My Experience With... A Goofy Movie

You know you’re starting to get old when movies that came out around your childhood hit the 20- or 25-year mark.

I first noticed this with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Lion King, but continued to notice when this hit me:

A Goofy Movie is now 21 years old. That’s insane.

The whole story behind A Goofy Movie is that Max is in high school and his dad is... Well... Goofy. I would SERIOUSLY like to know what happened with Max’s mother, and how on EARTH she and Goofy got together. I mean, really think hard.

I’ll give you a minute to gather your brains.

It’s the last day of school, and the last chance for Max to get the lovely classmate Roxanne -- who we don’t even see after the movie until House of Mouse -- to go out with him even notice his existence. So he puts on a big show for her in the middle of assembly, which eventually epically fails, but it does get him to go with her to an end-of-the year party, where a live performance by rock star Powerline will be broadcast. Now, about that failed show, it does get him in trouble with the principal, who takes it way too far on when he calls overly sympathetic father Goofy at his job (presumably, K-mart?).

Fearing his son’s “inevitable” juvenile delinquency and the electric chair, he decides to take Max on a fishing trip for summer break in Lake Destiny, Idaho, where his dad used to take him, and he announces it to pretty much everyone he encounters on the way home, including his co-worker, neighbor, and rival, Pete. Did I mention that they’re supposed to be on the east coast? Max comes home and Goofy is packing for the trip. At first, Max thinks Goofy is going with Donald Duck, but is told that Max is supposed to be going with him that very day.

Max ends up going to Roxanne’s house to tell her the bad news that he can’t go to the party with her because of the trip. Roxanne suggests that she probably can find someone else to go to the part with, and that gets him nervous, so he ends up lying to her saying that he’s going with his Dad to the Powerline concert in LA and that Goofy knew Powerline from being in a high school band. I did meniton that they live on the east coast, right? Amazingly, she believes it and becomes excited about it. Max and Goofy then head off on a crazy adventure, where they both learn more about each other, and Max, in the end, somehow ends up appreciating his father more.

Yeah. I’ll admit... I am not crazy about this movie at all, even when I was younger. I didn’t like Max, considering he was such a stick in the mud the whole time, plus I’d like to know what happened between the years of Goof Troop and A Goofy Movie. How’d he get so mean, rude, and surly? Yeah, his dad’s embarassing, but isn’t everyone’s dad, at least from time to time? I love my Daddy, but there are still times when he’s singing along with the old school station that make me want to crawl under the car. Same thing with my Mom when she sings some old school songs or says something rather funny yet embarassing about my life. Still love them, but I’ve never been all angst-y about it. I watched it again in college, and pretty much everyone agreed this was a terrible movie morally.

But we all agree that two things were AWESOME about A Goofy Movie.

Stand Out and I 2 I.

Both are songs by Powerline, a Michael Jackson / Prince / Devo powerhouse combo voiced by Tevin Campbell, and was reincarnated into live action years later by Bruno Mars.

No, seriously, look at this BuzzFeed article. If you don’t have time, look at the pictures below.

The resemblince is stinking amazing.

Anyway, these songs are beyond age-defining, but they are timeless classics that were attached to an, at best, very mediocre movie. And really, those are the only songs that are worth remembering from the movie.

Overall, I call this a dud. The only reason I would ever watch this again is for those two songs and those two songs only. I also admit it was cool that they had a cameo role go to Pat Buttram, who was a Disney voice acting legend.

Would I let my child watch it? Erm... jury’s still out on that one. That child would have to be really grounded in good values before seeing this movie. However, I would totally have my child listen to those two songs, mainly because they are just so good! Plus, the fact that they have practically nothing to do with the movie itself and can hold their own as regular songs really helps! It’s kinda like The Prayer from (shocker-of-all-shockers) Quest for Camelot, which I believe might have been a better movie.

Ehh, jury’s still out on that one, too.

Now because I’m such a nice, caring, lovely person to you guys, I’ll attach Stand Out and I 2 I to this blog post, both in video and audio form for your personal enjoyment.

   

I did watch An Extremely Goofy Movie for the first time a few years ago, which was... Meh. Really, really, meh. No Roxanne, no Powerline, Max and Goofy are in college, and Max is all angst-y again. That’s it. Oh yeah, and something about a skateboarding challenge. Really nothing to write home about.

What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? (Note: the movie itself doesn’t have to be good.)