A "Goofy" Day

Today's a special day for Goofy: It's his birthday!
Ooh. Watch where you're skating, Goofy!

I'd thought I'd pay tribute by sharing some links that feature the Goof in all his glory. ...if you can call it that. (LOL)

Jeff Pepper's 2719 Hyperion has posts tagged to Goofy's 75th birthday.

Acme Factory pays tribute to Goofy by year:

First, the introduction.
1932, his debut in "Mickey's Revue"
1933, he plays villain in "Ye Olden Days" (Luckily, it's the only time he plays villain)
1934, in an act with Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow in the original version of "Orphan's Benefit"
1935, his first team-up with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in "Mickey's Fire Brigade"
1936, he tries to show a piano who's boss in "Moving Day"
1937, he, Mickey, and Donald go ghostbusting in "The Lonesome Ghosts"
1938, he flirts with a mermaid figurehead in "Boat Builders"
1939, his first solo cartoon, "Goofy and Wilbur"
1940, the first "How To" cartoon, "Goofy's Glider"
1941, the debut of the "Goofy Holler", "The Art of Skiing"
1942, his first foray into sports, "How to Play Baseball"
1943, "El Gaucho Goofy", his segment in the movie "Saludos Amigos"
1944, Goofy the quarterback in "How to Play Football"
1945, ice day for a hockey game in "Hockey Homicide"
1946, two teams of really tall Goofys in "Double Dribble" (It's about basketball, not drooling. Duh!)
1947, he and Donald try to survive in the desert in "Crazy with the Heat"
1948, he tries to give a circus elephant, Dolores, a bath in, what else, "The Big Wash" (Get it?)
1949, he works out his home workout in "Goofy Gymnastics"
1950, he shows us how not to drive a car in "Motor Mania"
1951, it's hard to relax when a mountain lion comes to your home in "Lion Down"
1952, crime is "Goofy" in "How to Be a Detective"
1953, he tries to play housewife in "Father's Day Off"
1961, he has a wild waterski ride in "Aquamania"
1983, he plays the role of Jacob Marley in "Mickey's Christmas Carol"
1990, he and Mickey are paupers in "The Prince and the Pauper" (Mickey plays both title roles by the way.)
Last, but not least, the conclusion.

Blue Sky Disney has posts tagged with Goofy, including a post that wishes him happy birthday on the 12th instead of the 25th, which some believe is when he debuted.

Cartoon Brew pays tribute to Goofy's first voice actor, Pinto Colvig.

Michael J. Ruocco's For the Birds showcases cartoons and films featuring the "Goofy Holler". (I also pay homage to it in a previous post.)

Mouse Clubhouse has interviews with Goofy's current voice actor, Bill Farmer:

How he became Goofy
His various voice acting odd jobs
And as an added bonus, there's a greeting from Goofy himself!

flickr has an online photo group dedicated to Goofy!

Clear Black Lines has a mini tribute to "A Goofy Movie". Speaking of which, a previous post of mine celebrates the movie's 13th anniversary.

April Winchell and Mr. KABC interview Goofy during Disneyland's "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebration.

Finally, check out my previous posts on Goofy's musical talent and pairing him up with Giselle from "Enchanted".

So, happy 76th birthday, Goofy! Another year older, another year goofier. Ahyuck!

UPDATE 6/2/08: This post has been mentioned by Imaginerding as, in their words, "being a fairly comprehensive link collection about Goofy!" Now, if that's not "woot" worthy, I don't know what is. See the mention here.

Giselle Gets Goofy (or "Goofy Gets Enchanted")

Over at the Disney Dreams Forum, there's a discussion about character pairings that are unlikely, otherwise known as non-canon couples. That's got me thinking about two characters I'd like to see as a couple even if it is non-canon. The reason I'm discussing it here, other than just posting my opinion, is because I'm not a member of the Disney Dreams Forum.

