Vintage Review – Goof Troop

Do you remember the 90s? Of course you do. If you’re on here, you’re either old enough to remember the full decade, or clueless on 98% of the content. In this new series, created mostly out of boredom and increased free time, Bloggin Hood and friends (but mostly Bloggin Hood) will re-watch classic shows of yesteryear. This could be a cartoon, family show, or game show. I left the tradition “adult” sitcoms and shows out of this. You don’t need me to tell you Seinfeld is funny. However, what you may remember about these shows from your youth is misguided.

Nostalgia blinds us all, like a poor, uneducated 3^rd grader who stares at the sun for a few seconds too long. Somebody needs to determine whether these favorites growing up were as good as we remember, or the victim of hot smoldering nostalgia. With each show, I’ll review a specific episode. If I’m familiar with the show, it’ll be a randomly selected one, or one I particularly remember being great. If I’m not that familiar, I’ll watch the first episode to judge it. For shows I know, I’ll touch on the characters, and my recollection of the show. Then I will review, as non-bias as I can, if the show stands. You might think as a 30+ year old adult, I won’t like most of these kids shows. But again, if you think that, you’ve literally skipped every other post. Good work.

Today, we will decide if Goof Troop is phat or wack. You try coming up with more updated 90 terms. I dare you.

Concept

This is a show about what happens if Goofy and Pete of all people have families. It features different family dynamics, and a lot of cartoon violence. I think Disney tries to create an animated sitcom in the vein of their TGIF lineup, but appeal to younger kids with it. They also had to greatly buff the amount of characters Goofy knew without digging into Donald or Mickey. The results were mixed.

Theme Song

This theme is surprisingly soulful. These 90s shows really shelled out for some people who could hit a wide variety of notes. This biggest downside to this theme is that it keeps going. It’s at least a minute, probably to pad the episodes run time. Don’t get me wrong, I like, but it should have been 30 seconds. There is a scat at the end of the song which is an all timer. By far the best part of the intro.

Perception

Growing up, I think this was my favorite Disney Cartoon that didn’t feature ducks in a starring role. I wasn’t the biggest Goofy fan or anything, but some of the appeal came from a Goof Troop video game my Dad and I played. I don’t know what I knew about first (I assume the show) but the game wasn’t even that good. This was one of those “I know those characters!” moments.

In full disclosure I’ve watched some Goof Troop before starting this project. I wanted to see if Goof Troop did hold up. I’d say here, but then what would be the point of the remaining words? Nothing, that’s what. So you’ll have to keep reading. This is a spoiler free section.

One important distinction I should address is the characters here are much younger than they are in the Cinematic Masterpiece – A Goofy Movie. Max and Pete are middle schoolers here, while they are about to graduate high school in the movie. This is nowhere close to the quality of A Goofy Movie – a film achievement that ranks as one of the 10 greatest works of art in history. I’d put it ahead of the Sistine Chapel, but slightly behind the Chappelle Show Episode with Prince. Since this series focuses on TV shows, A Goofy Movie doesn’t qualify, but I might try to sneak it in as my list of reviews dwindles to suck shows.

Characters

Goofy – Other than having a son, which admittedly is a huge change, Goofy remains his normal self. He’s a kid hearted dog(?) who continuously gets himself in difficult situations. His resiliency is up there with Darkwing Duck. Few characters can take the punishment he does and remain as happy as ever. He also has the best scream when falling. This happens even more than you think. I can’t spell out the scream, but you know it. You’re thinking of it right now. Goofy isn’t the quickest of wit, but this show and A Goofy Movie remain his best portrayals, though I haven’t seen his guest appearance in Ducktales Season 3 yet. I’m sure you’re holding your breath in anticipation.

But seriously, is Goofy a dog? I have no idea, and it raises more questions about animals in the Disney universe.

Max – Max is the brains of the operation, though the bar is set pretty low. I was surprised how high pitched his voice was; it’s deeper in the movie. It makes sense as kids don’t usually go through puberty at like age 10. Max is technically the show’s lead and gets into typical sitcom problems. Goof Troop separates itself from other sitcoms by solving problems through cartoon violence. I wish that worked in real life. Max s a bit generic, but I think he needs to be with the parents involved.

Pete – Consistently a villain in the Disney universe, it’s nice to see Pete play an antagonist, but not be outright evil. He’s definitely a jerk, and not the best father, but he does have some compassion. Pete is an asshole for laughs and he suffers as much physical trauma as Goofy. He has a lot of pride in his family name, which is particularly confusing as Wikipedia lists the family’s last name as Pete. Is he Pete Pete? Peter Pete? Pete Peterson/ No matter the answer, it’s not good.

