A Goofy Movie

A Goofy Movie is a 1995 animated film from Disney, starring, of course, Goofy.

As in Goof Troop, Goofy is a single father to teenage Max Goof. After Max gets into trouble on the last day of school, Goofy becomes worried that he hasn't been spending enough time with Max, and decides to take him on a father-son road trip. Max, however, is embarrassed by his dad, and is more worried about impressing the girl of his dreams, Roxanne. When the road trip means he'll have to miss a date with her, he claims it's because Goofy is taking him to a concert in Los Angeles, where he will appear on stage. Hilarity Ensues.

The film was directed by Kevin Lima, who would go on to direct Disney's Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians and Enchanted, but A Goofy Movie was not animated by Disney's main animation team in Burbank, but farmed out to studios in Australia, Canada, and France.

A Goofy Movie was pretty successful in theaters, and eventually got a direct-to-video sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000). The sequel covers Max going to college, while Goofy joins him. The first film is considered by some to be an underrated classic, with some clever comedic bits and some heart and soul between Max and Goofy's relationship.

Tropes used in A Goofy Movie include:

Who deserves a hero's trophy / as we face each cata-STRO-PHE?

  • Accidental Dance Craze: Twice.
    • Max gets a possum in his pants, and everybody claps along and dances with him.
    • The "perfect cast" turns into a dance craze at the end.
  • Adorkable: All protestations to the contrary, Max is Goofy's son, so this is to be expected. However, even smart, pretty, and popular girl Roxanne shows quite a bit of this in the scenes she's in. It goes a long way in having the audience root for the relationship.
  • The Alleged Car: Goofy's much abused car (essentially a thinly veiled cartoon version of the AMC Pacer, a real-life alleged car.
    • Cool Car: And yet, it floats and survives all the way back home.
      • And then explodes in the movie's final scene.
  • Alternate Universe: It's unclear whether the movies are meant to be in the same canon as the TV show; while they don't drastically alter anything, there is some evidence to suggest they aren't in the same universe (the complete disappearance of Peg, Pistol, and the family pets, Max and Goofy apparently living in a different house, Pete having a different job, and the altered character designs).
    • The most popular explanation for everything that has changed is that... well... things changed. There are several years between the series and the films, and they involve Max and PJ maturing from kids into teenagers. The story didn't need Peg or Pistol to be there - Pete's not at home at all during the first movie, and only has four minutes of screen time in the second.
  • Ambiguously Brown: Powerline has brown skin, but we don't know his ethnicity; it's implied that he could be African - American. However he has this look probably to resemble Tevin Campbell who voices him.
  • Animated Musical
  • Animation Bump: The animation is consistently good throughout the movie, but you do notice a difference for the climactic scenes (especially all of the dance moves at the concert).
  • Awkward Father-Son Bonding Activity: The entire film.
  • Beauty Mark: Roxanne has one.
  • Big Foot
  • Brake Angrily
  • Bumbling Dad: Guess.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Max's friend Bobby is quite quirky and accepts payment in the form of spray-on cheese (which he eats raw) but no one else has the expertise to rig the school AV system to pull the stunt Max does.
  • The Cameo: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck appear for a line or two as hitch-hikers during a musical number. Later Mickey can be seen for a second among the audience during the movie's Concert Climax. As if that wasn't enough already, Max has a Mickey phone on his nightstand.
    • Bambi and Mufasa appear as stuffed animals at Goofy's workplace.
      • A nightlight in the cheesy motel the crew stays at bears a striking resemblance to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She can also be seen on a placard on stage (perhaps remnants of a school musical?) when Max sings "Stand Out".
  • Celebrity Lie: Max telling Roxanne he'll be at the Powerline concert.
  • Chekhov's Skill: The Perfect Cast. First used by Goofy as a means to kick off the Bigfoot subplot, later used during the climax by Max, to rescue his dad from falling to his death.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Peg and Pistol, as well as family pets Chainsaw and Waffles from Goof Troop.
  • Concert Climax
  • Conspicuously Light Patch
  • Counterpoint Duet: Max sings the more sarcastic parts of the song "On the Open Road" while Goofy sings the upbeat parts.
  • Crowd Song: "On the Open Road" and "After Today".
  • Curse Cut Short: "My life's a living-" "HELL-o little buddy!"
  • Darker and Edgier: While not a "dark" film by any means, it definitely is more serious than the TV series at points. Goofy's and Max's father-son relationship was never in such turmoil in the TV show.
  • Demoted to Extra: Despite Goof Troop being about the Goof and Pete families, and Max, PJ, Goofy and Pete getting equal attention, this film is all about Max and Goofy.
  • Disney Animated Canon: A Goofy Movie is not part of the official canon due to its ties to Goof Troop and the fact that it was not produced by the core Disney team in Burbank, but there are a lot of fans who would argue that it should be included, especially since it's a musical.
  • Eye Cam: Max, recovering from the news that Dad's dragging him on a vacation.
  • Fan Disservice: Pete wearing nothing but a pink Speedo = YE GADS!
  • Flanderization: Pete isn't nearly as cold towards PJ in the TV show as he is in the movies. TV Pete may have been strict, but he still seemed to care about his son. Movie Pete shows no genuine affection towards PJ at all, and seems to regard close relationships between a father and son, in general, as unhealthy.

