In this day and age, where Disney's properties extend far and wide across almost every genre, we sometimes forget about the longevity of the Disney mascot characters themselves (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc.).
That's not to imply they're not relevant characters, quite the opposite actually. The rebooted 'Ducktales' and the new 'Mickey Mouse' shorts have gotten tons of critical acclaim in the last number of years alone, appearances from 'House of Mouse' to 'Kingdom Hearts' have given entire new interpretations, and even now, in front of every Disney Animation project, there's 'Steamboat Willy' looking to take audiences into the magic of their stories.
But to my generation, and those close to me in age, one of the pinnacles of the Disney "mascots" was the Disney Afternoon block of the 1990s, and the feature film that came out of it, 'A Goofy Movie.' I remember seeing 'A Goofy Movie' at a friend's house when I was little, but I was a bit out of the loop on the whole Disney Afternoon fandom. That makes me a bit of an outlier, as 'A Goofy Movie' seems to have become a cult classic, especially online.
Seeing as how the film was going to be celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, I decided to give the film another look to see if it's held up and what the fandom seemed to be celebrating. I won't go as far as to say its completely held up, but I was surprised at how much of it does work, even separated from its original context. Despite its dated sense of humor and design, strangely enough, 'A Goofy Movie' actually has more than enough respect for its animation, music, and even general character arc to make it stand out in the crowd of some of its contemporaries.
Goofy (voiced by Bill Farmer) is a mall photographer living with his teenage son, Max (voiced by Jason Marsden). Max is a bit of an outcast at school, doing pretty much anything he can to up his social status, especially to his crush, Roxanne (voiced by Kellie Martin), who might have similar feelings for him. After inviting Roxanne to a party, Max is horrified to discover that his father has planned out a road trip to go fishing across America, just like he did with Max's grandfather. In addition, Goofy also believes that Max might be getting into trouble at school, thanks to some parental advice from his boss, Pete (voiced by Jim Cummings), and is determined to keep Max on the straight and narrow.
Despite Max's pleas to not go, Goofy convinces him otherwise and the two set off. Max makes a stop at Roxanne's house first to tell her he can't take her, but he panics and tells her that his trip is actually for the purpose of guest dancing alongside a famous performer named Powerline (voiced by Tevin Campbell) in Los Angeles and that he'll wave to her on television. Now, he somehow has to convince his father to detour the trip by any means necessary to see his word through.
As strange as it is to say, beyond the '90s "retro-cool antics," 'A Goofy Movie' is essentially a movie about trust, and specifically trust between teenagers and parents. The film does a great job of getting you to care about Goofy and Max's relationship, and yet cleverly never forgets that they are both flawed characters.
Here, Goofy is classic Goofy; forever the optimist, ready to help, and full of love for his son, but he's also a bit of a simpleton who seems to toss aside any chance to actually listen to his son in favor of reliving some bygone childhood. At the same time, Max is definitely relatable - both in his insecurities and his desire to live his own life - but he also seems increasingly distant and unfairly harsh towards his father.
Yet the film never takes the lazy route of painting one of the other as the film's antagonist. Not only do you see where both Goofy and Max are coming from, but you also get to watch that father-son relationship develops over the 80-minute runtime, which is also a major benefit. It allows the film to never overstay or elongate any of its content; you get all the adventure, fun, and heart of the story without any sort of extra pacing out for subplots.
Speaking of Max, one of the key narrative threads is his would-be relationship with Roxanne. I didn't remember the film being as balanced in regards to their relationship as when I was younger. Sure there are some cliches in there - the overprotective father, the boy lying to impress her, his gawking feeling a bit too stalker-ish at times - but when you boil it down, their mutual awkwardness is kind of adorable, especially in the film's earlier scenes, and they're a very likable romantic endpoint to root for.
The musical numbers in 'A Goofy Movie' are probably the most pleasant surprises throughout (at least to someone like me who didn't grow up memorizing Powerline lyrics). The songs never feel invasive; instead, they drive the narrative and characters forward and are insanely catchy to boot. From the after-school joy of "After Today" to the cathartic "Nobody Else But You," songwriters Tom Snow and Jack Feldman really have a lock on the characters and the film's road trip style structure.
Of course the two Powerline songs - "i2i" and "Stand Out - pretty much speak for themselves. Maybe they are admittedly a bit too reminiscent of Janet Jackson and Prince's best material, but they're composed pretty well for what they are and, in context, make for some excellent energy in the film's climax.
Despite all of that fun, I will say that the movie can, at times, be a bit tiresome, mostly in the first half between Goofy and Max. In the end, their arcs do have legitimate weight to them, but it does feel a lot of the times that the film is just trying everything in its power to not have the two of them just sit down and act like adults (oh wait, this is the '90s, adults still are the villains, my mistake).
I'll certainly praise the movie for not going too ambitious with its runtime, it feels like it could have been even shorter (you could have made this a 45-minute afterschool special and I don't think much would have been lost). Scenes like the Possum Park show and even the eventual Grand Canyon section feel dragged out and not in the smoothest of ways. In addition, aside from Roxanne, the supporting characters fall a bit flat, most disappointingly in Pete, who is such fun and lively coming from Jim Cummings, and yet really doesn't have much to do aside from being the devil on Goofy's shoulders who just kind of pops up every once in a while.
To say that 'A Goofy Movie' holds up 25 years later feels like an impossibility and yet, here we are. It's certainly not perfect, but even without looking through the nostalgia lens of the '90s, I found a lot to like about this, even in its more dated sensibilities. The characters feel developed to a fair point for both kids and adults, the humor is genuinely consistent, the musical numbers feel natural, and the ideas feel, for lack of a better word, timeless.
I think that's exactly the word that I'd want to take away from 'A Goofy Movie,' the idea that Goofy and the other Disney mascots are beloved because creators still find ways to take those character types and make them likable and fun in new contexts. 'A Goofy Movie' is one of those delightful examples, whether you're looking for the next rewatch on Disney Plus or looking for a slice of the '90s that's got a little something for everyone.
Overall, I give 'A Goofy Movie' 8.5/10.
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