A GOOFY MOVIE
[Spoilers]
A film review by Sherline Lee
Copyright 1995 Sherline Lee
I. Audience - Best for Families and Middle Age Kids II. Character Twists - No Peg, Kellie Martin as Roxanne III. Animation - Polished ... *four* studios! IV. General thoughts (no major spoilers) and other random comments inserted randomly (oh yeah. songs?!?) ----------------------------------
Yesterday morning, I saw the soon to be released A GOOFY MOVIE at a local theater. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to find a polished and an interesting, character-driven movie.
Forgive me if in the course of these next few lines or so, if I accidentally let small spoilers slip. (I don't mean to, don't kill me!)
I. The Audience The audience consisted mostly of Disney employed persons and their families. The children that did show, were mostly in the 5-7 range.
However, after seeing the movie, I would think it more appropriate for kids who were a little older--preferably in the early adolescent or "my parents are *so* embarrassing I think I'm going to die stage." :)
II. Character Twists and notes
Thankfully, the GOOFY MOVIE is just that. It centers largely around Max and his tense relationship with Goof.
Kellie Martin provides the love interest for the adolescent Max (as Roxanne).
Pete and PJ appear several times throughout the film, mostly to serve as a contrast to Goof's and Max's relationship. Besides Pete and PJ, no other members of his family from Goof Troop appear. (Oh, Pete and Goofy are both photographers for a living. heh. together. heehee)
Max and Peej have acquired another sidekick in their little group of friends. (One who has really weird taste in food). Roxanne (who is a very attractive dog er goof) has one nerdy sidekick of her own.
Let's see, one brief cameo by Mickey and Donald. Interesting scene with a Goof version of Bigfoot. (Everything in this film is a goof version. It's a little disconcerting. I kept thinking WHERE ARE THE DUCKS? *shakes head)
And for you Ed, there are *two* "not-so-hidden" Ariel's. The second one will just make you laugh ... it's so tacky :)
III. Animation
I think I was impressed. I had admired the DuckTales movie for its backgrounds and its good bordering on very good animation. However, coming into this movie, I really didn't expect much better. Boy, I was majorly wrong.
Although there were several rough spots in the Goofy movie, there were many opportunities for my jaw to drop. Let's see: digital coloring, moving backgrounds, dramatic effects, and wow they even used live action reference models (!). (And yes, lots of computer rendered stuff)
Four major studios were used: France, Toronto, Burbank and Australia ... frankly, I really couldn't tell. (Though some of the gorgeous backgrounds do point to probably France or Australia). I would really love to know which studios did which scenes.
Some of the scenes, involving water and lighting were great ... realistic and yet exaggerated enough. And the characters' expressions were humanlike.
Look especially for things like buildings and signs in the background. These are great computer effects.
Sheesh, I think I could even be convinced to go back and actually pay to just watch the animation this time.
General note, though ... the animation is very good, but differs in feel from Disney animated features. I'm not sure if it's just because we're dealing with 2D characters on 3D backgrounds, or if because a lot of modern objects are used. hmm.
IV. Other thoughts.
I was surprised by what the plot centered on, but pleased. Some have criticized the Goof Troop series as being too heavily centered on Pete. Thankfully, this movie doesn't do that.
I was though, a little surprised by the strength of Max's feelings/paranoia about becoming his father.
You know, there some strange sketches in this story line. That's all I'll say ... except that one particular part of the movie kept reminding of all those Chuck E. Cheese/Showbiz places that I went to. (I still have nightmares)
As far as the songs, well they followed the first cardinal rule pretty well. They did serve to "express the feelings of a character, move plot forward, and provide opportunities for visual gags." But they were a mish mosh of various styles of music. (Definitely though *not* Broadway).
The score was fairly good, rather lush and large for what I would have normally expected.
Okay, this message went way longer than I wanted, but here's the general rating.
"I'd pay the matinee price to see it, and maybe even the full price. And I'm not even a big Goof Troop fan!"
-- Sherline Lee sherline@nwu.edu Northwestern University
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