Goofy: You know, maybe Max isn't everything you think a son should be, but... he loves me.
Pete: Hey! My son respects me.

    • His relationship with Goofy seems to be a lot better, however, and he's much less overtly spiteful.
  • Frothy Mugs of Water: Averted. Pete is quite obviously drinking beer.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: "Though he seems intoxicated, he's just highly animated..."
    • Max is clearly staring at some girls' asses at one point. They walk off the camera, but we can see his eyes drop down.
    • One side character in the first act of the movie is VERY scantily clad, and after Max's Powerline stunt, one can see her adjust her top a little to reveal more cleavage before approaching him.
    • Max's Curse Cut Short. When he goes to say "Hell" a guy in a costume comes and interrupts him with a big "Hello".
  • Girl Next Door: Roxanne.
  • Good Father: In both movies Goofy is an exceptionally caring and supportive parent, if a little doting and bumbling.
  • Good Times Montage
  • Heroes Want Redheads: Roxanne, again.
  • Heroic BSOD: Goofy shuts down for a while after he learns Max has changed the route on the road map.
  • Hilarity Ensues
  • Hollywood Nerd: The Trekkies are Type I, Stacey is Type II.
  • Hooked Up Afterwards: Done with the pals of the Official Couple. Max's Pauly Shore-voiced friend Bobby has such a hook-up with Roxanne's valley-girl best friend Stacey, when they both reach for Bobby's can of cheez whiz that he dropped. Bobby lifts his dark sunglasses and smiles at her, and Stacey gives him a brace-filled smile back. It's a cute/quirky moment, but there is absolutely no lead-up to it whatsoever.
  • Inevitable Waterfall

Goofy: Ah-hyuck. A waterfall. (Beat) A WATERFALL?!

  • I See London: Goofy walks in on Max as his trouser fall down to reveal Stock Underwear.
  • "I Want" Song: "After Today".
  • Jerkass: Pete. Not just to his own son PJ by forcing him in hard labor, but to Max as well. He deviously listened in to Max's confession to PJ about him changing the directions on Goofy's map, then goes and tells this to Goofy with false sympathy. Though the way he went about telling him was more out of being an ass than as a "concerned friend".
  • Limited Wardrobe: Goofy and Max didn't pack a change of clothes, it seems.
  • MacGuffin Girl: Roxanne is the reason Max decides to go on the journey across the country (which is the main part of the plot).
  • Match Cut: After Goofy discovers Max's altered road map, he goes to lay on the bed in his motel apartment, with a closeup shown of his glum face. The camera slowly tilts and fades to him and Max back on the road, with Goofy still wearing the same expression on his face.
  • Meganekko: Stacey
  • Missing Mom: Like in Goof Troop we haven't any clue, nor even a mention of Max's mother - whoeve she was, if she divorced from Goofy or died. Morevoer we neither see the mother of Max's friends - we only see their fathers (Pete and Roxanne's growling father).
  • Mood Whiplash: From a nice father-son bonding moment... to falling off of a waterfall.
  • The Musical: Yes, this movie is a musical.
  • Nightmare Sequence: The very start of the film is Max having one where he turns into his dad.
  • The Nineties: Quite notably a product of its era. Lacks most of the grungy stereotypes, but there's flannel everywhere, Max's hoodie is an obvious clue, baggy pants are in, etc. Also, Pauly Shore.
    • Powerline is the ultimate early-90s pop star amalgam of Prince and Michael Jackson with a healthy scoop of Bobby Brown thrown in just because.
  • Non Sequitur Thud: While Goofy and Max were spending a night in the their car:

Goofy: (half-asleep) How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?
Max: Uh... three and a half?
Goofy: ... *thud* ZZZZZ...

