Release Date: April 7, 1995
Watch Date: June 24 – June 26, 2023
“The lovable Goof bonds with his teenage son Max on a hilarious cross-country road trip. En route to the ol’ fishing hole, they find themselves up to their floppy ears in misadventure, action-packed situations, narrow escapes – and even a comic close encounter with Bigfoot. Will Max learn there’s nothing wrong with taking after dear old dad…even if he is a little goofy? The question is answered in the showstopping finale, when Max and Goofy ‘crash the stage’ at the most spectacular rock concert ever performed.”
Way back in the day, in 1951, Goofy had a fling. Or, a wife. It’s Disney, so probably a wife. Her face was never seen and she hasn’t appeared since the 50s. No one knows what happened to her, and Disney has never made an official declaration on the point. What we do know is that, from this marriage came Maximilian Goof, or Goofy Jr. He made his first appearance on the Goof Troop in 1951 and has been a preteen/older teen/college aged adult just trying to differentiate himself from his famously klutzy father ever since. The nice thing about Goofy and Max, though, is that despite their differences they have a very genuinely loving father-son relationship, and an extremely relatable parent-child bond.
Goofy is a single father, probably a widower, who is just doing his best with a child from a generation he doesn’t understand. Max, in this film, is a teenager trying to make his own way in the world, and trying to forge his own identity within his peer group. As a child, I related to Max, as an older adult, and parent myself, I find myself leaning Goofy’s direction. The guy just wants to not lose the relationship he has with his kid. Maybe he’s a little misguided in not expecting any changes as his son matures, but it’s a believable, and relatable problem for a parent. How do you let your kid grow up?
If you asked Bob, he’d say Goofy has a perfectly good reason for worrying about Max – based on his taste of women. I don’t know what happened to Bob in his teenage years, but apparently a girl being disappointed that her long awaited date with a cute guy being cancelled and not immediately being understanding is sacrilegious. Roxanne should be dumped, and Max should move on as quickly as possible. He has to go on a forced vacation with his father, he clearly doesn’t want to go Roxanne, and you have the rest of the summer – does one little pointless party matter? Teenagers aren’t always the most reasonable, and with some distance I think Roxanne could have handled it a little bit better, however; maybe she would have hooked up with the cute guy who seemed interested in her before Max pulled his little stunt at the school, so in that way maybe Bob was right.
Let’s talk about the main reason to watch this film – you might think that it’s watching a healthy father/son relationship. You might think it’s the weird inclusion of Bigfoot that adds nothing to the plot. But no, it’s “I 2 I” the finale song that has no right to rock as hard as it does – but oh man does it. It’s been nearly thirty years since this film came out, and I still found myself dancing in my seat along with it – because oh my god how could you not? It’s a bop.
Really, this is a solid film, the story is endearing, Goofy is definitely one of the top of the main Disney roster, and I grew up watching reruns of Goof Troop and so I have a special soft spot for Max, Goofy, PJ and Pete – to the point where I actually miss PJs annoying sister and mother – and the show came out in 1992 so there’s no reason those characters aren’t in the film on vacation with Pete and PJ. It’s got a positive message, you’ll definitely laugh a few times, and if you watch this as a child, or as an adult, you’ll come away with a different perspective on the film and I am very fond of a film with plenty of rewatchability, even if you have to wait a decade or so for it to be worth it.
Seriously though, if I were Max, I would have just told all of my classmates that my Dad was friend with Mickey Mouse. I mean, he mentions Walt Disney, and both Mickey and Donald Duck are in the film. So they clearly exist. Unless Mickey and Donald haven’t made their big break yet…but it’s only a matter of time Max and then you’re on easy street!…or working as the valet at the House of Mouse. Which is maybe, at least, a cool job?
Doc and Bob's Disney Adventure 
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