Goofy and his reluctant son, Max, go on a road trip and, in the process, make one of the most heartfelt films that inspired a generation. A Goofy Movie is a rare film that became one of the most unsuspecting and endearing cult classics of our time. To celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, Disney is finally giving A Goofy Movie the credit it deserves and is releasing a new making-of documentary, Not Just a Goof.
Directed by Christopher Ninness and Eric Kimelton, Not Just a Goof tells the story of how this unexpected classic came to be: in the midst of the Disney Renaissance, a ragtag C-team of animators overcame all odds to create this extraordinary and beloved film. The documentary delves into the unique challenges the filmmakers faced, including international animation teams, corrupted footage, the sudden departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg, as well as other obstacles encountered along the way.
A slew of familiar faces appear in the documentary, including the A Goofy Movie director, Kevin Lima, and Goofy and Max’s voice actors, Bill Farmer and Jason Marsden. The film provides a good mix of archival footage and interviews with newer interviews, allowing the team to provide a retrospective on the production and the film’s legacy.
It’s fascinating hearing the filmmakers’ perspective on Jeffrey Katzenberg’s involvement, who—despite being a key figure during the early Disney Renaissance—is notoriously quiet about his time at Disney. Despite A Goofy Movie not being one of the flagship animated films in production from the company, Katzenberg championed the film, pushing it to new heights. However, his sudden departure from Disney dealt a significant blow to the production, and the documentary does a great job of conveying the agony and uncertainty this caused.
The documentary has everything you’d want from a classic behind-the-scenes feature: interviews with filmmakers, stories from production, and archival footage, just to name a few. One of the biggest highlights includes seeing Kevin Lima’s stash of production VHS tapes that he kept in his basement. These included dailies and feedback he would record onto tapes and overnight to the team in France through the mail, offering a unique look at the difficulties the crew experienced while producing the film in the ‘90s, before the advent of video conferencing.
The film’s stories are amplified with traditionally animated vignettes, rendered in the style of A Goofy Movie. It’s a delight to see Bill Farmer, Kevin Lima, and even Jeffrey Katzenberg depicted as “goofs.” The animation by Ventura Animation is exceptionally done and further enhances the funny or emotional moments. There’s also a secondary storyline about the impact the film had on one of the directors, which emotionally elevates the narrative, making it “stand out” from other documentaries of its kind.
The final portion of the film focuses on the cultural impact the film has had thirty years later. From standing room only panels at D23 to “The Perfect Cast” dance going viral on TikTok, A Goofy Movie is as popular as ever with no signs of fading. This fact means a lot to Kevin, since Disney dropped the ball on the film’s launch and it was deemed a box office dud, and it was assumed the film would fade into the oblivion.
Not Just a Goof is a love letter to the cult classic and its fans. It has everything you want from a making-of documentary: the story of production, interviews with the cast and crew, and never-before-seen clips. But just like A Goofy Movie, this film takes it to the next level by injecting it with extra heart.
★★★★
Not Just a Goof is available exclusively on Disney+ on April 7, 2025.
