[Possibly Silly] Questions about Goofy

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[Possibly Silly] Questions about Goofy

Post by 2099net »

1 I remember reading somewhere that Goofy is not any old dog, but a Dingo, and this explains his Goofyness. [? Are Dingo's supposed to be stupid]. Is this true?

2 Is Goofy's real name George Geef as shown in some of the later shorts or not? In Goof Troop his name seems to be Mr. Goof.

3 Talking of Goof Troop - he has a son Max. But Max looks (and acts) different to the son in the later Goofy shorts. Is he supposed to be the same character?

4 And Goof Troop again. In this cartoon series he has a nice, roomy suburban house. In House of Mouse, Goofy seems to be living in a small trailer? How did this happen?

5 Why is Goofy a single parent? Did Mrs. Geef/Goofy leave him? Do you think it's good Disney are showing a one parent family?

6 Why is A Goofy Movie so fantastically good? While An Extremely Goofy Movie sucks eggs (badly, through a straw)?
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Post by Prince Phillip »

You're right! Those are the Silliest!!!!! questions I've ever heard!!!! :P

:lol:

My guess would be many of the things you've mentioned had no connection between them. Goofy's name may have been George Geef in the 50's and such, vas they were probably going for more of an everyman's man sort of character... His old name Dippy Dawg was no longer in use, and "the Goof" or Goofy, is probably not what they wante3d to use. George Geef, seems more appropriate for the image or whatever they were trying to sell.

I don't know abo9ut the kid, but for the 50's, again, they probably wanted a more american looking boy, so they ised that firsat kid.... Also if you notice Goofy's face is painted flesh colored in some of those cartoons, I guess to make him look more like a man, and less of a dog.

Max, his now son, looks more like his dad, and is more liked by yours truely... I think it is great that diseny shows Goofy as a single dad raising, his kid, because not all families are two parent perfect, and it would be so cliche to have a single mother... though I am guessing for Goof troop, that Max's mother died, when he was young, or in labour....

Goffy, a dingo? Sorry, I don't know about that...

Also in Goof Troop, Goffy lives next to Pete who has a wife and 2 kids, one might ask where they are...
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More Questions (and the Ultimate Answer)

Post by herman_the_german »

Why does Mickey Mouse own a cat (that chases mice) in The Worm That Turns?

Why is George Geef Goof's wife human, while he is a dog?

The answers to these (and others) is that Mickey, Donald and Goofy, are not a mouse, a duck and a dog respectively. They are shaped like them, but ultimately they are human beings. You have, of course, to look at the whole thing from a metafictional point of view.
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Post by 2099net »

Also in Goof Troop, Goffy lives next to Pete who has a wife and 2 kids, one might ask where they are...
Personally I don't think Goof Troop Pete is the same Pete as "Classic Shorts" Pete (sort of confirmed as the current Pete talks about an Grand Uncle Pegleg sometimes) or House of Mouse/Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas etc. Pete. No way would that Pete have a wife and kids (or be as henpecked by his wife as Goof Troop Pete is). So I think Goof Troop Pete is a slighty more distant relation. The "white sheep" of the family if you like (who still share's the Pete family's meaness to a degree)
Last edited by 2099net on Mon Jul 21, 2003 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: More Questions (and the Ultimate Answer)

Post by 2099net »

herman_the_german wrote:Why does Mickey Mouse own a cat (that chases mice) in The Worm That Turns?

Why is George Geef Goof's wife human, while he is a dog?

The answers to these (and others) is that Mickey, Donald and Goofy, are not a mouse, a duck and a dog respectively. They are shaped like them, but ultimately they are human beings. You have, of course, to look at the whole thing from a metafictional point of view.
Well, I did say that they were possibly silly. But there must be answers to some of them ?!?!?
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Post by jabroni76 »

1 I remember reading somewhere that Goofy is not any old dog, but a Dingo, and this explains his Goofyness. [? Are Dingo's supposed to be stupid]. Is this true?

See answer number two, for a maybe explination

2 Is Goofy's real name George Geef as shown in some of the later shorts or not? In Goof Troop his name seems to be Mr. Goof.

Goofy first appeard in Mickey's Revenue under the name Dippy Dawg, making me believe that was his first and real name, untill they changed it to assumably Goofy, or George Geef.