The non-canon couple I'd like to see is... Drum roll, please. ...Giselle and Goofy!(Promotional photo taken from the Laughing Place.)





"Gawrsh! She shore is purdy!"







Well, Goofy, looks alone is not the reason I think you two should be together.

Perhaps, I should explain why I choose Giselle for Goofy. When "Enchanted" was in theaters, I got hooked on Giselle for her innocence and charm, not to mention her bubbly personality. These were the same qualities that Goofy has, thus, making them the perfect couple. (I didn't even watch the movie until I got the DVD. LOL)

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Doesn't Goofy already have a girlfriend? What about Clarabelle Cow?" While I'm well aware that Disney has paired Goofy with Clarabelle in recent years, most notably in "Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers", Clarabelle was Horace Horsecollar's girl first, long before Goofy came along. And I don't want to put poor Goofy in a love triangle situation, so, Clarabelle can stay with Horace. Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about Sylvia Marpole, Goofy's love interest from "An Extremely Goofy Movie". Well, I haven't seen her outside of that movie, so, I'm guessing it didn't work out between her and Goofy. Long story short, Goofy needs a steady girlfriend and I've found the perfect one in Giselle.

Now, in order to make this work, the plot of "Enchanted" must be slightly changed for Goofy and Giselle to end up with each other. (The majority of this blog from this point on contains slight spoilers for the original movie, so, if you haven't seen the movie and don't want the ending spoiled, I suggest going over to Cartoon Brew and reading what Jerry Beck is up to.) For starters, Goofy takes the place of Robert, who is grounded to reality. However, Goofy is not like that by nature, so, those characteristics go to... Who else? ...his son, Max. You see, Max is naturally the most mature of the Disney characters, so, I figure when he's in the real world, he would follow its rules without question. Getting Max to believe in fairy tales, like he did when he was a child, might be one challenge not even Goofy would overcome. Once Giselle comes along however, she could convince him that it's okay to let loose and believe in "Happily ever after". (Just so you know, I'm adding Roxanne to the plot so that Max, too, can have a "Happily ever after" by movie's end.)

Now, I know that Robert has a fiancé, Nancy, but she doesn't seem right for Goofy. So, Nancy's role is minor by making her the organizer of the ball at the movie's climax. This keeps Goofy single until he meets Giselle and Prince Edward could still end up with Nancy.

One of these days, I'll get to writing my version of "Enchanted" and adding it to my Fanfiction.net site. But at least, now, you know why I think Goofy and Giselle are perfect for each other. Do you feel the same way?

The Shout Heard 'Round the World

I'm sure you all know about the infamous "Goofy Holler", right? You know, the one that goes: "Yah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!" Well, I happen to come across a blog entry that compiles almost all of the Disney cartoons and movies that use the holler including the one that started it all, 1941's "The Art of Skiing". You'll find it here. There are some the author, Michael J. Ruocco, admits he forgot to mention, but I forgive him: I don't know all the clips that use the "Goofy Holler" myself. But I do know a few that are missing. The ones I remember that weren't mentioned are as follows:

1. There was another in 1949's "Goofy Gymnastics" that Mr. Ruocco somehow missed: The original version of the holler as heard in "The Art of Skiing" is used as Goofy is flung through the roof from the rings on his ceiling and falls back down.

2. Another cartoon that uses the holler from "The Art of Skiing" is 1983's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" as Goofy, portraying the ghost of Jacob Marley, falls down the stairs.

3. In the main title of "A Goofy Movie", the holler from "The Art of Skiing" helps illustrate the word "Goofy" falling and landing in between "A" and "Movie".

4. In Goofy's newest cartoon, "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater", the classic holler is used as Goofy is flung out of his house as a result of him pushing the red button on his universal remote to turn on his home theater system. Although I wonder why they didn't have Bill Farmer record the holler, hearing the original holler is a nice homage, wouldn't you agree?

