^{Not Just a Goof (2025), Disney+}

Like every other 90s kid, I watched A Goofy Movie too many times to count on VHS. If you picked up the DVD years later, you were probably disappointed with the lack of bonus content. The bare-bones disc included the trailer, some extra Goofy cartoons, and a music video for “Disney's Mambo No. 5" (for some reason). Yet, there was no behind-the-scenes material on how the film was made. Not Just a Goof finally fills that void with a lovingly made tribute from the fans to the filmmakers. It’s another essential Disney documentary that sits comfortably alongside Waking Sleeping Beauty and Howard.

Where Don Hahn directed the aforementioned docs, Not Just a Goof comes from visual effects producer Eric Kimelton and editor Christopher Ninness. Their retrospective is sure to take 90s kids back. How far back? The documentary opens with a shout-out to “Dr. Looney's Remedy,” which was featured on the VHS. While Ninness, in particular, unpacks what A Goofy Movie means to him, the film is primarily told from the perspectives of those who made the 1995 cult classic, i.e. director Kevin Lima, head of story Brian Pimental, and Goofy himself, Bill Farmer. It would’ve been nice to see additional interviews from a few others like co-writer Jymn Magon and animator Nancy Beiman, who always have interesting anecdotes. Still, Lima draws an especially vivid portrait of how his directorial debut came to fruition.

In fact, some sequences are depicted through animation, which Juan M. Urbina oversaw. Jeffrey Katzenberg is portrayed as a dog-like king who wears a crown and sits on a throne twice his size. Between his rocky beginnings with The Black Cauldron and heated exit from Disney, Katzenberg can be an easy target. Yet, the documentary acknowledges that he was a crucial component of many Disney Renaissance productions. Katzenberg pitched the idea of a parent-child story, pushing A Goofy Movie in a more heartfelt direction. That said, the film doesn’t tiptoe around Katzenberg’s more misguided suggestions. Pitching Steve Martin as Goofy is about on par with wanting to cut “Part of Your World.”

While A Goofy Movie was always meant to be a smaller production, the initial release and reception proved disheartening for the crew. It didn’t bomb, but the film didn’t reach any box office milestones either. The reviews were mixed at best. Even when Siskel and Ebert gave the film Two Thumbs Up, the crew seemed to dwell on the less flattering aspects of their reviews. A Goofy Movie did receive five Annie Award nominations, losing one to Gargoyles and four to Pocahontas. Coming out the same year, Pocahontas cost more, had better marketing, and outgrossed A Goofy Movie by nearly nine times. Fast-forward to D23 2015, though, it’s clear which film left a bigger impact.

For Lima, the reappraisal for A Goofy Movie seemed to come overnight. For those who grew up with the film, there was never a reappraisal. It was always a masterpiece. This is apparent in the film’s fan testimonials, which perhaps take up a bit too much screen time in the third act. Seeing how fans have kept A Goofy Movie alive, though, it’s not unwarranted. Lima’s team set out to do something different in the vein of John Hughes. Ironically, one of the Goofy Movie posters would mimic National Lampoon's Vacation. Just as Sam Baker, John Bender, and Ferris Bueller defined the 80s, Max, Roxanne, and Bobby “Leaning Tower of Cheeza” Zimuruski had a similar impact on the 90s. Even Goofy adapted to the times while remaining timeless. It might’ve been seen as a goof in 1995, but critics, audiences, and Disney executives are finally seeing eye to eye.