Special Features:
The Essential Goof
Pinto Colvig: The Man Behind The Goof
A Conversation With Goofy’s Voice: Bill Farmer
Poster Gallery (with attached audio files)
Memorabilia Gallery (with attached audio files)
Goofy Through The Years Gallery (with attached audio files)
Other Info:
Running Time: 5 Hours 26 Minutes
Dolby Digital
Close Captioned
Synopsis:
Leonard Maltin hosts this special DVD collection featuring all of Goofy’s starring roles. From the 1930’s to the 1960’s, all 46 of his cartoons are included on this disc. His first feature, Goofy and Wilber, is here along with his entire “How To” series of cartoons. Maltin introduces the DVD and gives a little history behind the character. He also hosts extras that include a look at Goofy’s original voice, an interview with his new voice, and galleries of his posters, memorabilia, and developmental sketches. This is the ultimate collection for the Goofy fan.
The Movie:
Like the other DVDs in the Disney Treasures series, fans of animation or Disney will want this for their collection. I’ve always enjoyed the Goofy cartoons and all of my favorites are here, along with ones I don’t remember seeing before. I particularly enjoyed the How To cartoons. They were my favorites because they offered the maximum number of sight gags in the smallest amount of time.
Maltin’s commentary is interesting. He guides you through the cartoons and tells you important bits of trivia that you may have never known. For example, the original voice of Goofy, Pinto Colvig, left Disney to go work for another studio. When he did, Disney switched cartoons styles so that they no longer needed his voice for the character. This was the beginning of the “How To” series that I already mentioned. When Colvig returned to Disney, so did Goofy’s voice.
Overall this is a fun video and one that everyone can enjoy. Kids will like the cartoons and adults appreciate the history behind them.
The Extras:
While the extras on the Mickey Mouse in Black and White DVD got heavy into the process of making the cartoons, this Goofy DVD focuses on the character himself. The Essential Goof discusses the creation of the character and the philosophy behind his actions. We are then treated to an interesting biography on Pinto Colvig, a Disney animator and the original voice of Goofy. In a warts and all feature, Maltin explains how Colvig voiced the character from an extra in a Mickey Mouse cartoon up until his Disney icon status. I was surprised to see mention of Colvig’s falling out with Walt Disney and subsequent return to the studio. Normally something like that would be glossed over, but Maltin explains it and shows how it impacted the character.
A second interview features Bill Farmer, the new voice of Goofy. He talks about how he got the job, how he voices the character, and the over 3000 Goofy voicing jobs he’s had in his 16 years of doing the character. From toys to TV shows to watches to movies, it’s all him now. It’s funny and informative and you can tell Farmer has a great deal of respect for the character.
Other features include Poster, Memoribilia, and Character Galleries. While Maltin offers informative audio commentary on the memorabilia, Farmer appears as Goofy’s voice in the other galleries to make comments. While amusing, they offer no insight into what you’re viewing in the pictures.
The Bottom Line:
Walt Disney fans and animation fans will want to add this DVD to their collections. It’s about as complete a look of Goofy as you’ll ever get.
