav is on the giving or receiving end of said sadism, the whole show has a very morbid vibe and rarely do the characters escape the episodes unscathed.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68a171b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68a171b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_68a171b6
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68d326ff
type
Express Delivery
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68d326ff
comment
Express Delivery: In Gustavus Knows Best, a musician gets cozy with a nude woman hiding in a double bass case while Gustav is messing about with his french horn. A few days later, the baby's already been delivered... inside a small violin case of its own.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68d326ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_68d326ff
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_68d326ff
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_6de438eb
type
The Everyman
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_6de438eb
comment
The Everyman: Gustav, or at least he mostly starts out as one. Then each short goes on to show how basic human nature or society's influence can bend and contort him.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_6de438eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_6de438eb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_6de438eb
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_71961831
type
Loser Archetype
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_71961831
comment
Loser Archetype: Though he occasionally comes out on top (usually at other's expense), Gustav is primarily this.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_71961831
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_71961831
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_71961831
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_78c895c8
type
Amusing Injuries
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_78c895c8
comment
Amusing Injuries: Being a comedy show with a lot of slapstick, these tend to crop up from time to time.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_78c895c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_78c895c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_78c895c8
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_7ea2a915
type
Animation Bump
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_7ea2a915
comment
Animation Bump: Animation quality varied greatly, especially when comparing the early theatrical shorts to the later television episodes, but the episode Gustavus and Society stands out with its unusually "rubbery" and highly expressive animation.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_7ea2a915
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_7ea2a915
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_7ea2a915
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_81a1960f
type
Silence Is Golden
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_81a1960f
comment
Silence Is Golden/Speaking Simlish: The shorts for the most part have no dialogue other than mumbling gibberish or nonsensical sound effects (a la Peanuts' adult characters), though at times Gustav would mutter or yell something legible. He was "voiced" by comedians Alfonzó (József Markos) in most appearances and János Gálvölgyi in two episodes.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_81a1960f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_81a1960f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_81a1960f
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_8e9cf84e
type
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_8e9cf84e
comment
"Blind Idiot" Translation: Some of the official English episode titles have wonky translations.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_8e9cf84e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_8e9cf84e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_8e9cf84e
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_9d1cc720
type
Barbie Doll Anatomy
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_9d1cc720
comment
Barbie Doll Anatomy: Used most of the time Gustav or a woman shows up nude, but sometimes it's averted for brief gags or if a character is looking at porn magazines. Parodied in the episode Gustavus Two Faces. Gustav's bath scene first features the usual cartoon censorship, showing only his butt. Then he gets out of the tub with his junk in plain view.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_9d1cc720
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_9d1cc720
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_9d1cc720
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_b3a49cdb
type
Satire
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_b3a49cdb
comment
Satire: The whole series' main purpose, other than being generally funny, was to take as many jabs at society and its petty schmucks as possible, but also to showcase the plight of the everyman.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_b3a49cdb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_b3a49cdb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_b3a49cdb
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bd8aa92a
type
Negative Continuity
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bd8aa92a
comment
Negative Continuity: Gustav's occupation and family status changes every episode. Most of the time he's on the lookout for hot women, yet sometimes he's not only married but has a child as well. In one episode, The Grim Reaper takes him away, only to show up fine the next. At one point, Gustav even lives in The Wild West; in another, he's living in an imagined future.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bd8aa92a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bd8aa92a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_bd8aa92a
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: Counterbalancing the satire about realistic topics is the show's utter surreal wackiness, its experimentation with Toon Physics and unexpected bursts of explicit, dirty jokes. When pushed to his limits, a pissed-off Gustav can take off his head and beat it up. His way of growing a stubble? Eating a hair comb and letting its spikes stab through his face. As he goes from being a careless pedestrian to a similarly unhinged driver with no regard for public safety, Gustav's recklessness finally catches up to him when he accidentally runs over a man. His victim turns out to be himself from the beginning of the short. The two then start beating each other up for being road menaces.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bef696dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_bef696dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_bef696dd
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_c5fe6c81
type
Strong Family Resemblance
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_c5fe6c81
comment
Strong Family Resemblance: Gustav is infrequently shown raising a daughter who looks nothing like him, but in Gustavus is Jealous, he fathers five exact copies of himself... and still thinks his wife was cheating on him.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_c5fe6c81
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_c5fe6c81
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_c5fe6c81
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e38c48c5
type
Road Runner vs. Coyote
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e38c48c5
comment
Road Runner vs. Coyote: Gustav's burly Wild West adversary in Gustavus the Gold Digger goes through a host of Wile E. Coyote-style schemes to flatten, maim, run over or drug Gustav and steal his gold, all of which backfire on him in the expected fashion. In the end, he gets Gustav's loot anyway by beating him in a poker game fair and square.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e38c48c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e38c48c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_e38c48c5
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e43c66bd
type
Art Evolution
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e43c66bd
comment
Art Evolution: The first few seasons featured lively, bouncy Thick-Line Animation vaguely resembling the earlier UPA cartoons produced in America, and an occasionally more varied color palette for the sparsely detailed backgrounds. The specifics of the art style varied based on the animation director, until the establishment of a concrete in-house style in 1967. The post-1974, made-for-television shorts had thin, uneven lines, stiffer animation with lots of smear frames, generally more grotesque character designs, and more uniformly drab bluish gray environments with a tad more detail.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e43c66bd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e43c66bd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_e43c66bd
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e6114414
type
Prospector
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e6114414
comment
Prospector: Gustav himself in Gustavus the Gold Digger.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e6114414
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_e6114414
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_e6114414
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_eb99df21
type
Funny Animal
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_eb99df21
comment
Dr. Bubó from the concurrently produced Funny Animal show „Kérem a következőt!” shows up in the episode Gustavus Interiority Complex, as a human therapist, rather than an anthropomorphic owl.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_eb99df21
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_eb99df21
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_eb99df21
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_f1e6402d
type
Suddenly Speaking
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_f1e6402d
comment
Suddenly Speaking: While he did say a couple words or generic sentences here and there, Gustav would finally get to speak coherently in a series of TV ads for body hygiene products.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_f1e6402d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_f1e6402d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_f1e6402d
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fcafe8d7
type
Zany Cartoon
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fcafe8d7
comment
Zany Cartoon: Every episode seems to have a normal setup about everyday hassles, but they quickly (d)evolve into absurd hijinks where the rules of reality only apply if they're in the service of comedy or Gustav's suffering.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fcafe8d7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fcafe8d7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_fcafe8d7
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fdc4fab4
type
Depending on the Writer
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fdc4fab4
comment
Depending on the Writer: Co-creator Nepp preferred to accentuate Gustav's negative traits, depicting him as a permanent jerkass, if not an outright sadist.
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fdc4fab4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_fdc4fab4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_fdc4fab4
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
comment
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
 Gustavus (Animation) / int_name
itemName
Gustavus (Animation)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Depending on the Writer / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Early Installment Character-Design Difference / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Hungarian Media / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Mime and Music-Only Cartoon / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Quirky Work / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
Reused Character Design / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
The '60s / int_3d38405e
 Gustavus (Animation)
hasFeature
The '70s / int_3d38405e