Thoughts on "Goofy and Wilbur"

Regarding the first solo Goofy cartoon, Goofy and Wilbur, I thought that considering much of Goofy's work was formulaic, this was kind of a sharp contrast from that.

Released in 1939, this cartoon is a good example of what could have been. It is set in the beautiful but costly storybook style so prevalent at the Disney Studios at the time. It shows that what Goofy can do without Mickey and/or Donald there with him. On his otherwise lazy fishing day with his pet grasshopper, Wilbur, Goofy runs the gamut of emotions from grief to absolute joy.

Unfortunately, the outbreak of war in Europe, which dealt a cruel blow to Disney's finances and the performances of Pinocchio and Fantasia, also impacted the beautiful storybook style of the Disney shorts. Pinto Colvig had already left the Disney Studio, and someone else was called in to do Goofy's voice. As well, the other studios, particularly Warner Bros. and MGM, were breaking out of the shadow of Disney by placing less emphasis on personality and more on wild comedy and formula (i.e., MGM's Tom forever chasing Jerry or Warner Bros.'s Bugs Bunny forever outwitting Elmer Fudd). That was partially why Goofy's cartoons of the 1940s, the "how-to" sports films, were as formulaic as any of them.

But getting back to Goofy and Wilbur, it provides an example of what might have been. Goofy is quite devoted to his pet grasshopper. Even though he puts his life on the line to catch a fish, Goofy is quite nice to him and does all he can to keep Wilbur from actually getting eaten. Even when Wilbur ends up actually getting eaten by a frog, which in turn gets eaten by a stork, Goofy remains determined. But when the stork flies away, Goofy breaks down crying over the loss of his friend. Fortunately, almost inexplicably, Wilbur hatches out of an egg in the stork's nest, very much alive and very much to the relief of Goofy.

If not for the onset of war and subsequent financial pressures and competition from the other studios, Goofy would have probably continued to be in shorts such as these. As it was, though most of his films revolved around the "how-to" series, many of them with little dialog on his part, if any at all, he did make the occasional appearance in a "regular" short such as Foul Hunting or The Big Wash. However, without the outbreak of war, Goofy would probably have appeared in more of the same kinds of shorts that were as varied as any that Donald Duck might have done.

Years later, on Sesame Street, there was one skit with Bert and Ernie that I think paid homage to this cartoon. In this skit, the inseparable duo are on a fishing trip. Ernie gets fish to leap into the boat by calling, "Heeeere fishy fishy fishy!" Bert eventually tries this technique, too, raising his voice louder and louder, until a shark jumps in and says, "You called?" In Goofy and Wilbur, Goofy called, "Here fishy fishy fishy! Come and get it!" and bangs on a horseshoe to goad a fish into chasing Wilbur so they can catch the fish.

Anyway, I feel as though Goofy and Wilbur has left a mark in more ways than one, and if not for certain circumstances beyond one's control, Goofy (indeed all the Disney characters) might have appeared in more of the same kinds of cartoons that emerged from the Golden Age of Animation.