Sheep Rustle Hustle
| Saturday Supercade episode | |
|---|---|
| "Sheep Rustle Hustle" | |
| |
| Segment | Donkey Kong Junior |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode | 2 |
| Airdate |  September 24, 1983[?] |
| Writer(s) | Matt Uitz |
| << List of episodes >> | |
"Sheep Rustle Hustle" is the second episode of Saturday Supercade's Donkey Kong Junior segment.
Plot synopsis[edit]
Standing just outside a sheep ranch in Arizona, Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones decide to vault over the fence and enter the ranch to get some gasoline for their motorcycle so they can continue their search for the former's father. Bones accidentally falls into the water trough, catching the attention of a nearby dog. The dog bites off Bones's pants in true rubber-hose style, and the ranch owner arrives shortly after to compliment him on capturing two "sheep rustlers". Donkey Kong Jr. tells him that they mean no harm, and the ranch owner asks his dog, whose name is revealed to be King, if they are being honest, to which King agrees. The ranch owner introduces himself as Biff, and, after apologizing for King's behavior, warns them that a group of "Sheep Rustlers" strikes every so often.
Just then, the Sheep Rustlers arrive to steal some sheep. After the slim member, Slim, cuts a barbed wire, the leader, Jake, mentions that this will be the last time King stops them from stealing the sheep, and instructs the short member, Bowl, to play a tape recorder playing the sound of sheep in distress to lure him into their pitfall trap. King runs to the source of the sound, only to fall into the trap. They lock King up in a cage and round up the other sheep, driving away. Biff gives chase, and is closely followed by Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones. As they reach a steep cliff, Biff notices the Sheep Rustlers driving off in the distance and laments that they will never catch them. Donkey Kong Jr., however, gets an idea and cuts off many tree branches and borrows Biff's supply of rope to construct a glider, planning to use the glider to fly towards the truck.
As they hover closer to the truck, Bones uses the rope as a cable to reach the truck. The sheep pull on the rope, making Bones laugh, and manage to it bite off and drop him into the cargo hold, attracting the attention of the Sheep Rustlers who pull the truck over to investigate. Bones attempts to imitate a sheep while crudely disguised as one; however, a sheep's tail wagging irritates his nose, causing him to sneeze and reveal himself to the Sheep Rustlers. As Slim confronts Bones, Bones flees Road Runner-style, with the Sheep Rustlers giving chase. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong Jr., noticing Bones in peril, tugs on a nearby cactus for leverage. While Bones uses martial arts to distract the Rustlers, Donkey Kong Jr. manages to fling himself, Bones, and Biff into the Rustlers to momentarily distract them. Their strategy is cut short when Donkey Kong Jr. is forced to rescue Bones from a tree branch, buying the Sheep Rustlers time to capture Biff and escape to their hideout, planning to use him and King to help load the sheep on a train bound to Mexico. Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones then give chase.
In a ghost town, the Sheep Rustlers' hideout, the duo manages to locate where Biff and King are locked up, which is in a jailhouse near a saloon. After Donkey Kong Jr. mentions that they need to get the key to the jail, Bowl mentions that the ghost town makes him scared, mentioning that the ghost of Sheriff Duelin and his deputy haunt the town. Coming up with a plan, Donkey Kong Jr. drags Bones into the saloon, and they begin to play music on a piano. This draws the attention of Bowl, who claims that there are ghosts in the saloon. Slim, however, expresses disbelief of his accusation, and they enter saloon to prove his point.
Inside the saloon, Slim mentions that the music is coming from an old "player piana", suggesting it is being played by mice instead of ghosts. Bones and Donkey Kong Jr. proceed to haunt the Rustlers using finger puppetry and eerie voiceovers, scaring Bowl, who says that "he'd better get back to guardin' the prisoners." Slim, however, is still unconvinced, saying that he does not believe in ghosts unless he says one. Donkey Kong Jr. then uses a ghost sheet resembling that of Sheriff Duelin's ghost to scare them into handing over the jail key. Bones is relieved, saying that there is "no way [he's] gonna fall in with those rustlers again!" However, he loses his balance and falls directly into the tablecloth, directly mimicking a ghost himself, which Bowl mentions is the "deputy ghost." He also attempts to haunt the Rustlers, only for the cloth to snag on a chair leg and pull off of his body.
