by Anabella Wewer

He's finally made it. After sixty-some years, Goofy finally made it to the big screen, not as a supporting actor, playing sidekick to Mickey, but all on his own, with his son Max as co-star.

Disney's latest release, A Goofy Movie, isn't just that. As the movie opens, one may get the feeling of being in for a long version of those wonderfully silly Goofy cartoons, where most things fall and break, and everything goes wrong, but no one ever really gets hurt. However, as the movie develops, Goofy shows his true colors as a caring, albeit overly-anxious, parent, and Max is the typical teenager we have all been, are, or will be, and identify with.

Thinking that Max is getting off the straight and narrow path and is becoming a stranger to him, Goofy decides to take him on a fishing trip clear across to the other coast of the US. Max, rather preocupied with the most beautiful girl in school, tries to be cool while having Goofy as a parent, and the teen-idol of the moment, Powerline, wants nothing to do with the open road. They don't have much say in the matter, though, so off they go.

There is plenty of "goofiness" to go around, but there is also a wonderful story line that makes everyone who has ever felt out of touch with the next/previous generation know exactly how both Goofy and Max feel. Supported by a wonderful cast of characters, their relationship plays out in both sad and funny ways, with a finale that isn't all that unexpected. Peg Leg Pete and his son PJ appear a number of times, a contrast to Goofy's relationship with Max; Max's school friends lend the film a number of secondary story lines that are just pure fun, as well.

The quality of the animation is classic Disney, yet obviously not the team that made Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin. For a while, I wondered if it was made by the team that draws for the television series Goof Troop, where, for those not keeping up with Disney Afternoons, Maximillian saw his introduction. I found out later that a number of the animators for A Goofy Movie are French and Australian, and brought with them enormous talent and unforeseeable problems to the production. Seemingly trivial things, like the color of coins or how much the character's mouth should open to produce a particular sound, which never would have had to be explained to animators before, kept the producers busy. The backgrounds were well-executed, and the computer animation, especially in background events, is quite impressive. The music, though not "go out and get the soundtrack" material, is quite good, with six new songs to add to Disney's list.

The one unexplainable part is why Disney hasn't hyped the movie more, and now that I think of it, I hear that it is not to be counted as Disney's 34th full-length animated movie, much as the Duck Tales movie of a few years back. I fail to understand the criteria, but the movie is definitely worth the trip to the theatre, probably more than once, just to find all the hidden Disney memorabilia, the Mickey ears in a few places and cameo appearances by Mickey and Donald themselves.

A deserved jump to the big screen for Goofy, who had up until now only been the Genie's hat in the final sequence of Aladdin or Mickey's sidekick in many short movies, A Goofy Movie is for anyone who has ever thought their parents are oh, so embarrasing. It is just plain fun Goofy; with depth of character.