The second Movietoon to be animated for Disney entirely in France (Ducktales was the first), A Goofy Movie is a pleasant, nonpretentious comedy that is totally unlike most of Disney's increasingly ambitious 1990s offerings.
A Goofy Movie presents Goofy in perhaps his most character-driven role to date. Goofy was always a rather versatile character in the Disney shorts, from his teamup appearances with Mickey and Donald in Lonesome Ghosts to the Tex Avery-influenced sports series later in the 1940s. Goofy is cast in the role of a suburban, Middle American dad with a son named Max and the comedy stems primarily from the generation gap between them. Max has finally managed to achieve popularity at his local high school, only to be whisked away at years' end for a journey across America with his dad, who can't help acting, well, goofy.
One of the funniest scenes comes near the beginning of the movie, when Max is dreaming about his crush Roxanne and suddenly the dream turns into a hilarious nightmare. There's also the sight of Goofy breakdancing with a Michael Jackson clone onstage at an L.A. concert, and some surprisingly good songs. There are also some amusing supporting characters, including Pegleg Pete Junior and a Bigfoot the Goofs encounter in the wild. Roxanne doesn't have much to do in the picture, but I was happy to see that (unlike most Disney heroines), she wasn't the prettiest or most charming female for miles around. She and Max make a believable couple in their scenes together, a nice anchor for the rest of the film's hijinks.
Unlike Ducktales, the animation is quite even throughout and despite the emphasis on story, Goofy is as rubbery as ever. Voice work is excellent, and the sitcom-style premise allows for goodnatured slapstick. There are more honest bellylaughs in A Goofy Movie than in most of Disney's recent pictures. Moving from one outlandish sequence to another, the film is a worthy successor of the classic Goofy shorts.
If you like any of the Goofy cartoons (and if you don't, you've wandered into the wrong webpage by mistake) you'll enjoy A Goofy Movie.
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Other NonAnime Reviews Prince of Egypt Review* Quest for Camelot Review Sleeping Beauty Review * Space Jam Review Tex Avery Screwball Classics Review* |
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