G, 81m, 1995

With the Voice Talents of Bill Farmer (Goofy), Jason Marsden (Max), Aaron Lohr (Max’s Singing Voice), Jim Cummings (Pete), Kellie Martin (Roxanne), Rob Paulsen (P.J.), Pauly Shore (Bobby), Wallace Shawn (Principal Mazur), Jenna von Oÿ (Stacey), Frank Welker (Bigfoot), Kevin Lima (Lester the Opossum and Roxanne’s Dad), Wayne Allwine (Mickey Mouse) and Tevin Campbell (Powerline). Directed by Kevin Lima. Produced by Dan Rounds. Screenplay by Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson and Brian Pimental. Music by Carter Burwell and Don Davis, Based on Goof Troop by Robert Taylor and Michael Peraza Jr.

            The iconic trio of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy have become some of the most iconic characters in animation history, but oddly enough until the release of this film, none of the characters have received their own full-length feature film. Sure, they have appeared in leading roles in films like Fantasia, Saludos Amigos, Melody Time and Fun and Fancy Free, however these film appearances were only in package films, and at best they might have helped tie the compilation of animated shorts together. During the 1980s and 1990s the trio would appear in more animated projects that put the characters in a more modern setting. One of these animated projects was Goof Troop, which saw Goofy as a single dad raising his son Max in a suburban setting. The series was a hit and this film was released as a follow-up to the series.

            The film opens with a beautiful dream sequence that shows Max (Jason Marsden) running through an amber field of wheat towards the girl of his dreams Roxanne (Kellie Martin). As the two laugh and roll in the grass Roxanne leans forward for a kiss when a terrible transformation begins to take over Max and he turns into the thing he dreads most of all, his dad Goofy (Bill Farmer). Max wakes with a start and rushes off to school while singing “After Today”, along with the rest of the High Schoolers. While at school Max has a meet cute moment with Roxanne. Unfortunately for Max he embarrasses himself by laughing like Goofy. He runs off to meet up with his friends P.J. (Rob Paulson) and Bobby (Pauly Shore), who have agreed to help get Roxanne to notice Max. Their plan involves Max dressing up like the famous Rockstar Powerline (Tevin Campbell) and performing a choreographed song and dance number. The plan goes well until the trio gets caught by Principal Mazur (Wallace Shawn). While at work Goofy gets a call from Mazur, who actually crosses the line when he tells Goofy that he should reevaluate the way he’s raising his child before he ends up in the electric chair. Keep in mind this was over a little bit of shenanigans. Goofy then decides to take Max fishing at Lake Destiny, a place his father took him as a kid. Unfortunately for Max, Roxanne had agreed to go with Max to a party where they’d watch a Powerline concert on Pay for view. In an attempt to explain why he couldn’t go with Roxanne; Max accidentally blurts out that he and his dad are going to see the Powerline concert live. The rest of the film centers around the relationship between Max and Goofy as they travel cross country with their own agendas.

The relationship between Max and Roxanne can best be described as cute. The characters have genuine chemistry together and they act the same way many teenagers act when they have a crush. Many TV shows and movies oversexualize relationships and neglect to show the sweet awkward side of budding relationships. This film remembers what it’s truly like to be young and in love. Max and Roxane’s relationship is extremely popular in the Disney fandom. To the point where I know people who dislike Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas because Max is with a different girl called Mona. However, Roxanne and Max would see each other again in an episode of The House of Mouse which saw the couple on a date. However, the real focus of the film isn’t about Max and Roxanne’s relationship, the real focus of the film is the relationship between Max and Goofy. At the beginning of the film Max has a bit of a tempestuous relationship with his father. While Goofy is seen as a good father who cares deeply for his son, Max is a teenager who is embarrassed about Goofy’s clumsy antics and the way Goofy still treats him as a kid. This could have easily resulted in a generic story and bland characters, but the film handles the relationship really well and the theme of this film would be repeated in the sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie, but I feel this film did it better since  A Goofy Movie’s climax doesn’t feel like a commercial for ESPN. The way these two characters interact is what really gives this movie its heart, this is best exemplified in the turbulent climax when Max and Goofy are clinging to their car, as its thundering down the Grand Canyon. In the scene Max and Goofy are shouting their feelings toward each other, with each character wanting to be understood. “I was only trying to take my boy fishing, ok?” “I’m not, your little boy anymore, dad! I’ve grown up! I’ve got my own life now!” I know that! I just wanted to be part of it.” This scene is by far the strongest in the film and I applaud the filmmakers for going all out with it.

            The animation of this film is surprisingly good. While the Disney company is synonymous with great looking animated features, it also has its fair share of bland looking atrocities. This film could have easily ended up looking like one of Disney’s direct-to-video films, with cheap looking animation and uninspired character designs. Instead we got a great looking animated film that was animated in Walt Disney Animation France and Walt Disney Animation Australia. There’s a fantastic opening sequence that shows Max running towards Roxanne in a dream sequence that goes from a light and whimsical romance moment to a dark nightmarish scene that visually portrays Max’s fear of becoming like his father. However, the animation of this film isn’t perfect as there are several moments when a character in the foreground will either use looped animation or will be completely motionless and this can be a little jarring.

            Despite being based on the animated series Goof Troop, A Goofy Movie has little in common with the series it’s based on. Pete’s wife Peg, and his daughter Pistol are absent from the film and are never referenced throughout the movie. Bobby and Roxanne do not appear in Goof Troop and are hardly mentioned in other Disney properties outside of this film and An Extremely Goofy Movie, which Roxanne is completely absent from. This may actually be for the better, as I’m not really a fan of Goof Troop, mainly because I find the show to be extremely generic and dated and while there are some elements of A Goofy Movie that are a little dated, I still found this to be a highly enjoyable film. I do feel this film is a bit underrated as not a lot of people seem to know of this film’s existence. However, that is beginning to change as I’m beginning to see more references to the film in stores and on social media. While this film certainly isn’t groundbreaking, it is a sweet little film that’s better than one would expect from a film like this. As a kid, I loved to watch this film after the last day of school as the film does begin on the last day of school for Max and I always found it to be a great way to start summer vacation along with watching Recess: School’s Out.