Eustace Bagge is the tritagonist as well as a recurring antagonist of the series Courage the Cowardly Dog. He is a farmer who lives in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas with his wife Muriel Bagge, and her dog Courage. He has proven to be a valuable ally and friend despite his villainous acts.
Appearance
Eustace wears a pale yellow shirt with olive green overalls with black buttons, he also wears a dark brown hat and large black shoes. In dim lighting, his shirt appears to be orange and his overalls, dark green.
Under his hat he is bald. Eustace does not appear to have any teeth.
Personality
Eustace is a stubborn old man who is usually bossy and annoying to people around him. Eustace has an unquenchable thirst for monetary gain. In almost every episode, he is seen sitting in his favorite red chair while reading a copy of the Nowhere newspaper and possibly watching his television which he deems precious to him. He has an adamant disliking for Courage and frequently calls him a "stupid dog", taking great pleasure in scaring and messing with him whenever possible, which largely stems out of jealousy that Muriel constantly pampers and dotes on Courage; however, it is not uncommon for Eustace to scare or mess with Courage just for fun or to get Courage to leave him alone.
Lack of talent and good looks fuel Eustace's demeanor that has been a wreck since his childhood. Throughout his life, he lived under the shadow of his mean spirited brother Horst, was hated by his mother; and neglected by his father. This is probably why he is so angry all the time. He is in constant denial over his lack of abilities and, as such, believes he can fix anything. Eustace is excruciatingly greedy, and will seize any opportunity to be paid. Courage's arrival was an unwelcome addition to his life, as it distracts his wife Muriel from feeding him; a fact that he emphasizes frequently, and paying attention to him in general. Despite this, Eustace has shown a genuine love towards Muriel (though not unbending in the least) and has on occasions allied with Courage to protect her. He is immune to emotions but has a soft spot for children that remind him of himself. His constant tormenting of Courage seems to be a disguise to cover up his own cowardice, which is also quick to be displayed in a scary situation; in fact, he often displays even more cowardice than Courage himself. His favorite musician is Velvet Vick, and his interests include watching television, fishing, and reading his newspaper.
Eustace is commonly the subject of a rather unpleasant ending, whether it being a backfire of his get-rich-quick scheme or the villain of the episode going after him or, better yet, getting his just-desserts at the end, often in quite brutal or fatal ways.
History
Eustace was raised in a small household with his deceased father (whom he bares a great resemblance to), mother, and his deceased older brother Horst. At the beginning of the series, he is already married to Muriel and lives with her and their dog, Courage, in the middle of Nowhere where they are constantly subjected to a series of unfortunate events.
He is referred to by Shirley, the medium, as "The Stupid One" because he never listens to her nor does he do the right thing, which always leads to some ominous portent, such as being cursed, or having magical chaos rained down upon him.
Trivia
- Eustace is one of three characters (the others being Courage and Muriel) to appear in nearly every episode.
- He is also one of seven characters (the others being Courage, Muriel, Shirley, Dr. Vindaloo, the Computer and Katz) to appear in every season.
- Eustace is only seen without his glasses in "The Chicken from Outer Space" "The Curse of Shirley" and "Le Quack Balloon". But most of the time, he never takes them off even when sleeping or taking a bath, like Muriel.
- Eustace has an old farm truck based on a 1947 Studebaker truck. He considers it his prize possession and the only thing he may truly unconditionally care about.
- Although Eustace is referred to as "the farmer" by many people in the show (Courage himself never calls him by his actual name), he is never shown performing any actual farm work.
- Surprisingly, Eustace actually called Courage by his name instead of the usual "stupid dog" in The Hunchback of Nowhere, Ball of Revenge, and the Cartoon Network 20th Anniversary Party bumper.
Eustace's eyes
- Despite Eustace's mistreatment of him, Courage was shown to be worried about Eustace in the Mask when he thought that Kitty was planning to eat Muriel and Eustace.
- His personality was based on John R. Dilworth's early incorrigible attitude.
- It's revealed in Bad Hair Day that the reason he calls Courage "stupid dog" is because of his mother calling him "stupid boy".
- Although Eustace is bald in old age and was apparently the same as a child, he had a small amount of hair in his younger adulthood, briefly seen in a flashback in "Farmer Hunter, Farmer Hunted".
- Eustace was unvoiced in the pilot episode "The Chicken from Outer Space", and was voiced in the first 33 episodes by Lionel G Wilson. Wilson retired due to illness during the show's production, with the role being picked up by Arthur Anderson afterwards up to the show's end. Anderson was replaced by Wallace Shawn for the CG pilot "The Fog of Courage."
- During Anderson's time in the role, many of Eustace's catchphrases that were originally voiced by Wilson were reused as stock audio. Such phrases include "Stupid Dog!" , "What's, huh?", and his laughs.
- He and Mr. Nasty have the same model.
- He is also named Pooh-bah by Professor Frith and Uncle Twinkletoes by Basil in "Courage Meets the Mummy" and "Family Business."
- Everytime Eustace scares Courage, he gets hit on the head by a rolling pin (Muriel's purse in some episode).
- As evidenced in "The Curse of Shirley", Eustace appears to despise his birthday, possibly because it only serves as a reminder of his miserable life.
- Eustace appears in every episode of the series except Cajun Granny Stew.
Quotes
- "Stupid Dog!"
Eustace scaring Courage with his "Ooga-Booga" mask
- "That's what I tell him all the time! You stupid dog, you stupid dog. He don't do nothin' right."
- "Get away from me!"
- "OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!"
- "Where's my dinner?"
- "Where's my lunch?"
- "Big deal..."
- "Nope..."
- "Blah, blah, blah..."
- "Ow! What did I do?!"
- "Eh?"
- "What's huh?"
- "Who the heck are you?"
- "What's yer offer?"
- "We don't want any!!"
- "Works for me!"
- "Stupid Dog! You made me look bad!"
- "Kaboom!"
- "Grr!"
- "Get off my property!!"
- "No solicitors!"
- "Lousy telemarketers!"
- "Where's my chair?!"
- "What about me food?!
- "Muriel, I'm hungry!"
- "Mr. Nasty, Where are you going?"
- "You're my meal ticket!"
- "Oh, wicket."
- "This looks like a crummy place to end a crummy vacation."
- "That's it! I'm gettin' me mallet!"
Gallery
The gallery for Eustace Bagge can be found here.
