A Goofy Double Feature
Lili’s Pick: A Goofy Movie
Lanie’s Pick: An Extremely Goofy Movie
After viewing two brazenly mediocre films from the 90s last week, we decided to move away from the “adult” films of this decade and go to the kid’s section. The era of 90s cartoons and children’s films was a golden epoch of self aware humor and subtle innuendos and social commentary that made room for the realistic, envelope-pushing kids movies we’re so accustomed to today. It’s hard to believe that A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie came from a studio as buttoned-up and god-fearing as Disney, but the execs on the board in the 90s were smart to embrace the totally tubular wave of grunge and apathy and mass consumerism, and further distance their brand from the time of empowerment-void princesses and racist crows. In my mind, the Goofy movies represent a shift from the one-dimensional characters and vague lessons learned of children’s movies of the past, and are some of the films that set the standard for the progressive, open-minded, even political kids movies we see now. In addition to its infectious silliness, A Goofy Movie takes time to establish a loving but complex relationship between a father and son, and An Extremely Goofy Movie only complicates this dynamic further when Goofy’s son goes to college. Being that I am neither a father nor a son, I will not attempt to analyze this further, but I will say that these movies are only made better by their realistic characterizations. Goofy’s son, Max Goof, along with being one of my very first crushes, is teetering on the edge of adolescence and independence as he attempts to break into an autonomous life. Max, voiced by eternal childhood heartthrob Jason Marsden (aka Thackery Binx of Hocus Pocus and Haku of Spirited Away), and his friends, cheerful PJ (voiced by Rob Paulsen aka Carl from Jimmy Neutron) and borderline drug dealer vibes Bobby (aka Pauly Shore playing Pauly Shore) all seem like believable characters, despite the fact that they’re talking dogs, because they’re written well. Their impossible ambition, their desire for individuality, their concerns about the future—these are elements embodied by real-life teenagers and kids, and I’m so glad their creators took the time to award them even a shred of this depth, considering how often kids in movies are so obviously written by adults. Analysis and editorialization and nostalgia aside, though, these movies are just really wonderful. With their hilarious dialogue, groovy cast of characters, and undeniably catchy music from Powerline (aka Tevin Campbell), these films, perhaps above all other cartoons of this era, deserve to be revisited as well as praised for their authenticity, universality, and style. And if I had gone to college with Max Goof, I definitely would’ve tried to date him.
