Directed by: Kevin Lima
Written by: Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson & Brian Pimental
When Max makes a preposterous promise to a girl he has a crush on, his chances to fulfilling it seem hopeless when he is dragged onto a cross-country trip with his embarrassing father, Goofy.
After the rough week our family has had, it was fun to relax with my sister and my dad to watch A Goofy Movie. ... What's up with that title though? Shouldn't it be The Goofy Movie? A Goofy Movie makes it sound like it's just a Goofy Movie, as if there are several, and I'm just talking about some of them, I don't know or care which one.
A Goofy Movie (I still really want to say 'The') is really funny. It has that slapstick from the typical Goofy shorts, but also the fun is brought on to a new level with the new character Max, Goofy's son. He's a teenager embarrassed by his dad, especially since he can't go to a party with his crush when his dad surprises him with the fishing trip. He lies to the girl about knowing a popular musician, and eventually deceives his dad by altering the map, making their destination L.A.
The father-son relationship of the movie is actually good and well thought out. Goofy seems like a weird choice for a father, but when you think about it, he's the perfect choice from the pre-existing Disney characters. He's... Well, he is Goofy and he's goofy. He is a loving father but also really gives a teenager a reason to be embarrassed. A teenager has no real reason to actually hate his father, so here it's just embarrassment and annoyance from Max.
I think most of the viewers who have been teenagers can see themselves in Max. We've all been like that once. He's kind of annoying and whiny but you understand his reasons. Teenagers just are like that, and as we get older we can laugh at what we were like, but also we understand better what we were going through. Or if you don't see yourself in Max, because you just weren't like that, you can at least see your friends or siblings in Max. (Discussed this with my sister. She never was quite like Max, but she remembers the times I was an annoying teen going through puberty)
So while of course these movies cater to kids, but there are two kind of adults (at least) to whom the movie has something to offer. There are the young adults who have been that teen, and there are parents.
Because of our childhood, we decided to watch the movie with the Finnish dub. Mostly it's really good, my only complain is that Antti Pääkkönen voices way too many characters, especially P.J. Max in Finnish sounds like an actual teenager, even when singing. That is the main reason we prefer the Finnish dub. Especially when you listen to the song After Today. In English, Max sounds like an adult, in Finnish he sounds like a teenager. But when Pääkkönen voices P.J., he sounds like an adult, even if it is an adult with a really high voice. Pääkkönen is talented, one of the most beloved voice actors here because he's in everything, but here it's a wrong choice.
Another weird choice in Finnish dub only lasts for a few seconds, but it's Jukka-Pekka Palo as Mickey Mouse during the song at the beginning of the road trip. Huh? What? I've always assumed Pääkkönen voiced Mickey during this time, and a movie filled with characters voiced with Pääkkönen went with Jukka-Pekka Palo? He's best known for playing the villains, like Scar in The Lion King and Tzekel-Kan in The Road to El Dorado. Sure, he does other stuff, but we remember him as the villains, and knowing he voices Mickey Mouse is just weird.
And now that I've already mentioned the songs, let's talk about the songs. Most of them leave no impression. They just kind of are there, and there's no real reason for them. The only ones I kind of like are the ones by Powerline, because that makes sense, and the one sung at the start of the road trip. Even that is only funny because of a) Goofy and b) all the freaky stuff happening around them like that corpse or kidnap victim starting to sing.
Also there are two confusing things I want to point out.
First one is kind of minor, but it's Mickey Mouse. No, I'm not going to talk about Jukka-Pekka Palo again. No, it's that in the beginning Max has a Mickey Mouse phone. I mean that has to mean Mickey Mouse is famous, right? But when they go on the road trip they see Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck hitchhiking. If they are famous, why... why are they hitchhiking. And also if Goofy knows them, and they are famous, considering everything Goofy should be famous too. Why does it seem like no one knows who he is apart from the town?
Another thing is that my dad was angry at this one transition where first the characters are like we're going to go to that place. Then next scene they are in the place. There's no planning, they just get there. My dad feels like they missed a scene, but I kind of disagree. Isn't it funnier to not know? I don't know, people might see this differently depending on what they like and what they know about screenwriting.
Goofy Movie is funny, surprisingly deep and apart from the few confusing points we really enjoyed seeing it again. I haven't seen it in ages. My only problem was that the dub wasn't always so great, but it's something I can forgive rather easily.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
7 / 10
No comments:
Post a Comment