  • Oh Crap: Several times.
  • Overprotective Dad: Roxanne's father seems to speak primarily in grunts, growls and glares, particularly after he finds out that Max is there to speak to his daughter.
    • Also Goofy, as his desire to bond with his son is what drives the plot. However, he softens up as the film goes on.
      • Somewhat justified in Goofy's case, as his first indicator that Max isn't as well-behaved as he thought was having the Principal call him up, yelling about how Max's behavior is leading him to a cell in juvenile hall. Goofy had no clue that it was the Principal overreacting due to having been publicly humiliated.
  • Parental Bonus: Goofy mentions mambo king Xavier Cugat, a reference likely lost on the target audience.
  • Percussive Maintenance: Max's alarm clock.
  • Petting Zoo People: The Dogfaces.
  • Poisonous Friend: Pete. While definitely a jerk, he seems to genuinely want to help Goofy out of his problems with his advice. It's just that his detached, domineering way of parenting would clearly cause more harm than good.
  • Poor Communication Kills: It's Principal Mazur's extremely exaggerated warning to Goofy about Max's behavior that sets Goofy off on the idea of taking Max on a vacation in the first place. If he'd taken even a moment to get Max's side of the story, or at the very least put the vacation off for a week, a whole lot of pain could have been avoided.
    • Goofy and Max's entire relationship in the first movie could be summed up as this too. Max spends most of the movie mad at Goofy, and Goofy spends it completely oblivious to how his son actually feels, and neither one actually takes the time to just talk directly about their problems, until near the climax of the film, when they're about to careen over a waterfall because of it.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: As Goofy accuses Max of ruining the vacation, Max shouts, "I never! Wanted to go! On this stupid! VACATION!!!"
  • Rage Breaking Point: Max after the horrid trip to the Possum Park. He was already seething after the embarrassing moment Goofy dragged him into, but then exploded when Goofy presented him the possum hat that he threw down in anger before (thinking he had "dropped it").

Goofy: "Max? Hey, what the heck are you trying to do?"
Max: "I'm trying to get away from you!"
Goofy: "... me...? What did I do?"
Max: "Oh forget it."
Goofy: "I thought we was havin' fun? What's the matter?"
Max: "Nothing okay? Let's just go! ... Well come on!" (Goofy opens the car and they get in, with Max seething)
Goofy: (presents Max the possum hat he threw down) "Uh... you dropped your hat."
Max: (explodes and starts to angrily slam the hat) "GRAAAAHHH!!! THIS IS THE STUPIDEST VACATION! YOU DRAG ME FROM HOME, JAM ME IN THIS DUMB CAR, DRIVE A MILLION MILES AWAY, AND SEE SOME STUPID RAT SHOW!!! (throws hat out window) Call me when the trip's over!"

  • Recurring Extra: A group of nuns keeps showing up all throughout Goofy and Max's road trip, including at the Powerline concert.
    • In most cases, almost everyone outside Max's school is seen everywhere. Either the entire world (but Goofy) is into Powerline concerts, or they all know being around the Goofy family nets them screentime.
  • The Renaissance Age of Animation: Technically not part of the Disney Animated Canon but very well-liked nonetheless.
  • Road Movie
  • Sadist Teacher: In addition to making Max's end-of-year stunt sound like a gang fight and implying he should be executed for it, the principal of Max's high school is apparently out to ruin his students' summer by planning events that involve coming to school and learning.
  • Serendipitous Symphony: "On the Open Road".
  • Shout-Out: Immediately after learning of Max's last day of school stunt, Goofy spots a blue light leading him to the bobblehead doll he purchases. For years, Kmart was notorious for their "blue light" specials. Fitting considering the movie, Goofy and Pete appear to be working at a generic Kmart/Wal-Mart clone.
    • Max standing at the top of the bleachers during "After Today" is remarkably similar to Danny's ending pose from "Summer Nights" in Grease.
    • When Pete meets up with Goofy at the campsite, he refers to the occasion as a serendipity-doo-dah.
    • Two were featured back to back in "On the Open Road".

