Today’s quick review: A Goofy Movie. Afraid that he’s losing touch with his teenage son Max (Jason Marsden), Goofy (Bill Farmer) takes Max on a cross-country roadtrip to go fishing in Idaho. But when the trip forces Max to cancel a hard-won date with Roxanne (Kellie Martin), he lies and says his dad is taking him to a concert in Los Angeles. With their destination up in the air, Goofy and Max set out together across the United States.
A Goofy Movie is an animated family comedy adventure from Disney. Max, a teenage boy trying to navigate the perils of high school, gets stuck going on a road trip with Goofy, his smothering but well-meaning father. A Goofy Movie takes this premise and turns it into something special. Energetic slapstick, an outstanding soundtrack, and above all a moving father-son story make it a movie that punches well above its weight.
The heart of A Goofy Movie is the relationship between Max and his father. The story does a great job of capturing the tension between Goofy’s love for his son and Max’s need for a life of his own. Seeing the two bond over the course of the trip is one of the great rewards of the movie. A Goofy Movie largely sticks to the basics, but these are enough to tell a rich and emotionally rewarding story.
The other factor that makes A Goofy Movie worth watching is its passion. The movie pours its heart into everything it does, from the antics of the background characters to a pair of stellar musical numbers from Powerline (Tevin Campbell), Max’s pop star idol. The animation is not as lavish as Disney’s bigger-budget productions, but the movie makes it count. The result is a movie that is enthusiastic and heartfelt from start to finish.
Give A Goofy Movie a try when you are in the mood for an earnest, endearing comedy. A Goofy Movie is modest in scope and has no delusions of grandeur, but it has a life to it that few movies can match. How much you get out of it will come down to taste, but anyone with a soft spot for 90s animation should give it a chance.
For another road trip comedy with similar appeal, try The Muppet Movie. For another passionate Disney adventure from the same era, try The Rescuers Down Under. For a different flavor of father-son road trip, try Over the Top or Real Steel.
[6.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113198/). I give it a 7.5 to 8.0 for a moving story, passionate delivery, and personal appeal.