How to Play Football

It's a college football game between Taxidermy Tech. and Anthropology A.& M. This is a Goofy take on the old sports short. Every character is a Goofy clone. It was nominated for an Oscar. This is fun and a Goofy classic. It's both light-hearted and a biting satire of the game with its accompanying hype. It's very tight on its intention without straying afar. It's an almost perfect cartoon short from Disney.

PERHAPS THIS ANIMATED short film (aka "Cartoon") owes so much of its widely acknowledged success with both the Public and the Critics due to the bridging of the gap between two seemingly different worlds. On the one hand you have College Football and on the other our friend GOOFY'S habit of fracturing anything and everything. (Spoofing, that is!)

ALTHOUGH THIS CARTOON is old enough to be on both Social Security and Medicare by now, it is still fresh and relevant; proving that the Gridiron just hasn't really changed that much. Plastic shell helmets, face masks of varying elaborately intricacy and competing varieties have found their way into the various stadia, but no matter. Football is still football and so are its fans.

SO WE FIND ourselves at the big game between arch rivals Taxidermy Tech and traditional foe, Anthropology A & M. Goofy is the star and possibly the whole team and cast; as every character is a variation of the formerly named "Dippy Dog". The roster of both varsity squads are populated with some very active Goofy clones.

THE CARTOON EXPLORES each and every cliché that is peculiar to the sport, some even seeming to invent a few new ones. We go through the litany of: "Barking Out the Signals", "Well Oiled Machine", "Throwing a Bullet" and "Swivel Hips". All could have well proved to be tiresome and trite; but they are so well handled and woven into the breakneck speed action that they do serve their purposes so well.

THE OTHER AMENITIES that are offered here are: the outstanding Technicolor photography, crisp & clear sound and a befittingly peppy and energetic score; with both the theme and the incidental music's type and tempo added so much to what is such a sight-gag oriented medium.

THE FINE FIGHTSONG march that opens up all the festivities sounds as if it is an original; but is pleasing and complex enough to be that of some college or university. It was apparently a thought shared by the Disney staff as well; as the colorful tune was reprised for a second go round as the main theme for Disney's 1953 cartoon, FOOYTBALL NOW AND THEN.

"Goofy" features prominently (well he plays everyone) and quite bravely in this. We start off with quite a sarcastic appraisal of the purpose of American Football - as opposed to the proper sort. It's all about kit, big stadia, huge crowds, hot-hog vendors, indeed virtually everything that has nothing to do with touching the actual ball! The teams align, realign, move a few yards, then it all happens again as they call out random numbers and 200lb players routinely squish their flyweight opponents before scrummages and penalties ensure as little as possible actually happens on the scoreboard. The narrative takes a swipe at not just the haphazardness of game, but at the relentless style of commentary frequently associated with the hype and hysteria these games encourage - matched only by the perfectly choreographed cheerleaders and big brass bands beside the pitch as "Taxidermy Tech" take on "Anthropology". It's quite a funny and honest observation this, and I quite enjoyed it.

This Walt Disney Cartoon spoofs the many newsreels that people watched in Cinemas in the '20's, '30's and '40's. It explains to viewers how to play (American) Football, with hilarious results. Recommended Deeply.

From the 1940s even up to recent years, Disney Studios made a ton of the "How To" films starring Goofy. Most are pretty good (especially the last one, "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater"), though a few (such as the drivers ed ones) are a bit on the preachy and annoying side.

"How to Play Football" is one of the better shorts of this series. Much of the reason it's so worth watching is its great sense of humor and crazy and over-the-top action. As usual, all the characters look just like Goofy and the football game ends up being completely ridiculous--and fun. Excellent animation and quality make this one well worth seeing--even 66+ years later. Good entertainment for adults as well as children.