As for the first question, noting that his name was Dippy Dawg, you'd think he was a dog? Right?

3 Talking of Goof Troop - he has a son Max. But Max looks (and acts) different to the son in the later Goofy shorts. Is he supposed to be the same character?

He is, infact the teenage son of Goofy. I guess they decided to animate him differently, I dunno.

6 Why is A Goofy Movie so fantastically good? While An Extremely Goofy Movie sucks eggs (badly, through a straw)?

It's a sequel.. Go figure...
Last edited by jabroni76 on Mon Jul 21, 2003 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The nature of fables

Post by herman_the_german »

Your questions are not silly at all, but to answer them you have to go back in time in the history of storytelling (even earlier than Aesop) to see why it was chosen to feature animals in fables instead of humans.

You could say that our primitive forefathers thought that maybe the line of separation between humans and other animales wasn't what we think of today, or that animals were gods that tended to act as human beings did.

Or you could even venture to say that with the first storytellers there was already a degree of sophistication that could create a metaphor and could put animals in the place of human beings, and then to proceed to tell a story that was esentially about the human condition, but that used animals as a distancing device that allowed the audience to go further into the story (and moral if any) and to obtain an understanding that would otherwise be lacking.

Walt Disney did not do something new. The animal fable has been with us for several (?) millenia. I think the latter explanation is most likely true, and that Walt is simply following in a grand old tradition in storytelling. The "animalness" of Mickey, Donald & Goofy is an extremely thin layer. There is no longer anything in their nature or behaviour that betrays an animalness (alienness to the human condition). The three guys can simply be seen as human. As adults we don't even think about it, but talk to a little kid and see him/her try to explain what he/she perceives. If first he/she claims Mickey is a mouse, then ask him/her why Mickey has absolutely no mouselike qualities, and point out Mickey's humanity. You'll see that eventually the kid will agree that Mickey is as human as he/she. You could even try the same experiment with Santa Claus, another completely metafictional character.

Regarding the lack of continuity, it is simply impossible to have all the features that show any of the characters to show even a reasonable amount of continuity. This has never been the intention so we shouldn't expect it. There have been too many artists and writers, too many different creative periods, and the characters have definitely evolved and changed from their initial conception.

If you follow The Simpsons, you have seen writers come up with creative way to address the continuity problems between one show and the other, but ultimately is treated as something that it should be ignored (just as they do on the the Treehouse of Horror segments). Ren & Stimpy did some of it too, for example see the episode where they are supposed to be on a TV show and they put costumes over their own real likenesses.

The Disney writers and artists have done a certain measure of this, but it has never been one of their priorities. There was a book titled WALT DISNEY'S THE LIFE OF DONALD DUCK: THE ONLY AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY! published in the 1940's, and reprinted somewhat recently within the last 10 years. It is highly recommended, and you should (as a Disney fan) search it and obtain it at all costs. In the book the origins of Donald are explained, from his birth to his becoming a movie star. So technically Mickey, Donald and Goofy can be seen as actors that make movies, it is only rarely that you see glimpses into their real lives, but it is impossible from our point of view (as the audience) to tell when we are seen their real lives, and when we are seeing simply a movie or TV show that they made.

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookSearch

See also Fantasia with running commentary by Mickey Mouse. For more metafictional examples see Disneyland's Toontown's Mickey and Minnie's homes.

Or see Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for a different take on it. Though from a metafictional POV, the story from WFRR could simply be another movie that Roger Rabbit filmed and acted in.

Again all of this is very metafictional and it is very interesting as it addresses and questions the very nature of these animal characters and the universe they populate.
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Post by Sulley »

Goofy's evolution through film and TV are not sequels or spin-offs. It's like Ellen Degeneres and Bill Cosby, for example; they each have had two sitcoms, (Ellen, The Ellen Show, The Cosby Show, Cosby), but the sitcoms are not connected except by the same stars.
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Post by Prince Phillip »

I think all my answers are right. :D
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Post by STASHONE »

Goofy is a dog. Also, Goofy's son was originally named Junior, not Max. He seems to be a different character as does Goofy. You cant make much of a comparison in details between the original classic shorts and the totally different television series from the 90s, the entire synopsis is different, the settings are different and the characters do not have much in common.
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Post by 2099net »

jabroni76 wrote:1 I remember reading somewhere that Goofy is not any old dog, but a Dingo, and this explains his Goofyness. [? Are Dingo's supposed to be stupid]. Is this true?