PJ – Poor kid. PJ has to go by this initials to avoid being called Pete Junior. This creates even more confusion for Pete’s real name. Pete Pete Junior seemed generic on the re-watch, serving to be a loyal friend to Max as a foil to Pete’s schemes. He’s not bad, but I don’t know. It’s tough to stand out with the strong personalities on the show. I will say his voice seems significantly less grating than Max’s. I don’t think its the same voice from the movie, but I didn’t think twice hearing him speak.

Waffles – Waffles is Goofy and Max’s cat. He typically narrowly avoids Goofy’s dangerous escapades, but he does suffer a few lumps here and there. I have to ask yet again – why is he just a normal cat? Pete’s family has a dog and that’s even more confusing. What determines who is a regular animal or humanoid animal in this universe? Do they draw straws at birth? I just don’t get it. Now, I like what the cat offers here – mostly facial expressions showing he’s over this. But it just seems cruel having a pet in this universe. Don’t get me started on Pluto.

Peg – Pete’s Wife, who I had called Mrs Pete until looking her name up minutes ago, is an over caring character. She was in Goofy’s business most of the time, and usually forces Pete to apologize. I don’t think she really causes any trouble herself. Why did she marry Pete when he’s such a jerk though? I’m guessing she’s a gold digger. New canon! I have nothing against Momma Pete, but she takes a clear backseat in most episodes to Goofy, Max and Pete

Pistol – Now, this name only works if Pete’s full name is Pete Pete. Pistol Pete would be such a good name is PJ’s little sister was a sports phenom. Instead, she serves the required role of being the annoying little sibling always trying to get in the middle of Max and PJ’s plans. Fortunately, she’s not in love in Max, so that’s one trope we avoid. Really, she just wants to play with the bigger kids. For that alone, she’s much better than most of the young ones we’ll talk about.

Observations

One of the obvious, yet still overlooked aspects of Goof Troop, is that Goofy is a single father. This isn’t the first time a Disney character has had a son or daughter, but I think it’s the most time we’ve spent with a single parent family. Goofy is not without his flaws. I mean, the insurance premiums he must pay on property damage is incalculable. But it’s clear that he cares a ton about Max and is a good father. You know how you can tell Goofy is a good father? Because Max is a normal kid. Sure he has his quirks, but Goofy trashed their house multiple times in this episode, so all things considered, that’s not bad.

Now, consider Pete Pete. He’s a selfish oaf who only seems involved with his kids when it benefits him, or hurts the family name. He’s so egotistical, he has the same name twice for God’s sake. Pete struggles being a decent parent despite having a wife who cares deeply. Is this a social commentary on the structures of the traditional family?

No, it’s a Disney show you cretins. Not everything is deep.

Despite his reputation for being, well, Goofy, the main character is portrayed as a better father than 99% of fictional fathers. Look at Homer Simpson. Sure, he does care about his kids, but he often forgets Maggie’s name, drinks constantly and regularly strangles Bart. Take a look at Peter Griffin, who often forgets Meg’s name, drinks constantly, and is constantly stealing from Homer but remains worse (shots fired). Or consider the worst portrayed father in TV history… Daddy Pig. Yep, that’s right, we’re going there in a Goof Troop review.

You can have a character who’s slow or dumb and still manager to be likable or a good father. Or, you can have Peppa Pig, a show that goes out of their way to imply the male gender should be eradicated. Daddy Pig gets bullied by his daughter daily, and tries to appease the little tyrant instead of disciplining the little shit. He’s so much worse than the mother, it’s insulting.

In a recent episode, Peppa Pig fed her father bacon and then pistol whipped him for being a cannibal. Don’t bother looking into it, but take my word for it. The episode is titled Peppa Pig and the Farmer’s Market (Season 3, Episode 7) if you need to block it.

I suppose we should discuss Goof Troop though, huh?

Date With Destiny Plot Summary

We get to see the positives and negatives of Goofy as a father from the start. First, the positives. Max has a report due on Bigfoot. Why is this part of the school curriculum? Nobody graduates knowing how to do their taxes, but they can write a thesis on a mythical monster? Good job public school; you’ve done it again.

Selflessly, Goofy helps Max write a report late into the night on a typewriter. Talk about dating a series. Goofy and Max work to the wee hours of the morning to finish it. He also prepares Max lunch the next morning. You see Daddy Pig doing that? Of course not. He’s too busy running for his life as Peppa lights a Molotov Cocktail (Season 4 episode 4 – Peppa Builds a Firepit).

To counter this, we see a scene of Pete snoozing away while the Goof Troop (See what I did there?) tackle the work. As Pete sleeps, Peg likely counts the millions she’s been pocketing. That gold digger! No, there’s no evidence of this, but come on. Why else is she settling for Pete? It’s not for his workout routine.

