Also, Goofy’s whole family is probably dead
Goof Troop seems to imply that Goofy’s entire immediate family is also dead. In A Goofy Movie, Goofy becomes concerned about Max’s future after Max gets in trouble at school. Goofy’s solution is to take Max on the same character-building fishing trip that his father took him on when he was a boy.
Goofy shows Max a map annotated by his father, and reminisces about how his dad taught him to open a soup can using his buck teeth. The two elder Goofs seemingly had a close relationship, and Goofy tries to connect with Max in the same way. Even if Goofy’s father is gone, it’s clearly important to Goofy that Max know who his grandfather was. The darkness, sadly enough, doesn’t end there
However, Goofy’s father does not appear in the movie, and Goofy is never shown speaking to his parents in Goof Troop or the Goofy movies. Spoonerville, where Goofy and Max live in Goof Troop, is Goofy’s hometown, but Goofy does not seem to have any other family living there.
Goofy may also have a dead brother or sister. In one episode of Goof Troop, Max’s cousin Debbie comes to visit. She calls Goofy “Uncle Goofy,” which suggests she is Max’s first cousin and therefore the daughter of Goofy’s sibling. But Debbie’s parents never appear in any episode. In an episode in which Goofy has a family reunion, the only attendees are his aunt, his uncle, his great-uncle, and a cousin.
Debbie doesn’t show up for that reunion, so it’s always possible that there are other Goofs who, like her, did not attend. But considering that Goof Troop is a show about the relationships between parents and children, it’s certainly noteworthy that we never see Goofy’s parents.
The fact that Goofy’s parents, siblings, and wife are never depicted and never directly mentioned — other than a few references to Goofy’s father — is especially glaring, since several Goof Troop episodes involve Goofy showing Max his family photo albums, and telling the stories of his ancestors like Sherlock Goof, Mopalong Goofy, and Caveman Goof. Why wouldn’t he bring up his parents in that situation, or Max’s mother? Why wouldn’t Max ask?
Goofy is clearly dealing with a significant amount of trauma that he has issues confronting directly, and perhaps Max is being understanding of Goofy’s challenges.
Gawrsh, he’s clinically depressed!
In An Extremely Goofy Movie, Max, who was a little boy in Goof Troop and a high school student in the previous film, is going away to college. This throws Goofy into a crisis. Goofy trudges through his empty house after Max leaves at the beginning of the movie, goes into Max’s empty bedroom, and clutches Max’s teddy bear; the scene fades to black as Goofy begins to weep. The scene is 95 seconds long, and is played completely straight. There are no laughs to be found anywhere.
I know I keep saying this, but: This is Goofy we’re talking about here.
Goofy falls into a depression that indirectly causes a workplace accident. He is fired as a result. Then, Goofy goes to the unemployment office and learns that he is unemployable because he never graduated from college.
Goofy goes to college to undergo humiliating job retraining in his middle age, and there he finds Max, who is not pleased to see his dad. Max just wants to listen to ska music, wear baggy pants, creep on girls, and practice skateboarding for the College X-Games, an embarrassing 1990s sporting event that Max plans to compete in with his equally embarrassing friend Bobby Zimuruski, who is pretty much Poochie as played by Pauly Shore.
Goofy, overjoyed to be near his son again, recovers a bit and even gets a date with the college librarian. But Max is frustrated because he is less popular and worse at skateboarding than his father, so he tells Goofy off. This crushes Goofy; Max is everything to him. Goofy falls back into depression, stands up his new girlfriend and fails an important exam.
It’s a Disney movie, so Goofy and Max eventually reconcile, but this is still an astonishingly weird story. An Extremely Goofy Movie came out in 2000, eight years after the original run of Goof Troop. A lot of people were on the internet in 2000; they had blogs and message boards. The writers of this movie must have been aware of the fan speculation about Goofy’s dead wife, and it’s hard not to see the character’s implied-but-never-addressed history of loss and tragedy underlying his breakdown after Max goes to college.
The decision to tell a story about a depressed, grieving Goofy cannot have been unintentional. The movie’s writers could have done just about anything with this story, and the decision that the creative team landed on involves Goofy causing a dangerous workplace situation due to his inability to talk about his feelings of abandonment.
Goofy’s voice actor, Bill Farmer, was nominated for an Annie Award for his vocal performance in An Extremely Goofy Movie, and it’s a performance deserving of recognition. Farmer manages to weep convincingly, conveying the grief of a family man who has lost his family, alone in an empty house with nothing but the ghosts of his past to keep him company. But still in character.
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Some things are so tragic that they take time to process and recover from before we can discuss what happened, even with family and friends. Time might be able to heal all wounds, but there’s no schedule that shows exactly how long it might take. I respect that.
Content warning, my friends: We’re going to be discussing tragedy and existentially terrifying topics about trauma and loss. But, after nearly three decades, it’s finally time to talk about Goofy’s dead wife and missing family.
FAQ
Who was Goofy’s wife?
What type of animal is Goofy’s girlfriend?