Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

A Goofy Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 15, 2021

1995's A Goofy Movie might be considered on Disney's animation "second tier," its release sandwiched between much more visible projects like 1994's The Lion King and 1995's Pocahontas. Even as the film features one of the studio's most iconic characters whose screen time dates all the way back to the 1930s, A Goofy Movie efforts to blend classic "Goofy," well, goofiness with some modern beats and contemporary characters around him. It's a perfectly pleasant diversion, perhaps not a bastion of originality but certainly with enough creative energy (and music) to deliver perfectly passable family entertainment.

It's the last day of school and Goofy's (voiced by Bill Farmer) son Max (voiced by Jason Marsden) couldn't be more excited. Like most of his classmates, he plans to laze about all summer, much to his principal's (voiced by Wallace Shawn) disappointment. But Max has other plans, too. He's eager to woo the most beautiful girl in his class, Roxanne (Kellie Martin), and captures her attention when he crashes an end-of-school assembly. He's in big trouble -- the principal thinks it might even warrant the death penalty -- so Goofy does what any dad would do: loads Max up in the car for a father-son getaway. Max isn't at all thrilled. Roxanne had just agreed to go to a party with him. He'd rather be with her but dad would rather be with Max. Away they go, physically in the same direction but emotionally at opposite ends of the spectrum. Can father and son bond on the road or will Max's attitude ruin everything, including, even, his chances with Roxanne?

The film follows paralleling stories of broken dreams. In the light of father-son bonding, a father’s heart is broken when his son rebels against the very concept of time spent together, his son preferring to chart his own course, not that which his father and grandfather followed years ago. Max’s heart is broken because his dream – Roxanne – was within his grasp but his father has essentially pulled it from within reach. To say that the two are not on the same page would be an understatement. They are not speaking one another’s language. The film asks the audience to emotionally invest in a simple, yet purposeful, story, which exists in the midst of high intensity music, humorous asides, and animated renderings. It works rather well, struggling to perhaps find a perfect balance to its elements but doing well to paint a complete, though not vivid, portrait of life’s ups and downs by way of familiar themes in some unconventional ways.

A Goofy Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Goofy Movie's 1080p Blu-ray picture quality is quite handsome. The Blu-ray retains a fine grain structure, even and flattering, which yields a pleasing cinematic flavor to the presentation. It's appreciably sharp in all areas. Lines are crisp and animated details hold firm, particularly the wooded areas where father and son go camping but also around school offices and through all the clutter in Goofy's home as seen in the opening minutes. Character models are well detailed, too, sharp and true in motion, perhaps more so than even the static backgrounds from shot-to-shot. Color grading is a highlight, The picture is vivid and well saturated with no appreciable fading. Tones are appropriately bold with pleasing neutral contrast across the film's diverse spectrum, whether bright sunny exteriors or low light interiors and everywhere in between. Black levels are solid. There are no examples of print deterioration and encode issues are practically nonexistent. Disney has absolutely done right by this hidden gem of a transfer.

A Goofy Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Digital 2.0 lossy soundtrack may lack a full stage presence but it is not necessarily wanting anything larger; it takes nearly full advantage of the limited arsenal afforded to it. Fundamental qualities of fidelity and spacing are satisfied by the track but they are not exacting in presentation excellence but perhaps exacting to the limits the encode allows. There's plenty of front-side width as music flows freely through the front two speakers. Clarity satisfies, a positive for a track of this configuration and particularly for a musically oriented movie that lives and dies by song in so many scenes. The track is always springy and lively, never shy about engaging as it can and where it should for maximum impact, again within its meager confines. And that does not simply begin and end with music. There's a nice sensation to falling rain and lingering thunder rolling about in chapter eight. While this is nothing above and beyond the call of duty the very capable, spaced, and detailed presentation, particularly in this configuration, is to be commended. There are ample examples of the track's expressive nature throughout. It frequently overcomes its real and perceived limits to present the best possible audio presentation within this encode. That is still not to excuse the absence of a lossless encode (or even a 5.1 lossy encode) but that the track is quite good in delivery as it is, which should be a relief to fans. Lastly, dialogue is clear and images nicely to the front-middle stage area.

A Goofy Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of A Goofy Movie includes no supplemental content. The main menu screen offers only options to play the film and select scenes. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

A Goofy Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Goofy Movie does and does not live up to its moniker. It does indeed feature "Goofy" but it's not quite so goofy as in zany and silly as it might could have been. The movie makes for a pleasant diversion with a decent story, a blend of familiar character-based and modern-world humor, and a passable storyline. The pinnacle of family fun it is not, but a perfectly good time killer fit for the whole family it is. Disney's Blu-ray, which is currently only available through its online membership club, is featureless but does include very strong 1080p video and a two-channel lossy soundtrack that is just about as good as that encode allows it to be. Recommended.