Goofy: I got no strings on me. I'm feelin' fancy free.

    • During the montage of Max and Goofy's pit stops one of the places they visit looks suspiciously like Main Street USA from the Magic Kingdom.
    • The Neptune Inn has a similar layout and design as the Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.
    • Goofy and Max frantically trying to roll up the car window as Bigfoot charges at them, mouth covered in toothpaste foam, is quite possibly a reference to Cujo.
  • Spit Take: Pete spits his beer all over his TV screen after he sees Max and Goofy on stage with Powerline.
  • Squirrels in My Pants: Max gets an opossum in his pants.
  • Stock Scream: The famous "Goofy holler" is used twice just in the titles, apparently as a sort of Leitmotif. There is also a Wilhelm Scream when their car runs into the scaffolding on the highway. The use of the Goofy Holler is later averted hard when Goofy goes over the waterfall.
  • Suck E. Cheese's: Combined with Affectionate Parody of Disney's own "Country Bear Jamboree".
  • Sure, Let's Go with That: Powerline is initially surprised at Goofy's unexpected appearance on stage during he concert, but keeps playing along when Goofy does the Perfect Cast and turns it into a dance step.
  • Suspiciously Apropos Music: By the time they join Powerline on stage, Goofy and Max have learnt to see each other's point of view. Naturally, that just happens to be the topic of the song they cut in on.
  • Take Our Word for It: Averted. "Check the map, Goof!"
  • The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Roxanne, a short, curvy, pretty young girl, has an extremely large, hairy, mean, overweight Overprotective Dad.
  • Unintentional Period Piece: It takes place in the 90's... but that happened to be the exact same time the film was released, so the now-blatant 90's cliches weren't initially evident, such as the high school fashion trends when characters try to look cool, Powerline's image, and the soundtrack filled with rock jams.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Powerline seems to be very chill with having two random strangers burst in from backstage and join his routine, also that dancing corpse in the song "On the Open Road" .
  • Vertigo Effect
  • Wacky Parent, Serious Child
  • World of Funny Animals

The sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie, provides examples of

