Goofy is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1939 with Goofy and Wilbur and ended in 1953 with How to Sleep. An additional short, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, was released in 2007. The series stars the titular character Goofy, introduced in the short film series Mickey Mouse as one of Mickey's friends.
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Production
The shorts were produced by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures (the shorts were later distributed by Buena Vista Distribution in re-releases). Like other Disney animated shorts in the golden age of American animation starring other characters, the shorts began with a starburst with a close-up of Goofy's face, followed by the title "A Walt Disney Goofy" or "Walt Disney Presents Goofy", depending on the cartoon.
The shorts include a sub-series known as "How to...", which show Goofy in situations that explain to the public how to do different types of activities, including sports, practicing different professions, or types of hobbies, always being explained by a narrator. Other similar short films also began with the title "The Art of...".
During the late 1940s and 1950s, Goofy was shown in stories as an "everyman", being portrayed as an urban man in everyday situations. In these shorts, he is referred to by the name "George Geef" and has a more humanized appearance.
Also during the 1950s, Goofy starred in four short films under the title "Fathers", showing Goofy acting as a father to his son, Goofy Junior (who years later would become known as "Max Goof").
From 1939 to 1953, at least one short film in the Goofy series was released annually, with an additional short film (How to Hook Up Your Home Theater) being released in 2007. Most of the shorts were directed by Jack Kinney.
List of films
The following is a list of Goofy short films.
The list doesn't include shorts from other series where Goofy appears, such as the Mickey Mouse series, the Donald & Goofy series, or other Disney short films from that aren't part of the Goofy series, segments from feature films (such as El Gaucho Goofy), nor shorts of Goofy made as part of the episodes of the television series Mickey Mouse Works.
The How-to Narrator
The How-to Narrator debuted in the 1940 short Goofy's Glider serving as a guide for Goofy, afterward becoming a stable character appearing in most of Goofy's short films, serving as a guide for Goofy's activities in the "How to..." shorts, or simply narrating Goofy's actions in other shorts. The Narrator is also present in other short films starring Goofy outside of the official Goofy series, including Californy'er Bust (1945), Aquamania (1961), Freewayphobia (1965), Goofy's Freeway Troubles (1965), and The Art of Vacationing (2012).
The Narrator has also appeared in other media related to Goofy, such as the television series Goof Troop (where he began to be credited as "The How-to Narrator"), where he has a recurring participation in situations similar to the "How To..." short films, in which he explains as a guide the actions of the characters.
In the television series Mickey Mouse Works and its spin-off House of Mouse, the Narrator serves as a guide for Goofy's actions in the cartoon shorts starring him, which are also presented under the "How To..." title, or are part of the "Goofy's Extreme Sports" series. In the main plot of the House of Mouse episode "Super Goof" (2002), the Narrator also explains the story about Goofy and his new superhero identity.
The Narrator is also present in the three episodes of How to Stay at Home (2021). In the episode "Binge Watching", it is possible to see him partially, with his hand briefly being seen waving at Goofy to see if he's still alive.
The Narrator has a brief participation in the special "The Wonderful Summer of Mickey Mouse" (2022) from the series The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, where he explains how to use a jet ski.
Voice actors
The Narrator has had several voice actors throughout his appearances, some shorts having uncredited actors. Known actors include:
John McLeish also voiced the Narrator in the short How to Ride a Horse included in the film The Reluctant Dragon (1941). Outside of the Goofy short film series, the Narrator is voiced by Cactus Mack in Californy'er Bust (1945), by John Dehner in Aquamania (1961), and by Paul Frees in Freewayphobia (1965) and Goofy's Freeway Troubles (1965). Corey Burton began voicing the Narrator in Goof Troop, after that becoming his permanent voice in his subsequent appearances in different media from 1992 to the present.
Home media
The films have been released in various forms of home media, with selected films released on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. Starting in 2010, some of the cartoons were made available on digital downloads.
So far, the only home media release of the entire series is on the two-disc DVD set "The Complete Goofy" (2002) from the "Walt Disney Treasures" collection, with the exception of How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, which was released later, and which was released in home media as part of the short films included in the Blu-ray Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (2015).
Some cartoons were also included as unlockable content in the 2001 PlayStation game Goofy's Fun House.
Legacy
In the television series Mickey Mouse Works (1999–2000), Goofy returned to star in several shorts under the title of "How to...", as part of the series' episodes, following the theme of the shorts of the Goofy series of showing the character in situations as a guide on how to do a specific action. These include: "How to Be a Waiter", "How to Be a Spy", "How to Ride a Bicycle", "How to Haunt a House", "How to Be a Baseball Fan", "How to Take Care of Your Yard", "How to Wash Dishes", and "How to Be a Gentleman". These shorts were reused in the spin-off series House of Mouse, which also included the shorts "How to Be Groovy, Cool, and Fly" and "How to Camp".
In 2012, The Art of Vacationing, a live-action short film starring Goofy, pays homage to Goofy's "The Art of..." and "How to..." shorts of the Goofy series, showing what would happen if Goofy planned a vacation to Disneyland Resort. Similar to the shorts in the Goofy series, it begins with a starburst with Goofy's face, but instead of an animated face, the face of Goofy's representation at the Disney Parks appears, followed by an introductory title which changes the "Walt Disney presents Goofy - Color by Technicolor" to "Disneyland Resort presents Goofy - Wondercolor".
The Goofy short films, specifically the "How to..." shorts, were followed up with How to Stay at Home (2021), a three-episode streaming series featuring Goofy showing how to do activities around his home during the COVID-19 pandemic.