The downside is, well, he’s still Goofy. Instead of researching the monster, Goofy takes Max to a monster truck rally where they write their report based on the Bigfoot truck. I mean, in Goof’s defense, the truck was at least real. Since he pulled an all nighter, the “nutritious” breakfast is a cracked, uncooked egg. In their haze, both miss Waffles knock over the report, and Max only takes 1 page of a seemingly 200 page behemoth. You’d think they’d notice that one. Max, who’s also super tired, leaves for school with a bowl on his head nobody notices. This is particularly weird as Max doesn’t wear a hat. Was the joke he wore a bowl because he’s tired? The next 8 scenes will imply that anyway. I can’t let that one slide. Minus one point.

At school, Max falls asleep consistently, screwing up several times. The biggest screw up should be confusing a truck instead of Bigfoot but it remains overlooked. This leads to a discussion with the principal, who’s concerned about Max. Max worries he’ll lose his father. In panic, he tells the principal Goofy is getting married soon. Now, Goofy’s parenting was questioned, but him being single never came up. I think this is targeting of single parents. Rise up single parents!

At the same time, PJ finished his paper with no issue. Maybe Pete knows what he’s doing.

Goofy now has to sign up for a dating service to find a wife. Talk about moving quick. Peg becomes obsessed here. You know the friend in every group that gets a little too involved in setting up their single friends? Yeah, this is Peg, who keeps pushing Goofy forward. Now, this is the early 90s. We’re using typewriters. In this scenario, you have to submit a profile via handwritten letter. If that’s how dating worked today, everyone in the country would be single. Man, the 90s were weird. Before handing the info to Peg, Max touches up Goofy’s answers, which were all true. Max doesn’t lie on the profile, describing Goofy to the T. See? Goofy raised his boy right.

Pete had no role in the episode, so he gets to submit Goofy’s profile while running errands. Instead, he kills two birds with one stone, stopping at a contractor’s office. He asks the woman at the desk for the man of the business, which is arguably the most sexist moment I’ve seen yet in my re-watches. When he realizes she is in charge, he says “it’s cute” and invites her to Goofy’s house. He thinks it’s hysterical to set her up with the contractor.

But yeah, Peg’s with him for his personality.

In a surprising twist, Goofy and the contractor have a lot in common. They fall deeply in love, and have three kids. It’s the best romance since Bachelor Season 4.

Wait, no, that didn’t happen.

Instead, Goofy prepares for his date by wearing a yellow pimp suit with the hat. This was not subtle at all. Neither was the disaster of the date. Goofy does the contractor’s work, including jackhammering his house to oblivion. You think that’s a euphemism there, but somehow, it’s not. The date is a disaster, akin to the Bachelor, Season 5.

Even worse, Max’s principal randomly shows up to the house to see it destroyed. Max moves in with Pete’s family until the house is fixed. Not sure that’s legal, but ok. In all of this, Goofy accidentally dances with the Principal. Keep that in mind and remember what Goofy’s wearing.

The only people really bothered by the new living arrangement is Goofy, who misses Max, and Pete, who hates having another mouth to feed. Several times, Max needs help, and Goofy runs across to his aid, hurting Pete in the process. It’s in Goofy and Pete’s contract they must suffer cartoon violence multiple times an episode. We also find out the Pete’s daily breakfast is an entire plate of donuts. That, somehow, is the longest note I took in the episode. Go figure.

But sure, Peg loves Pete for his smile and not his bank account. Naturally.

Pete’s wife founds out that her husband never submitted Goofy’s illegible handwritten dating profile and calls him a “poo poo head”. Not quite as good of insult as calling him a wiener, but pretty solid. As punishment, Pete has to help Goofy rebuild his house. While reluctantly helping, Pete tries to hurt Waffles the cat for no reason. Both characters get stuck in the chimney. Goofy frees Pete, but ends up destroying both houses. Even by cartoon logic, that’s impressive. Also, both families are homeless, though it doesn’t get addressed for some reason. And yes, I still think Goofy is a good father. Could Daddy Pig wreck two houses out of love for his fellow man and pet? No he can’t. He can’t even stop his daughter from ruling his house with an iron fist. Never forget the surprisingly political episode Peppa Pig and the Totalitarian Regime(Season 1 Episode 4).

The episode ends with the Principal, again, randomly stopping by Goofy’s house… or Goofy’s rubble to be more accurate. She says that she found the rest of Max’s report and everything is now ok. How the hell does that work? It was a report about the wrong thing. She also then asks to go out with Goofy after the dancing. Oh, now it makes sense.

Goofy, you slow playing son of a bitch. You used your sex appeal to get your son a passing grade and got a date out of it. You see? Goofy is the best father after all. Today’s lesson – Make sure your kid’s principal has the hots for you.

Or have a shit ton of money like Pete.

Review – Phat

It’s not A Goofy Movie, which hurts it’s score, but it’s an easy watch. Plus, you may see Goofy in a pimp suit again. That’s worth the price of admission. Also, the scat in the theme song is majestic. I can’t recommend the scat more.