A Goofy Movie: The Secret Lore of the French Comic Adaption

If we listen to each other’s heart, we’ll find we love A Goofy Movie as cinematic art!

Okay, that isn’t how the lyrics to the now famous “I 2 I” song first heard in 1995’s A Goofy Movie go but they reflect how the world at large views the film these days. Thanks to a generation of kids watching the movie over and over on VHS, endless cosplays of rock star Powerline, and the irresistible god-tier quality of Tevin Campbell’s musical contributions, A Goofy Movie is more beloved today than it’s ever been.

But with so many repeated viewings little questions start to appear in the mind of fans. Why didn’t the movie, a sort of sequel to the Goof Troop TV series, include the other members of antagonist Pete’s family, Peg and Pistol? How in the hell did Goofy and Max get to LA after their car was sent over a waterfall? What exactly happened after the two burst on stage at a major concert? 

These questions and more have plagued the minds of fans for years until, in 2021, Fantagraphics Books began releasing collections of classic Disney comics. These (Volume 1 and Volume 3 specifically) included two French comics directly based on A Goofy Movie and include fascinating hints to the answers of the above questions and more than we could have ever imagined. 

The two comics we’ll be discussing are “A Goofy Movie,” an adaptation of the film originally published in “Les classiques du dessin animé en bande dessinée #18” in 1996 and “The Show Hyuck’st Go On” from “Le Journal de Mickey #2330.) It should be noted that the recent translations clearly took some liberties from the original text. We doubt Max said “brb” in 1996, unless that’s French for, “I hate my dad.”

What Happened to Pete’s Family?

While A Goofy Movie was a stand-alone film that didn’t need you to watch the younger adventures of Max chronicled in the Goof Troop TV series, it certainly wouldn’t have existed without it. Which made it all the stranger that two of the show’s main characters, mother Peg and little sister Pistol, weren’t seen or mentioned. With such a short running time and a focus on fathers and sons, it makes sense why they were dropped. At least the French comic lets them get referenced when Pete mentions taking P.J. on vacation and Goofy asks, “Really? Without Peg an’ Pistol?” See, that’s all we needed!

Pete also makes a delightfully deranged joke when he attempts to get a little girl to pose correctly in his and Goofy’s photo studio. He waves a stuffed Bambi toy in front of her and threatens, “Now laugh, brat, before Bambi sees MAN in th’ forest.” Ice cold. Maybe there’s a reason Peg and Pistol aren’t around anymore.

Goofy Loves ‘60s Protest Music

Throughout the film Goofy’s determined to strengthen the bond between himself and Max. Several times he references the special connection he had with his own father and the adaptation of the movie gives us an intriguing new detail about Goofy’s father. Since a comic book can’t really have musical numbers or a score, the battle over road trip music between Max and Goofy needed more dialogue. Thus, Goofy’s choice of music isn’t corny old kids songs but ‘60s folk protest music his dad liked.

Was Goofy’s dad just a regular mainstream hippie? Or was he the kind that would participate in marches? Lead protests? Did he goof-ily try to take out a nuclear power plant? 

What did the protest songs sound like, anyway? Bob Dylan cover of “I 2 I” when? 

“And mAYbe Love is the REEEEEEAson WHYYYY. The times they are a hyuck-ing.”

Bobby Affirms All Pronouns

Tech-wizard, cheese obsessive, and perpetual high-on-life friend Bobby was a small but extremely memorable cast member of the movie who’s Leaning Tower of Cheeseza will one day be put on display in the Guggenheim Museum where it belongs. Laid back and chill even in the face of harsh discipline, the French comic gives Bobby another trait that just makes us love him all the more.

Just before Max goes on stage to impress Roxanne, Bobby pulls him and P.J. into a hug and declares, “Ladies, germs an’ other terms! Let’s do it to it!”

Bobby affirming all pronouns is canon. Bless him.

