Leo Thiele

Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy

This generous collection includes 46 of the 48 shorts that starred Goofy between 1939 and 1961 (but none of the great Mickey-Donald-Goofy films from the mid-'30s). The "How to Ride a Horse" sequence in The Reluctant Dragon (1941) set the pattern for many of these cartoons. An elegant narrator (artist John Ployardt) explains a sport that Goofy attempts to demonstrate. The character that animator Art Babbitt described in a 1935 lecture (quoted in the DVD bonus material) as an easygoing dimbulb gave way to an enthusiastic but spectacularly maladroit figure. One of the funniest entries in the series, "Hockey Homicide," contains several studio in-jokes: dueling stars Icebox Bertino and Fearless Ferguson, and referee Clean-Game Kinney are named for artists Al Bertino, Norm Ferguson, and director Jack Kinney.

The Art of Skiing

Goofy, staying at the Sugar Bowl resort, demonstrates the basics of downhill skiing, which the titles and announcer insist is pronounced "SHEEing". The equipment is, of course, of the era. As you can imagine, Goofy has much trouble keeping his skis parallel and pointing downhill. The final ski jump conveniently lands Goofy right back in bed.