History Of Goofy

Goofy is a remarkably popular cartoon character from Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse series. He is a dog, attributed with human characteristics, and is one of the best friends of Mickey Mouse. Originally, Goofy’s concept name was “Dippy Dawg" (in the cartoon shots created during the 1930’s). It was only in 1950’s that Goofy got his present name and since then, there has been no looking back for this exceptionally famed and adorable Disney character. Apart from the Mickey Mouse series, Goofy has also been a part of several theatrical short films and comics, where he continued to charm people with his rather cute gaucherie. This article dwells at length on the origin and background of Goofy. Read on to know his enthralling history.

 

Amongst all the animators of the Disney studio, Art Babbitt is most associated with the creation of Goofy, though the original concept drawings were made by Frank Webb. Goofy has been shown as stupid and clumsy, though he is a well-meaning and good-natured dog, at the same time. He began his Disney journey as a whiskered, bespectacled, old goober munching spectator in "Mickey's Revue." His early personality has been that of a “goofball”. His raucous laugh, as much as his “goofiness”, became his trademark and other cartoon characters began to refer to him as “Dippy the Goof”. This eventually became his stamp and evolved into his current name - “Goofy”. He was first spotlighted by his new name in "Goofy and Wilbur”, which made him a studio star overnight.

 

Goofy has been shown to have a wife as well, who has appeared in the cartoon series, though her face has always remained hidden and unseen. His character had been portrayed as a “family man” in some of the earlier shot cartoons, though his modern appearances depict him as a single father. Goofy’s family life has shown contrasting colors, as compared to the other Disney characters, such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, who have always been shown as “Uncles”, rather than parental figures. This is all the more evident when Goofy is shown raising his son, Max Goof. In comic books, Goofy’s nephew, Gilbert, has regularly featured alongside him. However, the character has remained confined to comic books, with no cartoon appearances. In the comic books published in Europe, Goofy is shown with an adventurer cousin, Arizona Goof, who is a spoof of Indiana Jones, the fictional archaeologist.

Some of Goofy’s catchphrases are "gawrsh!"(in place of the usual “gosh”) and "ah-hyuck!" (a distinctive chuckle), sometimes followed by a silly "hoo hoo hoo hoo!”. Goofy has comfortably notched a place amongst Disney Fab-5, the other four being Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto. He has also had a long and phenomenal career in comics, where he replaced Horace Horsecollar as Mickey Mouse's sidekick. However, the alien Eega Beeva had also replaced Goofy for a brief period. During his long journey, Goofy continued to remain true to what he was, “a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible Good Samaritan, a halfwit and a shiftless, good-natured hick," as described by his creator Babbitt in a 1930’s lecture.