  • Accidental Athlete: With a little help, Goofy surprisingly winds up showing some skill in skateboarding.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: All of the Gammas, especially Brad.
  • Art Evolution: This looks a bit more modern compared to the first movie.
  • Back to School
  • Big No: Max, after finding out his dad returned to college, specifically the one he's attending RIGHT NOW.
    • Goofy does it as well when he sees Max and Tank crash into the gigantic X.
  • Bowdlerise: According to Wikipedia, the tragedies of September 11, 2001 in New York, New York, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania resulted in most television runs of the sequel haphazardly removing a segment involving a gigantic flaming X that puts many of the characters in trouble. The result is an awkward flash of "Look Out! They're Doomed! They're ALIVE!" within a matter of seconds. In the midst of the quick cuts, you can actually see the X on the ground, broken and smoking.
    • That, and it leaves out the explanation on why Tank is with Goofy and Max and pulls a Heel Face Turn on Brad at the end.
  • Brotherhood of Funny Hats: The Gammas.
  • Cheaters Never Prosper: The Gammas, again.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Roxanne, love interest of the first movie, has vanished without a trace or a mention.
  • Chubby Chaser: Strongly implied to be the case with Beret Girl.
  • Demoted to Extra: PJ gets much more attention than he does in the previous film, as does Bobby, but Pete appears for about four minutes.
  • Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: Several of the Gammas' attempts at cheating are shown to take place during the race.
  • Disco Dan: Goofy & Sylvia, who are both avid collectors of 70s memorabilia and disco dancers.
  • Disney Acid Sequence: Goofy's dream during the mid-term. Ends in a White Void Room.
  • Dumb Muscle: Tank, to some degree.
  • Empty Nest: Goofy suffers this hard.
  • Everythings Funkier With Disco: The disco scene. During which Goofy & Sylvia and PJ & Beret Girl hook up.
  • Furry Reminder: One Dogfaces catches a Frisbee in his mouth like a normal dog would.
  • Hartman Hips: Sylvia.
  • Heel Face Turn: Tank, after Bradley betrays him by launching himself and Max to their almost dooms via rocket-propelled skateboard, and then not helping to save him afterwards.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: It's actually PJ, the sidekick, who gets Beret Girl. Roxanne has gone missing, meanwhile.
    • However, Goofy does also get Sylvia.
  • Hot Librarian: Sylvia.
  • Hypocrite: Goofy of all people. Goofy lectured Max and his friends about focusing on your goals in order to succeed in life. First, he loses his own focus which gets him fired from his current job and sent to college. AGAIN, Goofy loses his focus because Max is also attending. He completely forgets the main reason why he's attending college in the first place, which was to earn his degree, NOT to continue babying Max. After getting an earful of Max's annoyance at him, Goofy flunks his exam as all he did was doodle Max's name all over his test. PETE of all people inadvertently help Goofy realize his folly.
  • Hypocritical Humor: In the beginning, Goofy gives a speech to Max and his friends about "focusing on goals to succeed in life" before they go off to college. Next day, Goofy loses his own focus due to his empty nest syndrome, resulting in him destroying the toy factory he worked at AND getting fired. He then tries to get his college degree and plans on focusing on getting it. This is not made any easier since it's in the college MAX is attending...
  • Jerk Jock: Bradley Uppercrust III, the entire Gamma Muu Muu fraternity to some degree.
  • Lingerie Scene: PJ and Bobby aren't very shy about lounging around in their undies. Max is a bit more modest. Strangely enough, it's not really played either for laughter or sex appeal but relatively straight.
  • Look Behind You!: During the final rollerskating race, Bradley distracts the entire audience by pointing and saying, "Hey, is that Mickey Mouse?" long enough to cheat.
  • Love Triangle: Very small one between PJ, Bobby, and Beret Girl. Both PJ and Bobby took interest in her when they first saw her perform her poem, but Beret Girl showed more interest in PJ at the disco (not to mention she flat out rejects Bobby's advances).
  • Merchandise-Driven: The movie's release happened to coincide with the popularity of the X Games on ESPN.
    • When they run the film on The Disney Channel, they cut out all the ESPN references. Most notably is a blimp with a hideous gray blur over it. Disney owns ESPN, so I can't really see the problem here...
  • No Name Given: Beret Girl.
  • Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo
  • Opposing Sports Team
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Goofy's boss yells "You're... FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!" once he practically destroys the assembly line missing Max.
    • Max: "GET! YOUR OWN! LIFE!"
  • Redhead in Green: Sylvia in her disco clothes, and also the clothes salesman girl in Goofy and Max's college life montage.
  • Sequel Non Entity: As mentioned above, Roxanne (Max's love interest in the first movie) is neither shown nor mentioned.
  • Shout-Out (possibly Hey, It's That Voice!): Curiously, one of the play-by-play appears to be modeled on legendary ABC college football broadcaster Keith Jackson.
    • Also during the scene where the group set off for college, when PJ can't make up his mind about which way Louie road is, an annoyed Max exclaims, "Louie, Huey, Dewey, what are you talking about?!"
    • Max's teddy bear, named Old Stuffed Bear, actually made his first appearance in the Have Yourself a Goofy Christmas segment from Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. Old Stuffed Bear seems to be in perfect condition, despite his arm accidentally getting ripped off by Max in the Christmas segment.
      • So there's no possibility that it could have been fixed?
    • This little bit from the unemployment office scene:

Female Interviewer: "Well, doll... Uh, Mr. Goof. The answer to your problem is simple. The only way to build your career is to go back to college."

  • The Smurfette Principle: Beret Girl and the collage librarian, Sylvia Marpole, are good supporting characters despite being the only female characters in the movie.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: The infamous can of "cheese spray".
  • Training Montage: Goofy studying.
  • Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: In the first movie Goofy was a child photographer, a pretty well paying and decent job which he seemed to enjoy. Here, all of a sudden he's a factory line worker for a toy company with a lousy boss and no future prospects, with no explanation why he's working there now. While this was used as motivation for Goofy to achieve higher learning it really comes out of the blue.
  • White Gloves: Lampshaded by Bobby while he looks under his. "Do you ever wonder why we're always, like, wearing gloves?"
  • Xtreme Sport Xcuse Plot: Max and his friends are apparently strong competitors in athletic sports now. Also their dream is to win the X-games now, I guess.
    • Max is an avid skateboarder in the first movie and the TV series, so it makes sense his friends would have gotten into it too eventually.
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