Der Goofy Film

I do not see why this isn't on the Disney classics list. It is well animated, well scripted, heartwarming and it has better songs than many other Disney films. It deals with Goofy taking his son Max out on a road trip after Max sabotages an assembly. Meanwhile Max wants to stay so he can go to his favorite singer's concert and go out with his crush from school Roxanne. When compared to almost every other Disney cartoon, this one has more emotion. You feel genuinely sad or happy when Goofy and Max are getting along, or when Goofy is trying. I actually felt sad when Max gets mad at Goofy for taking him to the Possom show. It's a great movie, and I highly recommend any fan of animation find it.

My rating: *** 1/2 out of ****.

When it comes to animated cartoon features, the delineating line is now almost as simple as "pre-Toy Story" and "post-Toy Story". Before that Disney-Pixar team-up cartoons in theaters were for kids and kids alone. Young kids, at that. What Toy Story proved, however, is that an animated flick could transcend that boundary and appeal to adults as well as children.

Just 6-7 or so scant months before Toy Story changed everything, A Goofy Movie premiered and largely got "lost in the shuffle", I believe. Had it dropped a bit later, perhaps it could have better captured the momentum. As it was, A Goofy Movie transfixed pre-teen adolescent audiences--including yours truly--for a (very) short time with its odd-yet-winning mix of music, humor, family relationships, and shenanigans.

For a basic plot summary, this story tells the story of Max (Jason Marsden), son of the infamous Goofy (Bill Farmer), going through his adolescence. Despite being extremely self-conscious of his appearance and gulp-like chuckle, he strives to win the attention of Roxanne (Kellie Martin). Just when things seem to be looking up on that front, Dad Goofy decides to take him on a weeks-long, father-son fishing excursion across the country. Max promises Roxanne he's going to the Driveline concert--the most popular band ever!--setting himself up for a tangled web of decisions and emotions out on the open road with Pops.

I know it sounds ridiculous considering this a cartoon starring Goofy, but I honestly believe this little film (about 78 minutes in total) could be watched 100 years from now and still have the same effect on viewers. I truly don't think this is a case of me suffering from "90s nostalgia" and rating this film higher because "I liked it as a kid".

The beginning of the film feels very much High School Musical-esque, with teen drama taking center stage. I don't care if it's 1995 or 2025, the concept of awkward teen boy trying to talk to/impress equally awkward teen girl is universal. The same can be said for when Max and Goofy hit the road together, as the tenuous relationship between pre-teen son and goofball father is once again ageless. Whether through great writing/directing or pure dumb luck, this movie stumbles upon a gold mine of relevant themes.

Like I said, if only Disney knew what they potential had at this point. No self-respecting adult would have willingly sat through this in theaters at the time (there was no precedent for that), and Disney had not yet figured out how to market such fare to wide audiences either. As a result, the movie gets sucked into a sort of "black hole" of quality content that had an extremely short shelf life.

The bottom line, though, is this: I watched A Goofy Movie while I was still in grade school and loved it. I watched it as a 33-year old adult...and still enjoyed it. All things considered, I view that as a remarkable achievement. Sadly, only those within a year or two (at most) proximity to myself will have any real knowledge/appreciation of this movie, but that set will show it to their children at some point, I can almost guarantee you that!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. It isn't my all time favourite Disney movie, but it is very entertaining and touching. The concept may be a little old fashioned, and the film could have been longer, but A Goofy Movie does have a very good message, good characters and a good balance of humour and sentiments while providing an accurate take on life as an adolescent. The animation is really lovely, the backgrounds are beautiful to look at and the colours are audacious. The music is funky and nostalgic, and the story is sweet and realistic, even if it is quite ordinary but I don't particularly see anything wrong with that. I also loved the sight gags, the funny things Goofy says and the touching moments especially in the latter half of the film. And the characters are great, Goofy can't do anything right, then again he was like that in the original cartoons and that's why we love him, and Max is an appealing and not bland teenager. It was also nice to see Pete, and Roxann is really sweet and cute. I also thought Max's and Roxann's relationship was really sweet. Also the voice acting is great, Bill Farmer is amusing as Goofy and Jason Marsden is on the money as Max as is Jim Cummings as Pete. Overall, entertaining and touching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

When I grew up I watched A Goofy Movie ritually, and it never ceased to entertain me. This is a great children's film and can still relate to today's kids. The humor is enjoyable, the characters are lovable. The music is definitely bearable, whereas with most musical animated films the songs can really grate on the nerves. Perhaps it's just because I practically was raised on this film that I enjoy it so much, but I have given it to my little brother and he loves it as well. It's a great experience for any kid and shouldn't be missed. It's even a little fun for adults, and I am not ashamed to say I still enjoy it as well. A Disney classic! 10/10

Goofy has always been one of my most favorite Disney characters and I always found it a shame he had no feature length film (like Mickey Mouse whom I really do not like that much). In 1995 though Goofy got his feature length film, but it took me until now to see it. It was not for rent here, but I was lucky enough to catch an English spoken version on it on German TV (films on German TV are usually overdubbed in German) so I was very happy to have caught it. I was not let down, neither by Disney, nor by Goofy. The movie was not as good as the Disney movies who are targeted for big audiences, but I still liked it quite a lot. The story was pretty realistic and good, there were enough laughs, but also some ‘emotional' moments. All in all, something of everything and something for everybody. From me, that gets a:

7 out of 10