Tag Archives: Short film

January 4, 1952 – The Goofy Short Film Father’s Lion is Released to Theaters

“Here is the home of Mr. G. G. Geef, daring adventurer, famous explorer, great athlete, pioneer woodsman, Indian fighter, trapper, and soldier of fortune!…in the eyes of his son, that is.”

On January 4, 1952, the Goofy short film Father’s Lion was released to theaters. This is one of Goofy’s “everyday man” shorts, where he is playing character George Geef. It was directed by Jack Kinney, with story by Dick Kinney and Milt Schaffer.

The sun rises over the quiet suburban house of George Geef and his family, with George taking his kid on a camping trip. Junior is really excited to hear the tall tales George tells, believing them to be reality. When their back tire goes flat, George decides to park the car and climb the trail to the campsite. A mountain lion is trying to rest in the woods, but is disturbed by the gunshots from George’s shotgun as George is shooting at some empty cans. Junior notices a mountain lion in the nearby tree, and George grabs the lion by the tail and beats him up, unaware that he has actually attacked a real mountain lion. The lion is angered by George’s attack and tries to bite George, although Junior saves his father with his pop gun. The lion continues to try and attack George, but is unwittingly beaten by smoke and flapjacks. As they go to sleep, the lion sees this as his chance, but is interrupted by Junior’s requests. Having had enough, the lion attacks the group, and narrowly misses getting shot by George’s shotgun. The lion chases George around the campsite, but once again is thwarted by Junior’s popgun. George decides to get out of dodge, although he starts telling another tall tale as they head back to suburbia.

December 25, 1953 – The Goofy Short Film How to Sleep is Released to Theaters

“Since the beginning of time, man has always had the problem of sleeping.”

On December 25, 1953, the Goofy short film How to Sleep was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack Kinney, with story by Milt Schaffer and Nick George.

The short begins with the history of sleep – or, rather, the lack of it. For present day, they observe various ways people try to go to sleep, from being walked to being rocked. More and more people seem to have difficulty trying to sleep due to the demands of their day. The short then goes into various methods to help people sleep, including hot milk and opening a window. As Goofy tries to count sheep, this only makes his situation much worse. He then has to go see a scientist to help him find the best way to sleep using a variety of electronic devices all at the same time. Unfortunately, his dreams continue to keep him awake. In conclusion, the only way science has determined to put Goofy to sleep is to use a giant mallet over the head, effectively knocking him out.

December 21, 2007 – The Goofy Short Film How to Hook Up Your Home Theater is Released to Theaters

“Modern sports fans, however, can fully immerse themselves in game day with a new home theater system. The advanced technology practically puts the viewer on the field.”

On December 21, 2007, the Goofy short film How to Hook Up Your Home Theater was released to theaters; this was the first Goofy theatrical short film since 1961’s Aquamania. It was directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, with story by Deters, Wermers-Skelton, Wilbert Plijnaar, and Dan Abraham. It stars Corey Burton as the narrator, and Bill Farmer as Goofy.

The short begins with a look at the big game, on Goofy’s tiny black and white television, when Goofy sees his neighbor getting a new big screen television and home theater system, and decides to get his own the next day at his nearest electronics store. He is laden down with several “important” elements of his system, and goes to pick his screen, which is the biggest in the store. Finally, it is delivery day, and Goofy waits anxiously, although the system arrives early the next day. The system is so massive that they have to lift Goofy’s house to fit the boxes inside. After unpacking it, and removing about a million packing peanuts, Goofy finds the instructions, although they are incredibly complex. He then has trouble plugging in the cables, and has to use a chainsaw to cut a wall of his house in order to reach the back of the screen. He then sets up all the speakers, surrounding him all around and ensuring eventual deafness. He mounts the speakers in crazy places, leaving wires and overloaded sockets in his wake. After setting it all up, he almost forgets about the big game, when he finds the universal remote and turns the television on. The television explodes, sending Goofy, chair, and screen to the actual playing field, where, after getting pummeled by the players, he remarks that “it’s almost like being there!”