The year 2025 brings with it the 30th anniversary of Disney’s: “A Goofy Movie.” The feel-good, father-son animated comedy premiered in theaters on April 7, 1995, and nearly three decades later the Spectator staff decided it was long overdue for a rewatch.
Directed by Kevin Lima, “A Goofy Movie” follows the story of Max Goof, son of the famous Mickey Mouse sidekick, Goofy, as he attempts to navigate the perils of his high school social scene while maintaining a tenuous bond with his dad. After a school prank gone wrong, Goofy decides it’s time to take Max on a cross-country trip to the old family fishing hole, throwing a wrench in Max’s date plans with his crush, Roxanne.
Full disclosure, I’ve probably seen this movie over 20 times in my lifetime (so far). This movie premiered just over a year before I was born in 1996, so like many of the Disney animated features released after 1989, it has always been a part of my cartoon diet.
There is something different about this film in particular, however, in that it is one of the few Disney releases that attempts to depict the life of a relatively normal teenager. Max is not a prince or princess, he doesn’t have to babysit a blue intergalactic alien, and he hasn’t been turned into a talking llama via magical elixir. In fact, the most fantastical thing to happen to Max and Goofy is a tossup between a brief run-in with Big Foot (yes that one) or the fact that they aren’t detained by event security after blundering their way on stage with Powerline (voiced by Tevin Campbell) in the movie’s final major set piece.
The Disney Magic™ in “A Goofy Movie” comes not from the extraordinary elements, but rather from how grounded it is in real relationships. Max is having an identity crisis, he no longer wants to be the “Goof boy” and so he acts out to set himself apart from his dad’s image. If nothing else, “A Goofy Movie” is just plain relatable.
But it takes more than relatable teenage angst to keep audiences coming back for over three decades. The depth of the characters, the beautiful animation and background art,the music – by goof the music! – and the numerous Disney easter eggs scattered throughout Max and Goofy’s adventure make for a filmic experience that keeps on giving half a lifetime later.
This most recent viewing of “A Goofy Movie” has done nothing but solidify it in my mind as an eternally underrated classic. I highly recommend that both new and longtime Disney fans take the time to watch this movie today as its themes of family and reconciliation still ring true now, if not more so.
Fans of the movie looking for some behind the scenes footage and stories can watch “Not Just a Goof,” a documentary about the making of “A Goofy Movie” now streaming on Disney+.
