3298. A Goofy Movie (1995)

Starring: Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Kellie Martin

Director: Kevin Lima

Running Time: 80 mins

A Goofy Movie is an American film about Max, son of Goofy, who makes a crazy promise to his school crush, but soon finds himself on a cross-country road trip with his dad, and no way of following through on his words.

It may be short and fairly simple, but A Goofy Movie is a really sweet film from Disney, complete with some lovely songs, entertaining voice performances, a fun sense of adventure and a really lovely heart.

One thing to know about this film if you haven’t seen it, however, is that it’s not all about Goofy. In fact, it’s more about Goofy’s son, and the bond he has with his father over the course of a road trip with all manner of ups and downs.

However, rather than simply playing to Goofy’s goofy tendencies for easy laughs, the movie actually manages to tell a really wonderful story about a father-son relationship, along with a healthy dose of fun-loving humour and silliness along the way.

With a great sense of adventure that sees Goofy and Max end up in a bunch of crazy situations, A Goofy Movie has everything to entertain younger viewers who just want a bit of fun and laughter from their favourite Disney characters.

But if you want something a little more meaningful than just goofy slapstick, then A Goofy Movie has that too. Both in its presentation of the father-son relationship at the centre of the story as well as a kind of coming-of-age story about Max, there are some moments of really heartfelt emotion here.

The film is only short, and it certainly doesn’t have time to go into real dramatic depth in between the adventure and the songs (which are really good), but when there is a little bit of downtime, A Goofy Movie really uses that to its advantage, bringing much more to the table than many Disney movies.

That doesn’t necessarily place A Goofy Movie in the upper echelons of Disney’s playbook, but it certainly stands out as a film that strikes up far more emotional depth than you would have ever expected at first, as you really feel for a lovestruck Max, as well as Goofy as he tries to bond with his son.

Fun, light-hearted and still touching, A Goofy Movie is a genuinely wonderful watch, and far more than just a throwaway feature-length adventure for one of your favourite Disney characters. Bolstered by fantastic voice performances from Bill Farmer and Jason Marsden in the lead roles, there’s so much to love about this film, which is why I’m giving it a 7.5 overall.