Gumbo

Gumbo

Gumbo is a minor antagonist in Disney's Darkwing Duck, appearing in only two episodes with Jambalaya Jake.

He was voiced by Jim Cummings.

Appearances

Darkwing Duck

Gumbo is Jambalaya Jake's alligator sidekick, who behaves more like a henchman than a pet and has been known to be smarter than his master. Gumbo and Jambalaya first appear in the episode "Can't Bayou Love". The episode begins with a charity for the bayou. Jambalaya Jake and Gumbo bust in and steal the donated money. Darkwing Duck comes in and stops him. Jake and Gumbo get away, but Darkwing is able to get the money back. Jake and Gumbo go to their hideout in the sewer, and Jake threatens to get rid of Darkwing. Later in the episode, Jake and Gumbo capture Launchpad McQuack. It turns out that Gumbo has a sweet tooth for Launchpad's brownies. Darkwing hears the commotion and comes in to find Launchpad gone. He figures out that Jake took him and goes after them.

Jake and Gumbo take Launchpad to a reptile zoo and tie him up to a tree. Jake ties some of Granny's Tonic (a very explosive concoction) to Launchpad and strings a wire to a plunger. He tells Gumbo to jump on the plunger if Launchpad tries to get away. Jake leaves to ambush Darkwing. Launchpad starts to wiggle out of his ropes when Gumbo starts growling at him. Launchpad gives him a brownie and learns that Gumbo loves them. Jake gets back to Gumbo and Launchpad and stops Gumbo from attacking Launchpad because he wants to blow Launchpad up. Darkwing shows up to stop Jake and they start to fight. Jake and Gumbo are able to sneak off and Darkwing accidentally sets off the explosives.

Darkwing and Launchpad take off after Jake and Gumbo. Darkwing knows that Jake has gone to the sewer to get away. Launchpad accidentally steps on Gumbo's tail and Gumbo starts to chase him. Darkwing tries to come to his rescue but is stopped by Jake who wants to fight some more. Darkwing is able to get the upper hand and puts one of Launchpad's brownies down Jake's overalls and calls for Gumbo. Gumbo takes off after Jake to get the brownie. Jake and Gumbo fall down the sewer drain and are washed out of the city. Jake vows revenge.

Gumbo and Jake reappear in the episode "Double Darkwings". In an attempt to get even with Darkwing, Jake also seeks help from his grandmother, an old witch who makes potions for him to use in exchange for money. She then threatens to turn Gumbo into a handbag if she didn't get her money. At the end of the second episode, the two end up getting arrested for trying to frame Darkwing Duck and Launchpad for their crimes.

Trivia

• Similar to Jake, his name comes from that of a Cajun cuisine; in his case, gumbo.
• In "Double Darkwings", Gumbo has only four speaking lines, but they are barely coherent due to his raspy voice.
  • In the same episode, the TV announcer mistakenly refers to Gumbo as "Dumbo", the titular character from the Disney animated film of the same name.
• He bears a strong resemblance to Tick-Tock the Crocodile from Peter Pan, and more precisely to his TaleSpin counterpart Al, as all three are non-anthropomorphic crocodiles/alligators who act semi-anthropomorphically and share very similar designs. Coincidentally, both Al and Gumbo appeared in The Disney Afternoon TV shows.