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Words of Wisdom

In life, we have to choose between the jeans and the cookie jar. Liz Hurley chose the jeans and I chose the cookie jar

~ Nigella Lawson....(on women's body image and her own voluptuous body)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Disney’s Goofy - The Paternal Figure and Role Model?

The Disney Channel showed The Extremely Goofy Movie not too long ago. Honestly, I never was into watching a Goofy movie because he’s too much of a dimwit to me. Somehow, this time I was drawn to watching it when the movie started with Goofy putting up a Banner for his son to celebrate him going to college.

Wow, I was truly in for a nice surprise from Disney.

You see, there is one thing I find intriguing about Goofy because out of all those famous major Disney cartoon characters, Goofy is the only one with a child despite the lack of romantic adventures in his life unlike Mickey and Donald or even Pluto. The mother of the child Max has never been revealed as far as I know. Not sure why Disney ever decided to make Goofy a single father.

Back to the movie, despite his dimwittedness, Goofy is nothing but a loving dedicated father who adores his son Max for whom he would give the world to. In contrast to his father’s character, Max is agile, lively and bright. Maybe a clue to the kind of mother Disney is hinting to us for Max.

First of all, watch it with your heart and only your heart. This is no brainy stuff. It's Goofy after all. Yes, it's puzzling that Goofy managed to produce a son minus a lady in his life but then I felt the same way when watching I Am Sam with Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning in the leads. How did Sean's character, a retard, end up with a kid was never really explored in that movie either and somehow it won rave reviews from critics. This Goofy movie was basically slammed by the critics judging from reviews I found on the Net but then why would you expect critics to have any heart at all?

The plot is simple and typical Disney.

Max is leaving for college. Goofy holds a celebration party attended by a neighbour and Max’s friends. Goofy reminisces of Max as a little tot who still sleeps with his teddy bear. Max leaves without his teddy bear nor eating the sumptuous brekkie Goofy has painstakingly prepared for him.

Max immediately gets on the track toward becoming the most popular freshman on campus on his own right without joining the Uppercrust frat.

Goofy misses him so much that he ends up losing his factory job after failing to concentrate at work. Reflecting the current economic condition, he is not equipped for today’s job market and has to go back to college to finish his education which stalled in the 1970s.

Goofy enrolls in Max’s college and immediately becomes the popular cool daddy, accidentally of course. It’s Goofy after all. He enjoys life to the fullest and even lands himself a lady. Max starts to lose his identity overshadowed by his daddy. The youngster sees Goofy’s attachment to him as burdensome and embarrassing. Daddy is cramping his style.

The Uppercrust fratboy seizes this chance to get back at Max for rejecting his offer early on and lures the poor Goofy into his team to beat Max at the college’s X-Game. By accident, Goofy discovers Uppercrust’s plan to play dirty and quits the team to warn Max.

Max snubs his father but has to fall back on his old man when Uppercrust’s dirty ploy causes Max to lose a teammate. Off go the father and the son on the X-Game thrill of their lifetime.

Disney moments abundant as Max realizes how important his father is to him and how silly he has been. Goofy finishes his education with straight A’s as a result of his devotion and all ends well.

A quarter into the movie, we already know how it will end but that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. I said about watching it with your heart.

  • Watch it for it has hearts in all the right places.
  • Watch it for the quirky characters consisting of the cool friends Max surrounds himself with. The friends who poke senses into his head when it balloons way out of proportion.
  • In spite of his embarrassment of his out-of-style old man (to his eyes only as the rest find his dad really cool), Max never rebels by falling into the wrong crowd and he picks his friends carefully.
  • Watch it for Goofy’s straight-laced way of behaving around a new lady friend (he doesn’t even try to kiss her on the first date).
  • Watch it for how Goofy never forgoes his fatherly responsibility even as his own life is getting exciting.
  • His Disney peers Mickey and Donald may have the luxury of permanent lady friends, who, despite their charms, can certainly bully the guys into submission. Instead, dimwit Goofy gets himself a lady who accepts him the way he is, admires him for his heart and uniqueness, becomes his pillar of strength when he’s falling and does not stand in the way of him and his son.

Never thought I could learn about life’s valuable lessons from Goofy.

To any single loving dedicated fathers out there, watch it.....with your heart please.

Below are the gems I found…………:

“You admit defeat and defeat will admit you into permanent custody” – best quote from Max’s lady pal

“Do you know why we …like…err….wear gloves all the time?” – funniest line by Max’s buddy

“You don’t understand the bond between a father and his son” – Goofy to Uppercrust


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