Donkey Kong Jr. then decides to unleash "Monkey Muscle!", throwing the sheet on the Rustlers while he and Bones escape via a nearby pole. They then knock down the chandelier and use the chains to swing down and steal the jail key. They fall towards the Sheep Rustlers' leader, who immediately snatches the key and arrests them, throwing them into the same cell as Biff and King. He then tells Slim and Bowl to hurry up with loading the sheep onto the train, mentioning that a fortune awaits them in Mexico. Bones notes that the walls are too hard to blast through, to which King realizes he can dig through the soft floor.
As they emerge near the tracks, Biff mentions that the train is already pulling out of the station and laments that they are too late. However, Donkey Kong Jr. reassures him, and he and Bones run off to use a horse to catch up with the train that the Rustlers are using to escape with the kidnapped sheep. As the leader of the Sheep Rustlers gloats that nothing can stop them now, Donkey Kong Jr. lassos the smokestack to stop the train, then dumps out all of the water from a nearby water tower, washing out the Rustlers and the sheriff. Bones and Biff then tie up the trio.
Biff thanks Donkey Kong Jr. for his hard work, dubbing him "the greatest rustler wrangler of all Arizona." Back at the ranch, Biff asks if they want to stay a little longer, to which Donkey Kong Jr. replies that they cannot, explaining that he has to continue seaching for his father. Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones say their goodbyes to Biff and King. As they approach the gate, Bones mentions that, this time, "[they] get to go through the gate instead of over it." Shortly after he says this, his sidecar hits a rock, causing it to fly over the gate. Donkey Kong Jr. catches him and says, "That's my buddy Bones! Always showin' off!"
Gallery[edit]
Title card
Characters[edit]
Animation and continuity errors[edit]
- When Donkey Kong Jr. mentions that they have get some gasoline for their motorcycle, most of Biff's sheep are layered in front of the barbed wire fence instead of behind it.
- When Bowl closes the trap after King falls in, the border around the trap disappears.
- When Jake mentions that they have to load the sheep into the truck, his eyebrows turn the same color as his skin for a few frames.
- In the first shot of Bones near the Sheep Rustlers' truck trying to rescue King, the top of King's head is colored white like his fur instead of brown.
- When Bones runs off when performing his Road Runner imitation, he leaves his jacket behind. However, the jacket is later seen on him when he runs away from the Sheep Rustlers.
- When Bowl tells Slim to wake up when he hears the piano music in the saloon, he incorrectly refers to him as Jake.
- When Slim and Bowl sit in the moving chairs, the sleeves of the former's shirt are colored white like the collar instead of red.
- When Bones attempts to scare Slim and Bowl after his ghost disguise comes off, a black arc-shaped mark appears onscreen.
- When Slim tells Donkey Kong Jr. to come down, the latter's ears turn the same color as his fur.
- When Jake puts Bones on the ground, Donkey Kong Jr.'s right arm overlaps him.
- When King is digging through the prison cell, he is incorrectly layered in front of the mound instead of behind it.
- In the same scene, the order of the characters entering King's tunnel is King, Biff, Donkey Kong Jr., and Bones, but when they emerge, the order is Donkey Kong Jr., Bones, King, and Biff.
- In the closeup of the train slowing down from Donkey Kong Jr. pulling the rope, the rope is missing.
- In the following shot, when the train stops at the barn, Jake disappears from the cab.
- When Donkey Kong Jr. catches Bones after his sidecab hits a rock and flies into the air at the end of the episode, his foot briefly clips into the motorcycle.
Jake's miscolored shirt
The black mark error
The layering error
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalan | Les corredisses dels lladres de bestiar[1] | Rustler hustle |
