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FILM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW; Goofy in the Here and Now As a Constantly Tested Dad

A Goofy Movie
Directed by Kevin Lima
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical, Romance
G
1h 18m
Credit...The New York Times Archives
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April 7, 1995, Section C, Page 16Buy Reprints
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If every father of a teen-ager were as plaintively self-effacing as the long-running Disney character Goofy, the world might be a far less angry place. The 63-year-old cartoon yokel, who is starring in his first animated feature film, "A Goofy Movie," doesn't have a mean bone in his body. When his teen-age son, Max, sneers at him as the epitome of squareness, Goofy isn't so much indignant as wounded in a droopy, hangdog way.

Goofy and Max have classic generation-gap issues to resolve. Where Goofy's notion of hip is Xavier Cugat, Max worships a strutting hard-rock superstar called Powerline. After Max rudely interrupts a high school assembly to do an impersonation of his idol, the school principal telephones Goofy to warn him that Max is heading for trouble. Goofy's solution is to take his son to Idaho on a fishing trip, during which he hopes they can become buddies.

A bucolic holiday is the last thing in the world Max wants. Before leaving, he boasts to his would-be sweetheart that his father is driving him to a Powerline concert in Los Angeles, where he will appear onstage with the band.

The bulk of "A Goofy Movie" follows Goofy and Max on their trouble-ridden cross-country trek. An MTV addict, Max winces through every moment of a jolly jamboree at a rustic campsite known as Lester's Possum Park. On the pair's first fishing expedition, Goofy accidentally reels in Bigfoot, who terrifies them but is eventually distracted with a pair of headphones blasting rock music. After a series of mishaps, the father and son eventually find themselves floating atop their car through the Grand Canyon.

"A Goofy Movie" is engaging in its mild-mannered way, but the story is too rambling and emotionally diffuse for the title character to come fully alive. The focus is squarely on Max, a spoiled suburban brat with few defining characteristics.

Six songs are larded into the film. The styles range from the gospel-tinged rock of Powerline's theme song, "Stand Out," sung by Tevin Campbell, to "Lester's Possum Park," a parody of good-time country music. Like its score, the movie zigzags in so many directions that it never really finds its voice. A GOOFY MOVIE Directed by Kevin Lima; written by Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson and Brian Pimental, based on a story by Mr. Magon; edited by Gregory Perler; music by Carter Burwell; production designer, Fred Warter; produced by Dan Rounds; released by Walt Disney Pictures. Running time: 76 minutes. This film is rated G. WITH THE VOICES OF: Bill Farmer (Goofy), Jason Marsden (Max) and Wallace Shawn (Principal Mazur).