Origins

[Redman]

I took a trip down memory lane recently, and I rediscovered the two scenes that first exposed me to this world of TUGs. One was a movie that I liked so much that re-enacting it was my very first self tie... Before I actually knew how to tie knots! This got me wondering. Was there any movie or picture that you can trace back to your TUGs origin story?

I give you...

The Rescuers Down Under.



The Accidental Detectives books.

[Kyle]

I read a book many years ago, I think in my early teens, which had a couple of kids tied to a tree and menaced by either an alligator or crocodile (I think it was a boy and a girl and the animal was a crocodile because it was set in Africa, but my memory's not good enough to guarantee either of those things). I can't for the life of me remember what the book was called, though. The cover of that book reminded me of it. I probably haven't thought about that book in over 20 years.

Anyway, I can't really say there's one specific origin for my interest. Probably the closest would be the Ninja Turtles cartoon that aired in the late 80s/early 90s. Cartoon April O'Neil is a legendary damsel in distress for a reason and had the most impact on me, although occasionally one of the turtles or other characters would get tied up. There's one particular scene from one of the very first episodes with April grabbed by the Foot Clan out of a phone booth and tied to a chair which is about as close as I could get to pinpointing one individual scene. But I vaguely seem to remember already being fascinated by it.

[Wolfling]

Well, I have been fantasizing about me or any fictional character being tied up since I can remember. If I have to point to a possible suspect I have faint memories seeing the scene in Aladdin where the protagonist gets tied up and thrown into the water to drown.

[Detective-Gag]

In addition to the Aladdin scene from Disney; one of my first recollections was “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”:

https://i.makeagif.com/media/11-18-2022/55C0XO.gif

I remember it happening so fast, and unexpectedly, and how both of them got cut off by the gags.

Right around that time, I was noticing characters getting tied & gagged throughout the numerous cartoons:

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88777 ... zhqoqaRE2c

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88777 ... cXYWlfs5iM

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imag ... Q&usqp=CAU

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88777 ... bXfAGH1fJo

…after that, I started trying it out myself.

[bluezentai]

The book cover in your post reminds me - there was a book called "Angie's First Case" and one of the editions had cover art showing the main character and her friend in the process of untying themselves. From what I remember, she and her friend were bound, gagged and blindfolded together, and then later in the book she gets bound and gagged again.

Kind of an odd choice of cover art when you think about it, but hey, I wasn't complaining.