Chad and Roxanne

Just before Max goes on stage in his best Powerline cosplay, Roxanne sits in the audience and is chatted up by none other than CHAD, a jock type briefly glimpsed in the earlier “After Today” song. He asks, “Say, Roxanne, about Stacy’s party?” Max watches from behind a curtain, horrified. We don’t know what Chad followed up with but in the comic he asks, “Why don’t you and I go to Stacy’s Party… Together?” 

This creates a more immediate threat to Max (though how he’d be able to hear from that far away remains unexplained) and also reflects an earlier version of the film’s story. As revealed by director Kevin Lima, originally Chad would have been Max’s opponent for Roxanne’s affection but his role was drastically cut down. Considering he was making out with another girl during “After Today” we’re not surprised Roxanne had no time for him. 

How Did Max and Goofy Get to LA?

We get it. A Goofy Movie is a very short film for kids, clocking in at barely an hour and twenty minutes. The rules of screenwriting were liberally held to, especially the “get into your scene as late as possible and leave as early as possible.” There wasn’t time to address how Max and Goofy went from nearly plummeting off a waterfall, losing their car in the process, to sneaking into Powerline’s concert all the way in LA. In the film we just get the two stowing away in band luggage and we as an audience are quickly distracted by the flawless First Dance at Your Wedding level quality of Tevin Campbell’s singing. In the comic however, a narration box lays out what happens after the waterfall. 

“After some serious car repair, our duo arrives at a destination they both agree on: Los Angeles, California.”

How anyone was able to repair a car that went over a waterfall is beyond us, though this at least explains the appearance of Goofy’s car at the end of the movie. The comic also has Max and Goofy sneak into the concert while holding cases for instruments, implying they pretended to be roadies. While not quite as fun as the implications of how the two got inside the cases in the film, it at least provides another idea of how they could have covertly snuck into this massively in-demand concert.

Uh, Why Were Max and Goofy Not Arrested?

Yes, Powerline was totally vibing with Max and Goofy showing off “The Perfect Cast” move during his concert but uh… Wouldn’t they still have gotten mobbed by security guards and cops the second they showed up on stage? Is Powerline that chill about it or did he just not want to disrupt his show? Sadly the comic doesn’t go much into this but, when Max confesses to Roxanne that he lied when he originally told her he’d be on stage, he adds, “I lied to you… To my dad… And even to Powerline.”

DID YOU NOW, MAXIE?! What did he say?! This line implies Max had some kind of conversation with Powerline after their performance, enough that he and his dad were able to get away without getting in trouble with the law. When are we going to get A Goofy Movie anthology series on Disney+ that fills in these critical gaps? 

Roxanne’s Last Name

Max jeopardizes a relationship with his own father because he’s so in love with Roxanne, yet  we never actually learn all that much about her as a person (dog? What the hell are these creatures anyway?) This includes her last name. How dare Disney deny us of a last name, thus depriving our fanfictions of Max taking Roxanne’s last name when they eventually get married until An Extremely Goofy Movie broke the hearts of children everywhere by not even mentioning Roxanne how DARE YOU?!?!?!?!

Anyway, our alt-universe fanfics can now finally be complete because the comic reveals Roxanne’s last name is… Rover.

Max Rover. Perfect. Finally, the fanfiction can be finished.

A Goofy Movie Sequel With Roxanne?!

Sadly we didn’t get the sequel we all wanted of the trials of tribulations of Max and Roxanne’s love life but the short “The Show Hyuck’st Go On” comic was the next best thing. In it, Max spots Roxanne seeming to flirt with the Gigachad himself, Chad, and freaks out. Thankfully it’s revealed (spoiler!) that it was just the two practicing for a play, which Max ends up replacing Chad in. Roxanne even gives Max a smooch! WHY WERE THESE TWO NOT TOGETHER FOREVER, ALL PEOPLE WHO DATE IN HIGH SCHOOL TOTALLY STAY TOGETHER HOW DARE YOU, DISNEY.

While we’ll never forgive the lack of Roxanne in An Extremely Goofy Movie, these comics at least give fans more of the movie we love and that’s more than enough to make them stand out above the crowd.