See answer number two, for a maybe explination

2 Is Goofy's real name George Geef as shown in some of the later shorts or not? In Goof Troop his name seems to be Mr. Goof.

Goofy first appeard in Mickey's Revenue under the name Dippy Dawg, making me believe that was his first and real name, untill they changed it to assumably Goofy, or George Geef.

As for the first question, noting that his name was Dippy Dawg, you'd think he was a dog? Right?
Well, A Dingo is a Dog (let's have Loomis, our "Down Under Friend" explain what a Dingo is). But I agree, his first name would likely be Dippy Dingo (and he doesn't have an Ozzie accent).
jabroni76 wrote:3 Talking of Goof Troop - he has a son Max. But Max looks (and acts) different to the son in the later Goofy shorts. Is he supposed to be the same character?

He is, infact the teenage son of Goofy. I guess they decided to animate him differently, I dunno.
He's only a Teenager in the movies. He's a pre-teen for the series, closer top the age of Geef Jr. in the later Goofy shorts. But looks nothing like him.
jabroni76 wrote:6 Why is A Goofy Movie so fantastically good? While An Extremely Goofy Movie sucks eggs (badly, through a straw)?

It's a sequel.. Go figure...
But.... But... I liked Return to Neverland better than the original :) No it seems to me that Disney threw everything away that made A Goofy Movie so much fun when they made the sequel. They totally missed the mark.
Sully wrote:Goofy's evolution through film and TV are not sequels or spin-offs. It's like Ellen Degeneres and Bill Cosby, for example; they each have had two sitcoms, (Ellen, The Ellen Show, The Cosby Show, Cosby), but the sitcoms are not connected except by the same stars.
Yes. But Donald Duck has a rich and consistant family tree (there's a few copies on the 'net should you wish to look it up. He's actually a distant relation of Daisy Duck you know? Think of that next time you see them kiss!).

I accept that this is mainly due to Banks' highly regarded comic works which was then 'brought into' the Disney animated universe. But even before then some of his family was clearly defined - three nephews, a cousin called Gus, Ludwig Van Drake was a relative etc. The same is true of Mickey and his nephews Morty and Ferdie. Goofy seems to have no consistancy.

Ever since Duck Tales expanded the Duck family to be more inline with Bank's vision, their relations and circumstances has remained consistant. Disney couldn't even keep Goofy's circumstances consistant after Goof Troop. You think that after a successful long running television show, one that redefined Goofy as the 'Everyman' like he was in the later Goofy shorts, they would have made some effort to remain consistant. :roll:

It's blatent Goof-ism. We should have some consistancy for Goofy being as the other 'big two' get it. I'm not ignoring your reply Herman - although it may seem like I am - but just pointing out that Donald and Mickey do have consistancy (although as you state we can't expect it) and Goofy doesn't.
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Post by Loomis »

2099net wrote: Well, A Dingo is a Dog (let's have Loomis, our "Down Under Friend" explain what a Dingo is). But I agree, his first name would likely be Dippy Dingo (and he doesn't have an Ozzie accent).
Just because I live here, doesn't mean I'm the resident expert :P

A Dingo is a type of dog. It has four legs. Contrary to popular belief, they don't steal babies. A lot of experts believe that they wouldn't even come that close to a camp.
But I digress.

You actually got me thinking 2099. When I was out tonight, I was thinking about the Goofy changes. And I rationalised it this way.

Goofy, Mickey and Donald are all 'actors' in the Disney universe (as seems to be evident by House of Mouse). Goofy has just had a more diverse range than Mickey and Donald, who largely play themselves.

There. How was that? :P
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Post by Prince Phillip »

Loomis wrote:Goofy, Mickey and Donald are all 'actors' in the Disney universe (as seems to be evident by House of Mouse). Goofy has just had a more diverse range than Mickey and Donald, who largely play themselves.

There. How was that? :P
Well said, I was about to say that myself. I mean each character is constantly changing from short to short, Mickey is a brve little taylor one moment and a ghostbuster with his pals the next...

or you could think of it this way, each cartoon reflects the characters life in a parallel universe, making it possible that in one "universe" George Geef had a son Junior, and in another Goofy has a son Max, who seems to have stuck, and has gone on to be greeter for the House of Mouse club...

