Dingo détective

A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon.

Hired by a veiled female, the Goof illustrates the finer points of HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE while searching for the mysterious Al.

While at first blush this may seem to be another in the long series of Goofy's 'educational' shorts, this cartoon is actually a lively spoof of detective films and the happy nonsense with which they are filled. Goofy plays Johnny Eyeball, a Sam Spade wannabe; Pete appears as Muldoon the cop.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off.

While most of these "How to" things are narratives on how not to do something because Goofy is involved. This is simply a kind of homage to the Sam Spade character. It has all kinds of noire cliches, a long chase scene, and convoluted ending. It went on a long time, or so it seemed.

The Disney Shorts (and the cartoon short in general) started to decline in the late 40s. Walt ended the Pluto series, followed by the Mickey series. The Goofy series was next in line.

Goofy's role changed with great variety over the years. He's best remembered as one of Mickey's sidekicks in the earlier years and to a slightly lesser extent demonstrating to to play a sport in comedic pantomime. This formula continued to be used, but less often in the 1950's as Goofy represented the average working American. While the title suggests the "How To" cartoons of the 1940's, it is actually more of a parody of the Film Noir genre that gained popularity after the war; Complete with unexpected twists and turns and an unexpected ending. Here Goofy is in his classic "Goofy" persona instead of the contemporary "George Geef" persona.

There were reports by Disney fans that Disney stopped airing this short because of the intense cartoon violence. Indeed, the first half minute is crammed with all sorts of violence that would not be considered family friendly. Considering the genre that's being parodied (in a cartoony way), that shouldn't be surprising. The only official release that I know of is on the Disney Treasures.

One of the few Disney shorts from the 1950's featuring Disney's classic crew worthy of checking out.

This is a fun detective Goofy cartoon, where he stars as an investigator assigned by a woman to track down a guy named, Al. However, the sheriff keeps telling him to stay out of the case. What results are some hilarious attempted robberies and a whimsical car chase sequence that will sure send you some laughs.

As I thought a number of Goofy cartoons have not been very entertaining, this one is actually captivating with its suspense feel and quick humor. Good stuff here!

Grade A-

How to be a Detective has to be one of my favourite Goofy and Disney shorts. It is extremely violent at times(for 1952 especially), which is unusual for Goofy and Disney. However seeing as it is a spoof on the detective mystery genre, this gritty noir approach was not inappropriate in any way and only added to the authenticity of the period. Regardless of whether you are deterred by that or not, there is still much to love from other Goofy shorts here. There is fast pacing and very funny gags, and I loved some of the details like Goofy underwater with a weight on his feet and Goofy drinking a Martini. The mystery elements are also done really well, with suspense and a great atmosphere that feels like you had travelled back in time. The animation is beautifully drawn with the colours colourful and really fitting with the mood, and the music is both jaunty and haunting. Goofy is as likable and endearingly clumsy as ever, even in a different persona there is that unique personality shining through, and it was nice to see Pete in a good guy role for once. The voice acting is very good, with the narration as thoughtfully delivered and sardonic as you'd expect. Overall, one of Disney and Goofy's best and great for anybody into animation, detective mystery stories or both(I apply to both). 10/10 Bethany Cox