Stevenson is a donkey and one of the main protagonists from the Disney film, The Animal Quartet.
Background[]
Stevenson the donkey, known to his friends as Steve, is not at all stubborn. He's really a bebopping beast of burden with a love for jazz music and a talent for playing the saxophone. He used to work for a miller, but now music is really more his thing. As long as he has his kicking hooves as well as his buddies Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles, the Music-meister is no match for this burro.
Stevenson is a gray donkey with a black mane, a streak of black on his back, a little bit of black on the end of his tail, and light gray hooves. He wears a red neckerchief around his neck. When performing on stage with his friends, he wears a navy blue jacket, black sunglasses, and a maroon fedora. He has a love and a talent for jazz music, so he loves to play the saxophone.
Appearances[]
In The Animal Quartet, Stevenson is seen as the last of the quartet. He is seen at the Miller's barnyard; having gotten too old for carrying sacks to the mill, he sings "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" while his fellow farm animals walk alongside him to the barn as they cheer him up. His master, angry that the donkey preferred singing to working, takes Steve back outside to work. Steve tries to haul grain sacks, but his strength fails. The miller gets fed up with the beast of burden and plans to sell him to the butcher while finding a replacement. The other animals convince Stevenson to run away in order to save his own life. First the rats bite off the rope around his neck and tie a red neckerchief in its place. The donkey thanks his friends promising to cherish the neckerchief and flees the farm, much to his master's dismay.
When Stevenson meets Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles, they sing "Set Your Name Free" then he recommends that they start a band, to which they agree. Along the way, the quartet explains the problems they have like what to call their band, how they can play together if they like different kinds of music, and where they can go to make music. Stevenson sings his own song in a jazz tone for his buddies who then each sing their own song. In the forest where the quartet spends the night, Stevenson, Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles are informed by Vladimir T. Owl about Bremen. The next day, the Animal Quartet heads toward Bremen. Despite Vlad's information about the town being under a curse, the donkey and his friends convince each other to follow their dream.
Once in the city, they are noticed by the people while coming up with names for their band when Stevenson recommends that their band be named after the movie title, to which Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles agree. Unfortunately for the quartet, they can't get the instruments they want to play due to the music ban of the Music-meister. So they decide to stick with singing until further notice. Unaware of the Music-meister and his Sour Notes, the band sings in town square which pleases the townsfolks and even the mayor who gives them a place to stay at an old abandoned music studio.
The next day after more singing, Stevenson and his pals notice a songbook and plan to return it to its rightful owner only to find that it's a trap set by the Music-meister who doesn't want the band to restore Bremen to its happy, musical self. The band gets locked in the Music-meister's prison along with people who tried to get the rich man to change his mind before. Having just about lost all hope, Stevenson and his allies blame themselves for what happened when Vlad returns reminding them that they should work together. This makes Stevenson come to his senses and convince his friends to do the same. After General Mouse and his troops free all the prisoners, Stevenson thanks the mice.
Outside the prison, the animals appear to talk with the citizens outside the city, telling them to work together in order to save Bremen while the quartet deals with the Music-meister who lied to everyone about the quartet abandoning them. Stevenson tells Bruce, Elizabeth, and Miles that by standing on each other from biggest to smallest, they can defeat their enemies; so the donkey carries the dog, the cat, and the rooster standing on each other's back while walking on his hind legs to the Music-meister's mansion and make their loudest animals sounds to scare the villains.
Stevenson breaks open the window his front hooves so he and his friends can enter and attack the elite Sour Notes. Stevenson kicks the Notes out the window with his back hooves. While Bruce, Miles, and Elizabeth attack the Music-meister, the donkey takes away his cane and then kicks the fat music-hater out of his own mansion, thus ending the music ban. After the Music-meister and his henchmen are arrested, the crowd praises the animals as heroes. Miles, Elizabeth, and Bruce notice that Steve somehow lost his neckerchief in the battle, but it doesn't matter to him.
Just then, the animals notice that their ex-owners have come to take them back, having seen the errors of their ways. But Stevenson and his friends realize how unhappy they'll be without each other, so their former owners agree to let them stay and the miller gives the donkey a new neckerchief. The quartet takes an oath promising to stick together for the rest of their lives. To thank the animals, the Mayor makes them official musicians by having them sign a contract with their footprints (Stevenson signs with a horseshoe mark from one of his hooves). The animals are also given the instruments they always wanted to play, including the saxophone that Stevenson desires.
The quartet plays their instruments to celebrate. In the end, the animals perform onstage sing "The Animal Quartet Theme Song" at the first concert that Bremen ever had in years with Miles dressed in a tuxedo while playing his piano, Elizabeth dressed as a cowgirl while playing her guitar, Bruce dressed as a rock 'n' roll player while playing his drums, and Stevenson dressed as a jazz player while playing his saxophone. After the concert, Steve and his friends bow to the audience.
Video Games[]
Stevenson appears in the Animal Quartet video game as one of the playable characters. He has the abilities to kick, bray, carry things, hoof-stomp, and play the saxophone. He has to collect power cards to obtain his abilities. He can also wear his fedora, sunglasses, jacket, and saxophone when the player buys them from the Bremen giftshop. He eats apples to restore his health.
Trivia[]
- Even though Stevenson doesn't have fingers, he can play the saxophone very well.
- Stevenson allows his friends to call him Steve, while the miller calls him Stevie.
- Stevenson is a little similar to Fred from the Fearless Four and Anton from Spy Cat/Marnie's World.
- The way he stands on his back legs to play his saxophone, he may resemble Miles the mule from Barnyard.
- Although he can talk to the other humans, he only brays to the miller.
- In the video game, Stevenson carries his saxophone around his neck (except when he plays it).