THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
GOOFY AND A Penguin, in separate films, share the animated spotlight as the studios of Don Bluth and the late Walt Disney fight it out for the kiddie trade.
Both films have their moments but neither is top-grade. For parents who want to tag along, both have a few ``in'' jokes that the kids won't notice. For the most part, though, animation buffs will find these just something to do while waiting for ``Pocahontas'' to open.
Gawsh, it's about time Goofy got a starring role all his own. The veteran slapstick comedian stars in a feature film for the first time in his 63-year career.
Goofy made his debut as an extra in the 1932 black-and-white short ``Mickey's Revue.'' He was called Dippy Dawg, and his voice was supplied by Pinto Colvig, a former carnival barker.
The gawky one was first billed as Goofy in 1934's ``The Orphan's Benefit'' but got his real break as an auto mechanic two years later in ``Mickey's Service Station.''
During the 1940s, his career was spurred by the ``How To'' series, which would have more correctly been called the ``How NOT To'' series as Goofy messed up in every field imaginable. His ``How to Play Football'' got an Oscar nomination in 1944.
He also became mascot of the French Olympic team in the 1980s.
In 1992, he got a TV series of his own, ``Goof Troop,'' which went from the Disney Channel to the ABC Saturday morning lineup for an amazing 78 episodes.
And, mind you, ``A Goofy Movie'' is not his first big-screen feature exposure. He had a cameo in ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'' as well as segments in ``The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941), ``Saludos Amigos'' (1943) and the ``Mickey and the Beanstalk'' section of ``Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947).
With this kind of career, you'd think they'd have some reverence for the Goof's slapstick style. But ``A Goofy Movie'' humanizes Goofy a bit too much. The producers felt that no one wanted to watch Goofy trip over himself for 80 minutes. They may be right, but they shouldn't have written him off as just another troubled Dad trying to bond with a teen son. That kind of stuff we can get with live actors.
Max, son of Goofy, has nightmares that he may grow up to be the klutz that is his father. He is floored when Dad Goofy insists that they take a cross-country trip to Lake Destiny in Idaho, where Goofy's own dad took him to bond. This comes as Max has finally landed a date with Roxanne, the hot girl dog at the local high school.
Max fabricates a face-saving story, telling his girlfriend that he's actually going to California to be on TV with his rock idol, Powerline.
It all works out, after a rambling story line wanders all over the place. Why is it that moviemakers think children need less logical plots than adults? Shouldn't the reverse be true?
The 4-year-old with whom I compared notes felt that Big Foot was actually the best thing in this flick - but his screen time is minimal.
The film was done largely by the Paris division of the Disney animated pool and is not in the same league with other Disney outings. It has more the look of a TV special than a big-screen release. There are ample references to MTV, the ``Blossom'' TV series and Pauly Shore.
One suspects that the release of ``A Goofy Movie'' at this time was another one of Disney's aggressive marketing ploys to try to kill off a competitor.
The competitor is ``The Pebble and the Penguin,'' made by Don Bluth's animators in Ireland. It's quite charming and has unquestionably better animation than the Goofy flick, complete with the bright colors and sharp contours that are Bluth's trademarks.
Bluth left the Disney studio in 1979, when Disney animation was at a low point. He made an impressive start on his own with 1982's ``The Secret of NIMH,'' an animated film that should have become a classic and would have if it had the Disney stamp on it.
However, Bluth's movies are constantly being compared to Disney product - although he has only a fraction of the monetary and time resources. He's never been able to match his ``An American Tail.'' ``The Land That Time Forgot'' and ``All Dogs Go to Heaven'' were rather uninspired. His ``A Troll in Central Park'' had the ignoble fate of going straight to video.
``The Pebble and the Penguin'' deserves to do better. The mating habits of Antarctica's penguins might seem a rather kinky subject for a family movie, but this is a good deal more fun than one of those National Geographic things.
Hubie, with the voice of Martin Short, is the nerd penguin who has won the heart of Marina, the most desired female, who wears a pink flower on her head.
It seems that lady penguins care nothing for diamonds. They prefer pebbles. Drop the right pebble and they mate for life.
Poor Hubie, though, is swept out to sea. Before he can return to his true love, he's deterred by a herd of killer whales, a leopard seal and meanie humans who want to put him in a zoo.
Jim Belushi is the voice of Hubie's big-mouthed sidekick, who is obsessed with becoming the first penguin to fly. His style is too similar to Short's. Tim Curry (``Rocky Horror Picture Show'') has the voice of Drake, the bully who looks more like a wolf than a penguin.
There are a few songs composed by Barry Manilow, but none of them is memorable. The animation of the blue-green ice world of Hubie's home is quite impressive. ``Penguin'' is more a family movie than just a kiddie movie.
If ``Goofy'' is the perfect movie for Father's Day, ``Penguin'' is a movie for Valentine's Day. So, of course, both were released for the Easter season. ILLUSTRATION: WALT DISNEY CO.
Max, left, discovers that his dad, Goofy, is a pretty cool guy after
all during an adventurous trip in ``A Goofy Movie.''
DON BLUTH
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The shy, romantic Hubie, left, and his cantankerous sidekick, Rocko,
star in ``The Pebble and the Penguin.''
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Pebble and the Penguin''
Cast: The voices of Martin Short, James Belushi, Tim Curry, Annie
Golden
Director: Don Bluth
Screenplay: Rachel Koretsky and Steve Whitestone
Music: Barry Manilow
MPAA rating: G (nothing objectionable)
Mal's rating: **1/2
Locations: Janaf in Norfolk; Kemps River and Lynnhaven 8 in
Virginia Beach
MOVIE REVIEW
``A Goofy Movie''
Cast: The voices of Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings,
Kellie Martin
Director: Kevin Lima
Screenplay: Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson, Brian Pimental
Music: Carter Burwell
MPAA rating: G (nothing objectionable; riding the rapids in the
Grand Canyon might scare the little ones)
Mal's rating: **
Locations: Chesapeake Square in Chesapeake; Janaf and Main Gate
in Norfolk; Columbus and Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach
by CNB