Most of the hollers from this point on have been newly recorded by Bill Farmer, the current voice of Goofy. For instance:

5, 6, & 7.There's a newly recorded version in "A Goofy Movie" where Goofy and his son, Max, ride the roller coaster at an amusement park. (Goofy gets sick after that. LOL) Another newly recorded version is heard near the end right after the car explodes and sends Goofy flying, falling though the roof of Roxanne's front porch. We're not done with "A Goofy Movie" yet: the holler is heard at the end of the end credits just before they show the "Walt Disney Pictures" castle again.

8. In "Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers", Goofy lets out the holler as he falls from the crumbling stone bridge in chains. (Goofy's in the chains, not the bridge.)

9 & 10. Remember when I mentioned the short from "Disney's House of Mouse", "How to Be a Rock Star", in my post devoted to Goofy's musical talent? In the cartoon, Goofy tries to get discovered by an executive of a record company by swinging on a rope outside the window. Suddenly, the rope breaks and, yep, you guessed it, Goofy falls. Cue holler. But the hilarity doesn't stop there: The exec. heard the holler and signs Goofy up right away. And the Goof's first single? Why, a song featuring his holler, of course! (LOL)

11 & 12. In the "Mickey Mouse Works" cartoon "How to Be a Waiter" (or is it "How to Be a Movie Star"?), Goofy practices his lasso skills while filming a scene from a western movie and flies off as he lassos with his hand and feet. He soon gets tangled up in the rope and lets out the holler, and repeatedly, I might add, as the rope pulls him up and down like a yo-yo. In that same cartoon, during the Sci-Fi scene, Goofy lets out the holler after being flung into deep space.

13, 14, & 15. In the "Once Upon a Christmas" segment "Have Yourself a Very Goofy Christmas", the holler doesn't take a holiday. Goofy lets it out when he swings from the torn banner into the Lumberjack Lingerie store. He shouts out again as he is catapulted from the Christmas tree out through the roof of the mall. Later on, after Pete covers Goofy's house with snow, Goofy looks for the chimney and unwittingly falls down the hidden chimney, letting out the holler once more.

16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22. There are many times the holler is used in the Playhouse Disney series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" like in the episode "Goofy's Bird" as Goofy imagines jumping off the cliff using a pogo stick (but falling), in "Mickey's Handy Helpers" where Goofy is flung from one of the springs of the Handy Dandy Machine which makes the Handy Helpers work, and in "Mickey's Big Band Concert" as Goofy is flown out of his trombone horn via a bicycle pump. There was one episode of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" that used the "Goofy Holler" quite a bit. In "Goofy in Training", Mickey greets us, but gets interrupted by the holler and goes and finds Goofy hanging on a branch of a tree. The second holler occurs when Goofy loses control as he practices skiing by using roller skates. The third is when he skis for real off the ski jump at the end of the ski slope. The final holler in this episode happens as Goofy falls off the cookies he climbed over in Willie the Giant's picnic.

Goofy's not the only one who does the holler. Here are some recent examples of other characters letting it out:

23. Following the scene where Goofy falls from the bridge in "Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers", Clarabelle Cow (voiced by April Winchell) does her own version of the holler ("Moo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!") as she jumps down to save him.

24. Goofy's son, Max (voiced by Jason Marsden), actually quotes his dad on the holler when he's taken on a joyride by a car with a mind of its own in the "House of Mouse" episode "Max's New Car". Like father, like son. ("I wish you wouldn't say that.")

25. The more recent use of the "Goofy Holler" can be found in the movie "Enchanted" as the troll is flung from the tree after Giselle and Pip jump off the same branch as the troll which prompts the troll (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) to do the holler.

There are a few more uses of the "Goofy Holler" in the "Mickey Mouse Works" cartoons and in some episodes of "House of Mouse", but I don't know which ones. Nevertheless, the "Goofy Holler" will remain, in cartoon history, as the most used vocal effect when falling down. ...and down and down. Yah-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!