Goofy Goes to College

In An Extremely Goofy Movie, high school has finally ended, and Max, like most high school graduates, is eagerly looking forward to his first taste of independence. He will be joined at college by two old friends, and all three are excited. Goofy is devastated. He doesn't know what he's going to do without his son, and it distracts him from his work at the factory. Before he knows it, he's out of work, and he is shocked to discover that he can't get a new job because he doesn't have a college degree. Oh, well. No problem...he'll just go to school with Max!

Max is already having difficulty adjusting to the college scene. He is determined to enter the Extreme Games, but he's already made enemies with the leader of the toughest team on campus. This gang is set to make his life miserable, and his buds are along for the ride. Luckily, they find a friend in a coffee shop beatnik, who Max's best friend PJ immediately takes a liking to. But just as life starts looking up for Max, Dad shows up in class wearing a huge afro wig on his head and announcing himself as Max's dad.

Goofy went to college in the '70s apparently and dropped out, so he's stuck in that era. Everything about him reeks of disco. He finds understanding with a librarian who, despite her quiet demeanor, has quite a wild side which comes out when she discos with Goofy.

Goofy would be having a great time at college if it weren't for the fact that his son is so antagonistic towards him. This is heightened when Goofy is picked up by the opposing Extreme team and outperforms Max. Goofy's disillusionment in discovering his son's distaste for him is demonstrated through a psychadelic dream filled with swirling images and set to the tune of Come on, Get Happy. It's beginning to look like neither father nor son will be happy anytime in the near future, but when the true test comes, the love that Goofy and Max have for one another will triumph.

This is a good movie well suited to Goofy's character, but it's not terribly original. It bears a striking resemblance to a certain Rodney Dangerfield movie, but I suppose that this should hardly be surprising. Disney has very few films that aren't based on another story. I wouldn't put this in a league with Disney classics such as Pinocchio, Jungle Book, and The Lion King, but if you like Goofy, you're sure to get some laughs out of it.