Beisdes, with the exception of Goof Troop and maybe some of the later shorts, it seems Goofy is always living in some kind of trailer, or broken down establishment...




Oh, and I believe Dingo's are more of a golden color, don't know if their colors very, but all the ones I've ever seen are golden... so more Plutos color, but I definately wouldn't call pluto a dingo. :wink:
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WILD DINGOS FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE STOLE MY BABY!

Post by herman_the_german »

Dingos... Alternate Universes... Isn't this thread getting kinda wild? :lol:

First of all, where did anybody get the idea that the Goof was a dingo. A dingo is a wild Australian dog, the Goof is anything but wild. And as far as I know he is 100% American. :)

Alternate Universes will work if we are discussing the continuity in Star Wars or Superman comics, but Disney? Just go with Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation will do: they are actors that make movies and TV shows.
herman_the_german wrote:
So technically Mickey, Donald and Goofy can be seen as actors that make movies, it is only rarely that you see glimpses into their real lives, but it is impossible from our point of view (as the audience) to tell when we are seen their real lives, and when we are seeing simply a movie or TV show that they made.
Junior or Max could be a midget playing Goofy's kid, a la Baby Herman! :lol:

Somebody mentioned Carl Barks, if anything something should be made about Donald's adventures in the comics as they were so varied and improbable. :lol: :lol:
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Post by Prince Adam »

I'm just going to accept all the Goofy inconsistansies (spelling?) and just watch the different cartoons without any more thought to them. OH, and sorry 2099net, but I like to think that they're all the same Pete.
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Post by Uncle Remus »

like loomis said Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are all actors in the Disney universe. but did people know that Goofy has better insurance than Mockey and Donald?
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Post by Porce »

1. Goofy is a dog. The Online Disney Shorts Encyclopedia says so.

2. George Geef is his name when he is more humanized. The sports star and clumsy simpleton Goofy's are just named... Goofy.

3. This is one of the problems that I don't like about Goof Troop.

4. Yet another inconsistency within Walt Disney Television Animation.

5. George Geef wasn't single. Have you seen "Fathers Are People" (1951), "Father's Day Off" (1952 or 3), etc.?

6. A Goofy Movie IS good (and how?, I mean Television Animation produces crap most of the time). An Extremely Goofy Movie is just some crap sequel. Speaking of which, why is the former pan-and-scan on DVD while the sequel gets widescreen?
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Re: [Possibly Silly] Questions about Goofy

Post by herman_the_german »

1 Goofy is a Dingo. Is this true?

Goofy is an American dawg, not Australian. He is a member of the Dippy Dawg tribe or family :)

2 Is Goofy's real name George Geef as shown in some of the later shorts or not? In Goof Troop his name seems to be Mr. Goof.

Goofy's full name is George Geef Goof, nicknamed Goofy, and has an alter ego: Super Goof!. :wink:

3 Talking of Goof Troop - he has a son Max. But Max looks (and acts) different to the son in the later Goofy shorts. Is he supposed to be the same character?

Junior was a 5 year old kid in 1951, he is now 57 seven years old. Goofy as remarried and had another son, Max, who is a teenager. :D

4 And Goof Troop again. In this cartoon series he has a nice, roomy suburban house. In House of Mouse, Goofy seems to be living in a small trailer? How did this happen?

He moved. :wink:

5 Why is Goofy a single parent? Did Mrs. Geef/Goofy leave him? Do you think it's good Disney are showing a one parent family?

Mrs. Goof took off for the mall one day and never come back.. (Bill Farmer). Of course it's good to show a one parent family. Many of us have one. :)

6 Why is A Goofy Movie so fantastically good? While An Extremely Goofy Movie sucks eggs (badly, through a straw)?

It's only a matter of degree. :lol:
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Post by 2099net »

I've just realised where the Dingo rumour could have come from: Dingo is the French name for Goofy.

So do the French think Goofy actually is a Dingo, or does the word Dingo mean something else in French?
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Post by Carlo »

2099net wrote:does the word Dingo mean something else in French?
Yes, it does. "dingo" and "dingue" are both colloquial words for "daft".
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