“Look! It’s the Leaning Tower of Cheeza!”
Justin’s rating: Disney plus… Pauly Shore
Justin’s review: Like pretty much every family on the globe, we bought into a year’s subscription to Disney+ when the streaming service debuted last year. It became a relatively safer option than Netflix to offer programming for our kids, and I enjoyed scouring it for films from my past to inflict on my loved ones. If numerous reports from my friends are any indication, I was not alone in gushing over and reliving the wonder that is A Goofy Movie when it came up on the menu.
A Goofy Movie was such an odd Disney outing, in that it was a B-list animation effort (compared to The Lion King, Aladdin, and the rest of the A-list stuff) that should’ve been sad and forgettable — yet ended up being a bit of a hit and an enduring favorite for those who grew up in the ’90s. The combination of genuinely good writing, some catchy musical numbers, big-name voice talent, and a lot of really funny gags were jam-packed into a scant 78 minutes of sheer joy. It’s a movie that deserves to be remembered fondly.
The premise is that, on the last day of school, Goofy’s son Max finally connects with his unrequited love Roxanne — and is abruptly removed from her presence thanks to his dad’s well-intentioned desire for a father-son summer road trip. Goofy is greatly worried that his teenage son is slipping away from him, and he’s probably right to have that opinion. Max doesn’t seem to need or want his father’s company and is more obsessed with his friends, his music, and his girl.
The tension between a somewhat overbearing father and an awkward teenage boy makes for a great dynamic as Goofy and Max cross the country and deal with increasingly wacky situations. To make things more interesting, they keep bumping into Max’s friend PJ and his dad, the abusive Pete. There are more than a few misunderstandings, lies, and blow-ups, but gradually Max and Goofy arrive at a much better place in their relationship. In 78 minutes, mind you.
As I said, A Goofy Movie is way better than it had any right to be. It’s one of those crowd-pleasing movies that will bring out the nostalgia in some and fresh smiles in others. Me? I still love it for its music and seeing Pauly Shore animated as a dog version of himself, but now as a dad myself, I can identify with Goofy’s big-hearted love for his boy. Who knew that taking Mickey’s sidekick and shoving him to the forefront would forge a touching landmark?
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