A Goofy Movie

Open up your eyes; take a look at me -
get the picture fixed in your memory.
I'm driven by the rhythm like the beat of a heart,
and I won't stop until I start
to stand out…

Sorry, couldn’t resist. While I sometimes bristle at the thought of being labeled (especially by all those people on the freeway calling me “asshole” – RUDE,) I suppose I would have to be branded a #ChildOfThe90z, because I’ve got an unabashed love for 1995’s A Goofy Movie.

On the (open) road...

A sequel to the Goof Troop TV series (an old favorite of mine – #DisneyAfternoon4Ever!)(I'm sorry…) produced at Disney’s then-new (and long since shuttered) Disney Animation France, most everything in this movie plants it firmly from the years of the original Clinton administration. From Max’s baggier-than-baggy pants and backwards ball cap, to Pauly Shore’s uncredited (!) appearance as Bobby “Leaning Tower of Cheeza” Zimmeruski, to the ripped-from-Blossom fashion sense of Roxanne’s friend, Stacy (voiced by none other than Blossom’s friend Six, Jenna von Oy – not a coincidence, in my opinionation,) this is a film for the compact disc generation.

Like can you believe my brother Anthony totally has a date with Hilary Banks?

As a side-note, the very first CD I owned was the soundtrack to this movie. SEGUE!

Speaking of the soundtrack, and to paraphrase another cartoon character, Kanye West: “Yo Frozen, I’m really happy for you, Im’ma let you finish, but A Goofy Movie had one of the best soundtracks of all time… of all time!” This is due mostly to the pair of Michael Jackson-esque songs by “Little T” himself, Tevin Campbell, singing in the film as Powerline (the “biggest rock star on the planet”; but not bigger than Xavier Cugat, the mambo king.) They may be as cheesy as Bobby’s gum line, but these jamz never fail to get me Dad-dancing like an idiot. And to this day you’ll always find somebody cosplaying as Powerline at Comic-Con … so there’s that.

If we listen to each other's hearts,
we'll find we're never too far apart...

Additionally, the song and sequence at the ramshackle tourist-trap “Lester’s Possum Park” is a snarky-but-loving parody that we fans of the Country Bear Jamboree can laugh with (yes, we do exist.)

So clap your hands and stomp your feet
and try to keep right with 'em...

I can’t finish without singling out a real talent who, I feel, doesn’t get enough kudos: Bill Farmer. The voice of Goofy for thirty years now, Farmer is, to me, the quintessential Goof for the ages. Original Goofy performer Pinto Colvig created the classic voice, and must be applauded – though it should be pointed out that it was basically his own voice, and most other characters he voiced sounded similar; see 1933’s The Three Little Pigs, 1934’s The Grasshopper And The Ants, and Sleepy in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. Plus Colvig basically left the role once Goofy was given his own solo series of shorts anyway - hence the narration-based “How To…” series. The classic “Goofy holler,” by the way, was performed by yodeler Hannès Schroll in 1941 - a recording used until Farmer recorded his own version for Goof Troop (though Schroll's original still pops up every now and then.)

Having lived and breathed with the same character for so long, Farmer has moved his Goofy away from Colvig’s lower baritone, and his is the voice that ah-hyucks in my mind whenever I picture the character. In A Goofy Movie, Farmer gets in some effectively touching moments, as when he insists to Pete that his relationship with his son, Max, is based on trust; or when he confesses to Max that he just wants to be a part of his life.

It was nice to see Farmer receive an Annie Award in 2015 for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting for the recent Mickey Mouse TV series – an honor greatly deserved.

You party animal you

Next time we’ll continue the Kevin Lima directorial trifecta to the rhythmic drumming of Phil Collins. Awesome.